In the story "Everyday Use," what did quilting mean to Walker as she was growing up?

The answer to this question will have to be strictly inferred. It can't be gathered directly from the story. Why? Walker isn't a character in the story, so we can't tell exactly how she feels about quilting. We can only tell what the characters feel about it, and then we can infer from there that Walker might have infused those characters with some of her own feelings about quilting.

While reading this story, I at first assumed (incorrectly!) that the narrator and the author were the same person. Oops! Just because a story feels like a realistic retelling of the past, it may not be so. It's better to look and see if the story is described anywhere as autobiographical: if any resources tell us that the narrator and the author are the same person. If there's no evidence for this, we should assume that these are two different people. And in fact, the story "Everyday Use" seems to be strongly influenced by its author's life, but the author (Alice Walker) and the narrator (Mama, also known as Mrs. Johnson) aren't the same person.

In an interview that the writer, Walker, gave to another author in 1992, she revealed some insights about what quilting really does mean to her in real life. She lovingly recalls quilting with her mother and their neighbors, peacefully sitting around and working together to create something beautiful. She even talks about how quilting is an action of creation for her, a way to blend different aspects of her culture and identity by putting together pieces of clothing that had a meaning and purpose of their own. "I use [a particular quilt that I made] a lot and that's why it's so worn," Walker explained, giving us an important clue about her belief in the meaning and value of quilts and how they deserve everyday use.

So that leads us to the story itself. Let's look at what quilting meant to those characters, and tentatively guess that Walker herself might feel the same way.

Let's start by looking at what happens with the quilts in the story:

The two handmade quilts emerge toward the end "Everyday Use," after the daughter, Dee (who now calls herself "Wangero") has come home for a visit and decided to take home--without asking permission--a churn top and dasher from the kitchen. We're already told that she never takes "no" for an answer. She wanders into her mom's bedroom and starts looking through a trunk there, as if she's shopping. That's when she finds the quilts and asks the narrator, her mom, if she can keep them.

The quilts are not only treasured heirlooms, made by the narrator and her sister from pieces of Dee's grandmother's hand-stitched dresses, but they're also good for everyday use: for warmth, comfort, and beauty. Notice how this is similar to how Walker herself made quilts with her mother and for her daughter, according to that 1992 interview.

Dee/Wangero agrees that the quilts are special,that the hand-stitching is beautiful and delicate, but she argues that something that special should be displayed and not used regularly. It's telling that Dee sees the quilts now as "priceless," when years ago, she called them "out of fashion."

To the reader's joy, the mom stands her ground. Dee doesn't get the quilts. Besides, the narrator has already promised them to her other daughter, Maggie.

So what did quilting mean to the narrator while growing up, and therefore, what did quilting possibly mean to the author?

It probably means all kinds of things: a way to create something lasting and beautiful with the family (since the narrator made them with her sister and with her mother's dresses, and since Walker made quilts out of the family's clothes, too); a way to preserve the traditions of the past (since these were hand-stitched, even though see had others stitched by machine); a way to pass on traditions and love and warmth to the next generation (specifically to the more stable Maggie and not the fad-crazy Dee).

But the most important thing it means to the narrator is probably in the title of the story. The narrator is a hard worker. She's practical. Like the beautiful churn dasher that she holds and appreciates, she values things that provide everyday use and not beauty alone. This last point is most likely true of Walker, too--recall that she emphasized in her interview that her most valuable quilt holds memories for her and is all worn-out because she uses it all the time.