Scout sure gets her stomach full of female gossip and
religious posturing during the Missionary Circle gathering in Chapter 24 of To
Kill a Mockingbird. It was a big day for Aunt Alexandra and her circle, who
"were fighting the good fight all over the house." Scout was curious about the group
and
...wondered why ladies put on their hats to go
across the street. Ladies in bunches always filled me with vague apprehension and a firm
desire to be elsewhere, but this feeling is what Aunt Alexandra called being
"spoiled."
Scout
inadvertently gave the women (all but Miss Maudie, that is) a good laugh when she
answered what seemed to be a simple question with an honest
answer.
Miss Maudie's gold bridgework twinkled. "You're mighty dressed up, Miss Jean Louise,"
she said. "Where are your britches?"
"Under my
dress."
Scout didn't seem to
be too happy when Miss Stephanie jested with her about following in her daddy's
footsteps and becoming a lawyer. Nor was she happy when Mrs. Merriweather spoke in a
condescending manner toward her. She didn't quite understand Miss Maudie's critical
remark to Mrs. Merriweather concerning her servant, Sophie, but Scout knew that
Maudie's
... brevity was icy. Something had made her
deeply angry.
Equally
mystifying to Scout was "the look of pure gratitude" that Aunt Alexandra gave Miss
Maudie.
...
and I wondered at the world of women... I was more at home in my father's
world.
However, Scout
understood Atticus clearly when he quietly announced to his sister that Tom Robinson had
been killed. She saw that Maudie and Alexandra were truly alarmed at the news, but she
admired how they quickly pretended to recover so they could return to the circle of
ladies as if nothing had happened. And they expected the same of
Scout.
"Not a sign," said Miss Maudie. "Are you
together again, Jean Louise?"
"Yes, ma'am."
... After all, if
Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I.
No comments:
Post a Comment