Mrs Dubosee In To Kill A Mockingbird

The True Definition of Southern Lady
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, published in 1960, takes readers through the challenging life of the main character Scout. Throughout the story, Scout grows in age as well as maturity. She learns more about the society of her town Maycomb, Alabama and discovers that life is more complex than one might think. As she ages, she is slowly being pressed upon to conform to the southern culture of becoming a young lady. Hence, Scout’s growth enables her to recognise this, and realize the fact that the adults around her, as well as her family, expect her to grow into this well-mannered and respectable young woman. The pressure that Scout is getting from all angles of her life show that family and surrounding
Mrs. Dubose, one of the Finch’s neighbor’s, tells Scout that her overalls are not becoming of a girl her age. As Jem and Scout walk down the street “Mrs. Dubose bawled. ‘And you—’ she pointed an arthritic finger at me—‘what are you doing in those overalls? You should be in a dress and camisole, young lady! You’ll grow up waiting on tables if somebody doesn’t change your ways’ ” (135). Mrs. Dubose is not only rude in this scene, but she hints to Scout something that can go deeper than the surface. She tells Scout not only does she disapprove of her attire, but if it does not change then Scout will be waiting tables all her life. This is more than Scout possibly becoming a cafe waitress though. Women are stereotypically supposed to look a certain way and Ms. Dubose harshly points out that if Scout does not look this way then she will not get very far in life, even if she is a respectable person. This reflects on women's roles in society, but also how they are seen. It is obvious that Scout does not care about how she dresses, but it is a more important inquiry to say that Scout would go against the societal ways, inadvertently, by simply being
Scout observes the whole scene when Atticus gets home that afternoon. Calpurnia goes with Atticus to tell Tom’s wife the news while Aunt Alexandra is in shock. She is mad because she feels that the case has torn Atticus apart. Miss Maudie comes into the kitchen and leads Scout and Alexandra back out to Alexandra's company still in the living room. Alexandra composes herself to act in her usual polite manner. This makes Scout think about how “... if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I” (318). This an example of Scout understanding what it truly means to be a lady. Scout realizes that part of being a lady is to compose yourself even when times are hard and persevere through hard situations. This is not Scout changing who she is, but her growing into a person that acts like a kind, respectable, young woman who is strong enough to go through these hard situations. This causes Scout to realize that an important part about being a lady is knowing how to control yourself and get through life in the harsh