Mr Marks and Esther’s relationship was sensual not through direct touch but through the element of fabric. The fabric helped develop their sensuality with each other, but still kept a physical distance between the two characters, by acting as a physical barrier. Mr Marks and Esther have a very implicit relationship through what is unsaid; their thoughts as well as the stage directions and yet they have an explicit relationship through their passion for the symbol of fabric. The explicity of their relationship is also shown through the cluster of words of senses: touch, eye contact and feeling.
Because of Mr. Marks’ religion and his situation and since he is engaged, he can’t touch other women than his wife and relatives so he can’t love and touch Esther. Their love and sensuality is revealed to the reader through the stage direction and the symbol of fabric. Mr Marks is a fabric seller and Esther is a seamstress, which shows a primary compatibility between the two characters. Their main contact is through fabric, which is also their shared passion. The author expresses a very present and explicit sense of sensuality in fabric through the stage direction as well as through the dialogues. The senses of touch and sight are omnipresent in their relationship, “Esther affectionately grasps Mr Marks hand”, “Esther laughs and returns to examining the fabric revelling in the textile pleasure of its texture. There is a sensual quality to how Esther regards the fabric. Mr Marks can’t help but notice this. She brings the fabric to her nose and sniffs. Mr Marks watches her with genuine delight”. In these two passages three senses are present; sight, touch and smell, these lexical sets are used to materialize the pleasure felt between the two characters. The sensuality of these quotes is approved by both Esther and Mr Marks. This proves again to the reader that Mr Marks and Esther have a very sensual relationship.
The fabric here stands as a symbol of the sense of pleasure that they have with each other, through the fabric they can both express how they feel towards each other. The bed was never used with Mr.Marks either which symbolizes the impossibility of sensuality between the two characters. These implicit symbols show how the relationship between Mr. Marks and Esther evolves in the plot.
George Armstrong and Esther’s marriage could be considered as a failure, because Esther discovered that they weren’t compatible with each other through the sensual relationship that he had with Mayme. With George, the theme of senses and sensuality played a great role, because Esther’s relationship with George gave her sensuality, but made her lose her senses. This is proved to the reader by Esther’s ignorance to all of the red flags. George’s letters are centered around the beautiful words, the sexual references and appeals to marry him. Their first contact and form of communication was through the letters. Although, the reader has access to George’s letters; he doesn’t have the same luxury of reading Esther’s. In George’s letters, the sweet and pleasureful words were a common theme, “It isn’t appropriate, but I will say it, I crave a gentlewoman's touch, even if it only be to turn down my collar or brush away the dirt in the evenings.” The pressure that Esther felt by the society into getting married and George’s letters made her lose her sensibility. She didn’t listen to her gut feeling or to Mrs. Dickson’s words warning her about a potentially miserable life, “ I don’t trust him, one bit”. Esther lost her senses by giving into this pressure, she only thought about getting married, not about her life with someone that she doesn’t really love. When asked about the reason for marrying George, Esther answered “... Love” with a clear hesitation. Unlike with the other characters, Esther betrayed her own sensibility and was out of her senses by marrying George; her sensibility didn’t allow her to love Mrs. Van Buren, it didn’t allow her to disrespect Mr. Mark's wishes of not being touched, but with George she didn’t listen to her sensibility. Sensuality plays a critical role in George and Esther’s relationship, because while she was looking to talk and get to know each other, George’s first attempt of communication was through sex, “George gently pulls Esther onto the bed”. This is relevant because it shows the one-dimensional aspect of their relationship, which revolves around the theme of senses and sensuality, this also helps the plot of the play evolve as we see an example of a failed love and marriage. The structure of the play contributes to the contradiction between George and Mr. Marks. George’s letters are right before a scene between Mr. Marks and Esther, for example Act 1, scene 2 ends with George’s letter and the third scene of the same act starts with a conversation between Esther and Mr. Marks. With George’s letters, the reader can’t know Esther’s reaction or feeling as the author doesn’t share them, but with Mr. Marks the dialogues and the stage directions immediately give away Esther’s emotions, this acts as another sign of compatibility between the two characters. By revealing her emotions, the author reveals the sense of sensuality that Esther has with Mr. Marks.
