Julie Murphy starts Dumplin’ with a Dolly Parton quote. Because Willowdean is such a big Dolly Parton fan, Parton plays a huge role in the novel. From the first sentence which reads: “All the best things in my life have started with a Dolly Parton song” (1), Dolly Parton songs follow Willowdean through Will’s good times and bad times. Not only does Will credit their mutual love for Dolly Parton for her friendship with Ellen, Dolly Parton is playing on the radio when Bo first kisses Willowdean. The song playing is not just a song by Parton, but it is a collaboration between Parton and Norah Jones. It’s important the song is a duet as Bo and Willowdean are first starting to work together as a couple.

At the start of the novel, Willowdean admits that to her, Ellen, and Lucy, Dolly Parton is invincible: “It wasn’t just the look of Dolly that drew us in. It was that attitude that came with knowing how ridiculous people though she looked but never changing a thing because she felt good about herself” (26). The men in Willowdean’s life—Bo and Mitch—both question Willowdean’s Dolly Parton obsession. Willowdean tries to explain why she finds Parton so inspiring: “But for Dolly, it’s not dress up or make-believe.