Specific tasks such as acting and dressing a certain way would have allowed women to be "proper" ladies. An example of a woman unlike the rest of the 1930s was the brazen, Miss Maudie from To Kill A Mockingbird, she was not the typical southern lady compared to women like Aunt Alexandra. She cared more about her azaleas and keeping away nut grass than men. To defy assumed roles for women she, was independent, spoke her mind, and admonished other women's mean gossip. Throughout the novel, Scout struggles to adapt to the group of women in her town, Maycomb. The adults in Scout's life put much effort into getting Scout to act more like a "lady." However, her companions jeer at because she acts like a girl. The freedom and power in the lives of
