Women In To Kill A Mockingbird

“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim” is a statement that the female characters in To Kill a Mockingbird emulate through their actions (Ephron). This statement, written by a woman, urges other women to not stand by when difficult situations arise, but to have the strength to overcome those situations. This strength is hard to find, especially in a male-dominated world such as the setting in To Kill a Mockingbird. The setting takes place in the early 1930s. Common knowledge reveals that the further back one goes in history, the less and less rights women have. During the 1930s time period, women were seen as second best compared to men. Women were to act as “ladies” whose biggest problem was what to serve at a missionary tea. Scout sees this when she describes proper women as “bathed before noon, after their three-o’clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum” (Lee 5). However, even though women were seen this way in the story, does not mean the female characters acted similarly to this. …show more content…
Scout, at the beginning of the novel, sees the world of women as superficial and without true influence. She wants to distance herself from it. Instead, she favors the world of men where power is more easily recognized. However, examples of women with great strength appear as the novel progresses. Consequently, Scout realizes the hidden fortitude that women in her world have, specifically Calpurnia, Helen Robinson, Miss Maudie, and Aunt Alexandra. Each are faced with difficult situations in which it is easy to give up that strength and exchange it for self-pity. However, none do that and instead show Scout how to be a strong female. Scout recognizes this fortitude that she too can acquire and by the end of the novel is ready to see where her potential, as a member of the non-male gender, can take