I actually enjoyed reading Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage. This play makes me think that life and relationships are not much different now than they were in the early1900’s. Esther who was a seamstress for Upper and Lower Manhattans women who lived in the night life puts me in the mind of the independent women in today’s society . Esther needed a stepping stone on the way to pursuing her long term goal to open a beauty Salon, but was sidetracked In the interim. Nottage to me depicts an old time picture from a new story told time and time again. it seems to me that men were sexist in those days as we see some men to be nowadays. One thing that will remain the same is a woman’s sensitive side and ability to love . Based on some of the conversations In the play, women then did not know their worth. Esther was told that her face didn’t matter but that men were only interested in her body. It is interesting to me that despite the struggles of African Americans at that time, dreams are real. It was very easy for Esther to deny herself the opportunity of accomplishing her dreams , due to her being blinded by love. Intimate apparel differs from the world today in several ways. Although illiteracy still exist it is more rampant n 1905 which this play was based in. Education and resources are more available in today’s society. Women in today’s society are respected more for their independence although we are still fighting the battle for equality.
This play had several different issues which made it a little difficult to channel in in one of them. There were issues of self esteem, racial issues, class issues, and issues of the struggling African American woman. I would say that reading it as a play made it a little more difficult for me to understand at first because it was outside of the normal story which is narrated.
