Nottage has picked very poignant names for her characters. The meanings of each name and the stories connected to many of them provide another layer of meaning to the story being told in Intimate Apparel.

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Esther -

                                         

                                             Persian name meaning "star". It is connected to the                                             biblical story of Esther who risked her life to save her                                             exiled people from annihilation. The biblical Esther                                                 kept her Jewish identity a secret from her                                                                 husband, the Persian King, until the King ordered all                                               Jews be executed. She saved her people                                                                 after revealing her true self to her husband.

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Mayme -

Latin root meaning "star of the sea; pearl". It is a contraction of Margaret (pearl) and Mary (rebellion; sea of bitterness; wished-for child)

George -

                                                 Greek root meaning "farmer or earth worker". It is                                                    connected to Saint George, a crusader who saved                                                  the Libyan King's daughter, and the village, from a                                                  dragon. After capturing the beast, he told the                                                          people that he would only kill it if t hey all                                                                  converted to Christianity.

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Marks -

A patronymic (derived from the father) Jewish name. It comes from the Latin name Marcus meaning "to harvest".

Van Buren -

Literally meaning "from Buren" a town in the Netherlands. The Dutch royal family's been known to use this name in order to garner some degree of anonymity form time to time

Dickson -

Means "strong leader" or "ruler"