Throughout Esther and George’s marriage many red flags pop up, Esther ignores them, a very important sign that should have driven Esther away is George’s dislike and carelessness for fabric, as I said previously, fabric acts as a very important symbol of sensuality for Esther. While Mr. Marks fully embraces it, George doesn’t, “George clumsily pulls the smoking jacket around his muscular body. He clearly isn’t comfortable with the delicacy of the garment”. This quote shows the reader how awkward George is with fabric, he is also pulling a delicate fabric not gently putting it on which means he doesn’t know how to treat the fabric. The fabric helps bring Esther and Mr. Marks closer, but it separates Esther and George. The fabric also represents Esther as a person, especially silk and satin as they’re soft and delicate to the touch just like Esther. The fabric creates sensuality between the different characters, except for Esther and George . Once again, the bed creates an implicit meaning of sensuality, in George and Esther’s case, as a married couple, the bed represents their physical intimacy and sensuality.
Mayme is the epitome of the theme of senses and sensuality, as a night worker. Mayme experiences sensuality very often. Through the smoking jacket and Mayme and Esther’s friendship, both of them stop chasing the sensuality provided to them by George. Mayme is one of Esther’s clients, so fabric is very present in their relationship. This is a primary sign of compatibility, for example when Esther presented Mayme with her corset, she said “It’s so pretty. This is really for me? No kidding? Can I try it on .” And she later says “For shame. This is the prettiest thing anybody ever made for me. Truly.” In these quotes the reader can see that she has an appreciation for fabric which is a good sign. Mayme is a friend for Esther, as well as a person that helps wake Esther up from her fantasy, that is her marriage with George. This happens through the smoking jacket made to George by Esther. After George refuses the smoking jacket and its importance to Esther in the play “He clearly isn’t comfortable with the delicacy of the garment”, his betrayal is later revealed to Esther and to the reader through this very same symbol; the fabric of the japanese silk. He uses this fabric to seduce Mayme by gifting it to her. “Mayme pulls George’s Japanese smoking jacket from beneath her pillow. She displays it proudly.” Not only did George betray Esther in love, but he also did it through her passion. However, this was the last straw for Esther, this was her breaking point. Not only was she hypnotized by having a loving and sensual relationship with George, Mayme fell in the same trap as this fabric and this jacket represents Esther and George’s marriage, as well as their first intimate night, it also represents his betrayal of Esther and their marriage as a failure. This smoking jacket also represents a possible end of Mayme’s sensual relationship with clients as by getting married she probably won’t continue to work as a night worker, this was because she was under the illusion that George is rich which will provide her with a luxurious life. The bed plays a very important role in Mayme’s relationships as it acts as her place of work, her love and sensuality with George, but also her loss of hope in getting married. “Eventually he stops. Silence. Mayme sits on her bed. Then Esther exits with the smoking jacket.” This scene could mean the impossibility of any sensuality in Mayme’s life as her bed is what holds her when she falls down from despair, as with George she feels a genuine love and sensuality.
To conclude, in Intimate Apparel, senses and sensuality are made omnipresent as staged in dialogues, the settings and all that is unsaid which affects the characters’ actions and interactions, thus driving the plot of the story. This thesis statement was proven in this essay through the analysis of Esther’s relationships with different characters; in her marriage with George which was revealed to the reader by George’s dislike for fabric and his betrayal of Esther. The smoking jacket which stands as a very important symbol represents Esther and George’s incompatibility as a married couple as the jacket and fabric hold very sensual meanings, the senses played an important role in their marriage as Esther lost her senses in her marriage with George. However, with the other characters, Esther acts as a very sensible person as she refuses the sensuality provided to her by Ms Van Buren, respects Mr Marks’s religion and despite her sensual attraction towards him, she keeps her distance with him. In the background, the bed acts as a sensuality detector, because with the absence of its use in the scenes, it represents the impossibility of sensuality.
by
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