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What kind of person is Dee? How does Maggie feel about Dee?

Dee is a self-centered person who is used to getting what she wants. Maggie "thinks her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand, that 'no' is a word the world never learned to say to her," and she seems to be right.  Dee had hated their old house; it burned down. "Dee wanted nice things," and she got them when it was possible. Mama and the church saved money to send...

Dee is a self-centered person who is used to getting what she wants. Maggie "thinks her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand, that 'no' is a word the world never learned to say to her," and she seems to be right.  Dee had hated their old house; it burned down. "Dee wanted nice things," and she got them when it was possible. Mama and the church saved money to send her away to school. Before this, however, Mama says, "She used to read to us without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks' habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice. She [...] burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn't necessarily need to know."  Dee seems to have enjoyed lording her superior knowledge and abilities over her family.


Now, when she returns home, Dee wants to take items that the family still uses -- the butter dish, the churn top, the dasher.  She even wants the quilts that have been promised to Maggie.  Upon being denied them, Dee lashes out, calling Maggie "'backward'" and insisting that Maggie can't appreciate them.  When Mama remains resolute, physically putting the quilts in Maggie's lap, Dee leaves the house in a huff, angry and appalled at having been told "no" for once.

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