Why do you think Sylvan and Claudie become friends? How are they alike?

I am not sure if I would call them real friends. I think they were both outcasts that gravitated toward each other and had each other to talk to, and even confide in, to a certain degree. They are alike because they were both tolerated by the town for different reasons, yet not entirely accepted by the town. They were both aloof for their own reasons and not trusting of anyone.

I think they were brought together by being different and not being accepted by the town. I am not sure they were real friends but they did seem to trust and to some degree care for each other

I think these two characters were loners by nature and had no one to reach out to. They needed each other. Sylvan liker her fancy dresses, and Claudie like to make them.

They reminded me of the characters of Minnie and the woman who became her boss, whose name I can't remember right now, in The Help. They were both outcasts and rebels who found a common cause.

I don't think they were "friends" in the true sense of the word. I think they were more like kindred spirits--kindred spirits because they were "outsiders." Furthermore, they could fulfill a need for one another--Sylvan needed movie style dresses while Claudie was the seamstress who could provide them. Maybe not friends but memorable nevertheless. Memorable as seen in the touching cemetery scene with Sam, Claudie, and Claudie's daughter. Well worth rereading.

Most of us had the same thoughts about this question. Two loners or outcasts becoming friends.

I think that they also had secrets in common. Claudie's secrets were her personal life - the reality of her daughter - the mystery of her daughter's father - and her uniqueness within the community. Sylvan's secrets were of her upbringing - her affair with Charlie - her secret house and property ownership - and the domestic violence she suffered at Boaty's hands. The two women were safe harbors for each other because they protected each others' secrets.

Sylvan never had to pretend with Claudie especially since they both had secrets in their lives that many would not understand. I really liked them both and liked the special understanding they came to have for each other.

I don't believe they became friends. I think they were lost souls who used each other for companionship - but there was no real friendship.

I agree with Vivian H...both Sylvan and Claudie were outsiders who escaped their day to day existence through the beauty of the clothes they created...and they used each other to facilitate the escape. Yet their protective shells won out in the end. Sylvan liked creating a stir, and Claudie helped her to do that...and vice versa.

They were both strong women living in a world that they couldn't control like they wanted. They were comfortable with each other and could each be themselves.

Sylva and Claudie were both outcasts that really didn't care what other people thought of them.

Not friends, just two people united because they were both outcasts.