Princess and the Hustler: Character Quotations

Key word or phrase to memorise: “Tink”, “children”

What the quotation means:
After turning up unexpectedly at Mavis’ door on Christmas day with his daughter Lorna, Wendell appeals to Mavis’ sense of compassion when he asks Mavis to provide a place for them to stay

Theme: Family

• Wendell asking Mavis to think about the welfare of their children is deeply ironic — it is Wendell who has left the raising of the children to Mavis for a number of years:

  • This reflects on Wendell’s initial presentation in the play — he arguably lacks empathy for Mavis and displays a level of entitlement in expecting Mavis to help him

  • Mavis’ interruption, as indicated by the slash (/) shows anger and highlights his thoughtlessness here

• This line can be contrasted to later scenes involving Wendell’s tender relationship with Princess: 

  • In the final scene when he places the “crown” on her head in their mock pageant, Wendell is more thoughtful about his own children

Key word or phrase to memorise: “King an’ country”, “ respec’”

What the quotation means:
In the process of trying to explain to his son why he left the family, Wendell explains that he has been mistreated due to his background, in spite of his service to the country

Theme: Belonging and identity

• Wendell highlights the contribution he has made in service of Britain, as part of the Windrush Generation of immigration, has not been valued:

  • The alliterative phrase “King an’ country” echoes the phrasing used to inspire patriotism and loyalty in wartime, particularly from World War 1 onwards:

    • Wendell suggests that it has been particularly hurtful to have experienced discrimination and a lack of respect after his contribution

• Odimba’s use of both dialect words (“far”, “mi”) and the way Wendell’s accent is written phonetically (“respec’”) emphasises his sense of otherness and the lack of belonging he feels in England

Key word or phrase to memorise: “change”

What the quotation means: In a conversation with Margot, in which Margot is sceptical of Wendell’s capacity to change, Mavis expresses hope that, like the political change brought about the Bristol Bus Boycott, Wendell too can change

Theme: Family

• Mavis displays optimism about Wendell’s character when Margot expresses her disapproval of the impact he has had on Mavis: 

  • Mavis creates a parallel between the positive changes brought about in Bristol through the bus boycotts and Wendell’s newfound commitment to her family

  • Odimba uses Wendell’s character as a symbol here: his unlikely transformation mirrors the opening up of employment opportunities to people of colour in Bristol:

    • This may also have been seen as unlikely at the time by characters in the play

Key word or phrase to memorise: “dreams”, “Hustle nuh win”

What the quotation means: In the penultimate scene of the play, Wendell has asked Mavis to re-marry him, though she doesn’t refuse, she also reminds him that he needs to be a more upright role model to his children — advice which he humbly accepts

Theme: Family

• The recognition that “hustle” cannot “win” anything for Wendell signals a transition away from the deceitful qualities suggested by the titular label of “hustler”:

  • Wendell’s rejection of this label is a stark contrast to earlier scenes that suggest he once embraced the role:

    • For example, when he wins money playing cards at the docks in Act 1, Scene 6, or boasts to Margot about the skills he had when he used to “hustle proper” in Act 2, Scene 7

• Wendell’s metaphorical use of the word “dreams” here is deeply symbolic of hope: 

  • The word echoes his earlier question about whether Mavis is willing to involve him in her family’s “dreams” and the joyous final scene in which Princess’ fantastical world of “pageantry” is “just as she [dreamt] it”

Key word or phrase to memorise: “explodes”, “pageantry”

What the quotation means: At the start and end of the play, Princess reimagines a “cupboard room” in her Bristol home as a lavishly decorated stage in Weston-super-Mare, where she is crowned the winner of a beauty pageant

Theme: Belonging and identity

• Odimba uses a cyclical structure to include the celebratory image of Princess being crowned the winner of the pageant:

  • Pageantry suggests celebration and the play ends on a celebratory note

  • The crown is both literal and symbolic: 

