Ree Dolly tromps through the desolate landscape of the Ozark mountains in a pair of black combat boots. She dresses in delicate, weather-inappropriate dresses and skirts, threadbare hand-me-downs from her many relatives. She wears a coat passed down to her from her grandmother. Ree is outfitted in pieces of clothing that function as an outward expression of more than just a personal sense of style. Her hand-me-down pieces represent her oft-unwanted lineage and her duty to that tattered inheritance. Ree is a Dolly, and as such is bound to certain codes, burdens, and allegiances to family, to secrecy, and to the old ways and traditions of Rathlin Valley. Her boots, though, symbolize her own status as an iconoclast and rule-breaker. Her boots give her mobility, protection, and a toughness that might not be readily ascribed to her at first glance.
Ree’s Clothes Symbol Timeline in Winter’s Bone
