Intimate Apparel Essay

Intimate Apparel takes place in 1905 and the whole play was centered around a black working-class woman. In regards to the economic environment during this time it was a very divided class system, and employment at an actual good making job was extremely difficult.
During this time period the class system was extremely separated, and unfortunately, African American people seemed to be at the biggest disadvantage. The play took place during the progressive error, so “urbanization, immigration, and industrialization transformed New York City’s economy between 1890 and 1920, making poverty more prevalent among the working class while at the same time creating enormous wealth for some, (“1890–1928.” The Progressive Era). It also seemed to almost be frowned upon for a wealthy person to even be associating with a poor person. This really makes it easier to understand the relationship between Esther and Mrs. Van Buren. Although they were friends, they seemed to have to keep their friendship a secret. Esther only sees Mrs. Van Buren when she was fitting her for intimate apparel. The friendship and the bond they had to really be kept a secret. This makes an abundance of sense considering the huge class divide and

They were all over the poor areas of New York during the time Intimate Apparel takes place. This is where Esther lived in the beginning. She was a single woman with not much money. That was why she was living in the house she was in. Clearly, she didn’t desire this life and wanted to get out, get married and move on with her life. Tenements seemed like an extremely undesirable place to live, and it completely makes sense why she would really just want to get out of it. In the tenements “there were frequent issues with vermin: mice, rats, roaches, (New York City, Tenement life). This clearly wasn’t an ideal living situation. Esther believed getting married could help her get out of that type of