‘Fold your hands.” “Cross your ankles.” “Don’t shout.” These and many other points of etiquette used to be pounded into girls from an early age. Words and phrases such as “decorum” and “proper comportment” were inescapable, but perhaps the most-used term was “ladylike.” With so much confusion around “woman” and “female” today, we’ve completely forgotten what it means to be a lady, and when we do happen to think of the word, it often connotes only outward show. Yes, there are certain actions that a lady should remember, but truly being a lady goes much deeper than mere outward appearances.
In Harper Lee’s monumental work, To Kill a Mockingbird, Jean Louise Finch (a.k.a. Scout) is raised primarily by her father, her mother having died when she was a baby. Atticus Finch is an excellent parent, but there are some things Scout must learn from the women in her life. She is often seen pushing back against these lessons, her tomboyish, seven-year-old self rebelling at the thought of dresses and soft voices. There are four women whom Scout watches closely, however, and it is through them that she comes to understand the true characteristics of a lady.
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