Like Olivia, Ruby was now of age. It was time to settle down and get married".
-- Narrator (Chapter 4)

Importance: The author enacts this quotation toward the outset of the narrative to establish the social dynamics the women contend with throughout the novel. As young women, Olivia and Ruby are expected to attach themselves to men and get married in order to ensure their futures. They are not encouraged to pursue an education, develop personal beliefs, or ambitions. Through this moment, Marquis establishes the social strictures that characters like Ruby, Olivia, and Helen are forced to navigate as they explore love, independence, and desire.

The sentiment that the dark color of our skin is something to be feared continues to dictate policy, corrupting public places, stripping us of our only too recent freedoms".
-- Washington DeWight (Chapter 5)

Importance: Throughout The Davenports, Marquis utilizes her character, Washington DeWight to explore the prejudice and racial violence inflicted on Black Americans in...