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"Dee, though. She would always look anyone in the eye. Hesitation was no part of her nature."
Mama offers this detail after describing her own inability to look a white man directly in the eye. The commanding nature of Dee’s eyes reflects the authoritative way in which she views the world at large. This attitude may benefit her in some circumstances, as in the hypothetical Mama offers here, but when it comes to her relationship with Mama, Dee’s uncompromising nature gets her into trouble.
"Dee (Wangero) moved back just enough so that I couldn’t reach the quilts. They already belonged to her."
This moment occurs just after Dee asks Mama for the quilts and reflects both Dee’s sense of entitlement and the irony of her demands. Not only does she seem to claim them without considering how Mama and Maggie might feel, but she also demands an heirloom from a family that she otherwise dismisses. Including “Wangero” in parentheses serves as a reminder that Dee has chosen to distance herself from her family by changing her name, a choice which makes her desire for Grandma Dee’s quilts seem even more unwarranted.
