Jean Louis "Scout" Finch is growing up as what used to be called a "tomboy," a female who enjoyed activities and a physical appearance more commonly associated with males, such as in her choice of clothing and hair style. Harper Lee's young narrator in To Kill a Mockingbird, however, is growing up under the tutelage of her widowed father, Atticus, a dedicated attorney and father struggling to raise his two children with liberal values in the American South of the 1930s. Atticus's sister, Alexandra, however, fundamentally disagrees with the latitude her brother affords his daughter with respect to those very activities and styles. Aunt Alexandra believes that Scout is growing up without the values necessary to ensure that she grows up to be a "lady." In Chapter 9, Scout focuses on the issue of her perpetual conflict with her aunt, whose efforts at feminizing the young girl reveal a fanaticism guaranteed to anger the equally-forceful niece:
"Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. 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 deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born . . ."
Aunt Alexandra's commitment to Scout's "proper" upbringing is a recurring theme in To Kill a Mockingbird, as is evident in the passage in Chapter 24 in which Scout describes her aunt's social gathering in the Finch home or, more precisely, the assemblage of Alexandra's "missionary circle." Alexandra unfailingly exploits the opportunity to attempt again to instill in Scout the meaning of being a "lady," as when she corrals the young girl and insists that Scout remain in the room among the adult women:
"Aunt Alexandra smiled brilliantly. 'Stay with us, Jean Louise,' she said. This was a part of her campaign to teach me to be a lady."
Scout then proceeds to provide a physical description of the gathered women, noting that "the ladies" wore "fragile pastel prints" and that "some of the younger ladies wore Rose." Scout is very much out of her element among these women, and her discomfort is palpable. She has no interest in acting in the manner prescribed by her intrusive aunt, preferring to wear jeans instead of a dress.
What Scout learns from her exposure to this gathering of proper ladies is that "proper" may be only a facade behind which lies the very prejudices and narrow-mindedness that Scout has been taught by her father to reject. As the women discuss the trial of Tom Robinson and gossip about others, Scout begins to realize just how superficial are these proper society ladies. The presence of Miss Maudie Atkinson is instrumental in revealing the extent of these women's hypocrisy, and the ugliness within some of these women helps Scout to reaffirm her commitment to the life she has led. As Lee's young, precocious narrator concludes:
"There was no doubt about it, I must soon enter this world, where on its surface fragrant ladies rocked slowly, fanned gently, and drank cool water. But I was more at home in my father’s world. People like Mr. Heck Tate did not trap you with innocent questions to make fun of you; even Jem was not highly critical unless you said something stupid."
The venality beneath the proper exterior of some of these women is revelatory to Scout. As the social circle continues its infantile gossiping and misinformed judgmentalism, Scout becomes increasingly convinced that her way is the right way.
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