- Tapestry -( noun) a heavy handwoven reversible textile used for hangings, curtains, and upholstery and characterized by complicated pictorial designs
i found this definition on https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tapestry
I found this word in our new book Quicksand by Nella Larsen “In vivid green and gold negligee and glistening brocaded mules, deep sunk in the big high-backed chair, against whose dark tapestry her sharply cut face, with skin like yellow satin, was distinctly outlined she was—to use a hackneyed word—attractive.”
now I have a visual and a better understanding of tapestry. It can be considered a design that is put on your wall like a curtain and it has details and designs all over
Rather than hanging on the wall, the tapestry is the fabric of the chair. Note the language “against whose” as telling where the tapestry is.
If you think of a tapestry as multicolored and intricate, how does this compare to everything in front of it–that is, Helga and all of the descriptions about her and what she’s wearing?