    • While the “cardboard and tinsel” it is made of shows how vividly Princess has imagined her victory at the pageant, the image of a crown has connotations of royalty and self-worth

    • By the end of the play, this reinforces the celebration of the value and pride implied by the name “Princess”

• These opening and closing scenes are a stark contrast to the end of Act 2, where she has lost faith in her own sense of value:

  • In Act 2, Scene 5, Princess’ “world of pageantry doesn’t come alive”  and she “destroys her cupboard world”

Key word or phrase to memorise: “go back”

What the quotation means: Princess expresses confusion about the racist treatment she has experienced from peers at school

Theme: Belonging and identity

• Odimba presents Princess’ naivety and lack of understanding about the racist treatment she has received at school:

  • This exposes the cruel treatment that black people in the UK would have been susceptible to in the 1960s:

    • The idea that Princess might “go back” to where she came from is ironic: she was born in England and is a British citizen

Key word or phrase to memorise: “beautiful”, “come alive”

What the quotation means: In the last lines of dialogue in the play, Princess refers to the unfolding of the beauty pageant, which her family members are now involved in

Theme: Belonging and identity

• The pageant is no longer just a figment of Princess’ imagination and ur now “come[s] alive” in part because of the involvement of her family members

• Princess having the final line in the play is structurally significant:

  • It gives those lines extra importance and means that the play ends with the joyous idea of her celebration

• “everything beautiful”  is ambiguous here: 

  • While on the surface Princess seems to be referring to the beauty pageant, it could also suggest hope for the future of Princess’ newly united family or for the black residents of Bristol 

Key word or phrase to memorise: “knife”, “hides”

What the quotation means: After threatening Wendell with a knife after he turns up unexpectedly at her home on Christmas day, Mavis hides the knife when Wendell presents Lorna, his 9-year-old daughter from another relationship

Theme: Family

• Mavis is fiercely protective of her family:

  • Though the scene in which Mavis threatens Wendell is laced with humour, the image of the knife is symbolic of the extent she is willing to go to defend her family

  • The way that Mavis “lowers” the knife and “hides” it when she sees Lorna is comical, but also shows how empathetic Mavis is:

    • Her instinct is to protect Lorna

Key word or phrase to memorise: “hands”, “work”

What the quotation means: When Wendell becomes flirtatious and compliments Mavis’ legs, she redirects the conversation to remind him of how hard she has had to work to support the family in his absence

Themes: Family

• Mavis has had to work tirelessly to support her children without Wendell:

  • “Hands” are symbolic of both care and labour: 

    • Mavis has not only been raising the children, but “sewing till [her] fingers turn blue” as part of her self-employed work

Key word or phrase to memorise: “their home”

What the quotation means: Mavis explains to Margot that her energy is focused not on trying to change Wendell, but on supporting her children

Themes: Family, belonging and identity, activism and protest

• Mavis rejects Margot’s argument that Wendell’s involvement of her family in the Bristol Bus Boycott is detrimental to them:

  • Mavis wishes that they ‘feel like this their home too’ is a clear indication of her support for those protests

  • Her use of dialect speech here (“this their home”) uses ellipsis to suggest that the family’s Jamaican cultural identity can exist alongside their lives in England

• Margot’s questioning gets Mavis to reveal that there has been a shift in her character: by Act 2, she is less angry at Wendell and more accepting of him

• She also sounds weary: “survive long enough” and “all I have the strength for” suggest exhaustion

Key word or phrase to memorise: “family”, “win”

What the quotation means: Mavis states that they are going to celebrate the success of the Bristol Bus Boycott and the lifting of the colour bar

Themes: Family, activism and protest

• Mavis referring to the “James family” as a complete unit, including Lorna and Wendell, is a stark contrast to the opening scenes in which Mavis turns Wendell away from her home

• Mavis refers explicitly to the “win” of the bus boycott, which shows that, like Wendell and Junior, she has become enthused by the protests:

