aggie is scarred in the fire, (Walker, p. 1174). However, the scars that make Maggie feel insecure in DeeÆs presence run much deeper and are more of a psychological nature.
When Dee arrives, we see she has done everything she can do distance herself from her impoverished childhood but in doing so she has also distanced herself from her mother and sister and her heritage. She has changed her hair, her style of dress, her manner of speaking, and considered herself educated, hip, and cosmopolitan in comparison to her mother and sister. When Dee becomes upset at the end of the story that she cannot have the quilts destined for Maggie, because, for once, her mother denied her something ôniceö she wanted, Dee explains to Maggie: ôItÆs really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still live, youÆd never know it,ö (Walker, p. 1180). In other words, Dee is ashamed of her past and even her heritage, though she desires the quilts because of their fine craftsmanship that she knows will impress others. This is merely another sign of her superficial nature and selfishness in being used to getting everything she wants.
Vhen Dee discovers the quilts and tells Mama she wants them, Mama tells us she does something ôI never had done before,ö (Wa
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