When Scout and Jem arrive home from
Calpurnia's church at the end of Ch. 12, they find Aunt Alexandra sitting in a rocking
chair on the porch. They ask her if she's come for a visit, but her reply
is much more discouraging (at least for Scout).
readability="6">
"Well, your father and I decided it was time I
came to stay with you for a
while."
readability="6">
"For a while" in Maycomb meant anything from
three days to thirty years. Jem and I exchanged
glances.
So
obviously, neither Finch child is really looking forward to having their aunt stay for
any length of time. Then she reveals her true
purpose:
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"Jem's growing up now and you are too," she said
to me. "We decided that it would be best for you to have some feminine influence. It
won't be many years, Jean Louise, before you become interested in clothes and
boys--"
So, it seems that
Atticus and Aunt Alexandra have decided that Scout needs "feminine
influence". That is, she's going to teach Scout how to be a
girl, in Aunt Alexandra's definition of the term. Knowing Aunt
Alexandra's personality, it's more likely that she decided Scout needed a woman's
guidance, & Atticus couldn't say no. The fact that Alexandra doesn't consider
Calpurnia a suitable female role model for Scout also reveals much about her character.
With Alexandra's emphasis on status and family history, she has no faith in Calpurnia,
because she's black and in the position of a servant in the Finch household. Although
all the Finches (Atticus included) consider Calpurnia as a second mother to Jem and
Scout, Aunt Alexandra simply cannot accept this. So, she makes herself a place in their
lives, for better or worse.
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