How we cite our quotes: (Story.Section.Paragraph) or (Story.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Well, Lord have mercy, I said, listening to him. If I'da closed my eyes, it could have been me. He had followed every turning of my voice, side streets, avenues, red lights, train crossings and all. It gave me a chill. (Nineteen Fifty-Five.30)
Traynor may not understand exactly the emotions or experiences that Gracie Mae put into her famous song, but he's done a good job imitating her delivery of it. The two could not be more different: Gracie Mae is a large, older Black woman, while Traynor is a young white man. But in the sharing of a song, the two become closely identified with each other.
Quote #2
She had never had a lover; he would be her first. Afterwards, she would be truly a woman of her time. (Lover.15)
The narrator of "The Lover" is a vibrant, beautiful young Black artist. But those descriptors for her aren't sufficient: she wants to be a part of the times, liberated in her sexuality. There's nothing particularly wrong with her marriage or her life, and she's not fighting back against any specific oppression. She just wants her life to be an adventure, with lots of possibilities unfolding before her.
Quote #3
The wife has never considered herself a feminist—though she is, of course, a "womanist." (Coming Apart.44)
Walker is careful to make a distinction between feminism and womanism in this story—as she is in real life. "Womanism" is a term that Walker coined in her book In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose. There's a feminist aspect to womanism, but it's not the whole story. You can check out this page for a good description of womanism.
Anyway, it makes sense that the wife in Walker's "fable" is confused when her husband accuses her of joining the ranks of white feminists for a good ol' bra-burning session. That is just not her thing.