The Importance Of Mother Figures In To Kill A Mockingbird

Who is the most important person to you in your life? Some people might say their significant other, or their best friend, or their children. But personally, and for I believe Scout and Jem, it is their mother. Or rather, at least in their case, their lack thereof. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, we see a young girl, Scout, and her brother, Jem, try to navigate through their childhood in a small town in Alabama in the 1930s. Their father, Atticus Finch, is a talented lawyer who sparks controversy often in the town with his progressive views, but there is a significant absence in their family, that being Scout and Jem's mother, and Atticus’s wife. We learn early on in the book that their mother was a young woman of high standing who passed

However, her absence has made her the Scout that we see in the book. Instead of having a mother who was always there for them, who took care of them and loved them because she had to, we have women of the town taking on that role because the care about Jem and Scout. The mother figures in To Kill a Mockingbird are plentiful and have a massive impact on the story, especially for Scout. One main example of a maternal figure is Calpurnia. She is the African-American housekeeper and cook who has watched over Scout all her life. “ She was always ordering me out of the kitchen, asking me why I couldn't behave as well as Jem when she knew he was older, and calling me home when I wasn't ready to come. Our battles were epic and one-sided...She had been with us ever since Jem was born, and I had felt her tyrannical presence as long as I could remember” (Lee 12). This quote is how we are introduced to Calpurnia, and Scout describes her not as a mother, but more as a figure of an Antagony for the household. On several occasions she is scolding or punishing the children. In Scout’s mind, she is the disciplinary

She is prim and proper, and very opinionated. Alexandra moves in with the Finches during chapter 13, and her intentions are quite clear. “We decided that it would be best for you to have some feminine influence. It won't be for many years, Jean Louise, before you become interested in clothes and boys-” (Lee 170). She clearly believes that their side of the family isn’t turning out the way she deems appropriate, specifically due to the absence of their mother, and of course the embarrassment that Atticus is bringing on their family. So she moves in with them, something that Atticus is clearly unhappy with, and tries to force her views onto his children. She believes she is filling the position of woman of the house. She cleans and bakes and fusses about in her controlling ways. And as mentioned before, she later tries to kick out Calpurnia, who was previously the only one filing the role of mother. She seems to be especially worried about Jean Louise, also known as Scout, as she states multiple times throughout the book. “I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn’t supposed to be doing things that required pants. Aunt Alexandra’s vision of my department involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born” (Lee 106). Aunt Alexandra has very traditional and