How does Dee's education impact her relationship with her mother and sister?

Dee's relationship with her mother and sister was questionable long before she got her education. Dee always wanted more.... to be more.... to have more. She hated their home and their way of life.... she couldn't wait to get away. When Dee returns to visit her mother and sister, she has an ulterior motive. Her true reason for visiting isn't personal. She is not a daughter returning to a mother and sister for a reunion, she is a woman who in learning the value of certain "things" has returned to retrieve them.

In answer to your question, Mama is completely justified in wanting Maggie to have her quilts. Maggie apprecites them for what they are.... a part of her family.... a legacy..... something to be used and cherished. Dee wants the quilts for show pieces.... she won;t use them. She will merely show them off for their cultural value rather than their emotional value.