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What does Marguerite compare Mrs. Flowers to?

Marguerite compares Mrs. Flowers to the women of leisure found in English novels. In Chapter 15, Marguerite tells us that Mrs. Flowers reminded her of women "who walked the moors with their loyal dogs racing at a respectful distance...women who sat in front of roaring fireplaces, drinking tea incessantly from silver trays full of scones and crumpets...women who walked over the 'heath' and read morocco-bound books and had two last names divided by a hyphen."


In other words, Marguerite thinks of Mrs. Flowers as one of the most elegant and refined ladies she has ever met. Until she met Mrs. Flowers, Marguerite had never imagined the possibility of a black woman being as accomplished and polished in her manners as a white woman. To date, Marguerite has only ever met cosmopolitan and cultured women in fiction novels and movies, and these were invariably white women. In her heart, Marguerite is proud of her new friend and feels that Mrs. Flowers is more beautiful, cultured, and sophisticated than any white woman portrayed in movies and fiction novels. Essentially, Mrs. Flowers makes Marguerite feel proud to be African-American.

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