  • This is a contrast to earlier in the play where Mavis viewed the sacrifices she would have to make in order to participate in the bus boycott as an inconvenience:

    • “How am I meant to get up the hills by Totterdown?” (Act 2, Scene 1)

Key word or phrase to memorise:  

What the quotation means: Aware that Wendell’s return has created tension, Margot offers to take Princess and Lorna to her home, to do an activity that Princess enjoys

Theme: Family

• Margot is presented here as empathetic and as being close to Mavis’ family:

  • “Babbers” is Bristolian dialect, literally meaning ‘baby’, which is used as a term of affection here by Margot

    • It shows a maternal care for and familiarity with, Mavis’ children

  • Margot recognises the tension between Wendell and Mavis and sees an opportunity to give them a moment to talk alone, protecting the children from the tension

Key word or phrase to memorise: “sort”, “your lot” 

What the quotation mean: In a tense exchange with Wendell, Margot is dismissive of the Bristol Bus Boycott and suggests that his involvement of Mavis in activism might be perceived as a lack of gratitude for being accepted in Bristol

Themes: Activism and protest; identity and belonging 

• In spite of Margot’s close friendship with Mavis, she uses language about Jamaican migrants that is “othering”:

  • The metaphor of “rock[ing] the boat” implies that Mavis and her family should be grateful for having been accepted into English society and that agitating for more rights might be seen as antagonistic

  • The word “boat” also serves as an unfortunate symbol of otherness: it alludes to the arrival of Jamaican migrants to the UK 

  • By referring to “your lot” and suggesting to Wendell that he is “alright”, Margot also exposes her potential disapproval of other black residents 

  • Labelling Margot as a “good sort” perhaps illustrates a tendency to make assumptions, possibly negative ones, about large groups of black residents of Bristol

Key word or phrase to memorise: “welcome”

What the quotations means: after Margot returns Princess safely to Mavis’ home, Mavis tells Margot she is always welcome there as part of her family.

Theme: Family

• By the end of the play, Margot’s close relationship with Mavis has been repaired:

  • Returning Princess safely to Mavis’ household once again shows the care has for Mavis and her family

  • The stage directions in this scene show a “tear run[ning] down Margot’s cheek” in response to Mavis’ statement, indicating how much their relationship means to her

  • This is a contrast to the distance and tension between Margot and Mavis in Act 2, Scene 4, in which Margot criticises Wendell and the bus boycotts:

    • The scene ends with Margot leaving and Mavis not speaking or “look[ing] up”

Key word or phrase to memorise: “can’t”, “my sisters”

What the quotation means: When Leon mentions that his father is organising a meeting in relation to protesting the colour bar, Wendell Junior expresses his desire to attend, but also that he feels obligated to stay with his sisters 

Themes: Family, activism and protest

• Wendell Junior is very protective of his sisters: his instinct to keep them safe overrides his desire to go to a protest meeting with Leon:

  • The pronoun “my” emphasises his protectiveness; it is particularly significant that he refers this way to Lorna, who is his half-sister and whom he has only met very recently

  • The use of ellipses shows that he is conflicted: he also feels that he should be involved in the protests against the colour bar

Key word or phrase to memorise: “worst”

What the quotations mean: Wendell Junior, at various points in the play, criticises Wendell for being an absent father    

Theme: Family

• Wendell is bitter about his father’s return, and resents the fact that he has been absent so long:       

  • Odimba uses the juxtaposition of the words “hate” and “love” to show that Wendell Junior is protective of his family and prioritises them above his own financial interests

  • Towards the end of the play, Wendell Junior (wrongly) assumes that Wendell has stolen the money he previously offered:

    • He uses the superlative “worst” to show that his feelings against his father have become even more passionate 

  • Both of these scenes contrast with the penultimate scene, in which Wendell Junior includes Wendell in his family photograph, signalling acceptance