"Of course some afternoons when I would run inside for a drink of water, I would find the living room overrun with Maycomb ladies, sipping, whispering, fanning, and I would be called." (Lee 176)
Scout is referring to Aunt Alexandra's missionary circles that she regularly holds throughout the week. Southern ladies traditionally met in each other's houses to socialize over tea and cakes. "Southern Bells," is a term used to describe upper-class Southern females. It was a Southern tradition for ladies to meet with neighbors and discuss various events throughout the Antebellum Period into the early 20th century. Aunt Alexandra personifies the quintessential "Southern Bell," by her well-mannered, socially conscious attitude. Aunt Alexandra attempts to include Scout in her missionary circles to teach her how to become a proper "Southern Bell."
"Today was Sunday, and Aunt Alexandra was positively irritable on the Lord's Day. I guess it was her Sunday corset. She was not fat, but solid, and she chose protective garments that drew up her bosom to giddy heights, pinched in her waist, flared out in her rear, and managed to suggest that Aunt Alexandra's was once an hour-glass figure." (Lee 171)
Scout is describing Aunt Alexandra's typical Sunday outfit. Wearing a corset with a blooming dress was the traditional garment "Southern Bells" would wear in the late 19th and early 20th century. Scout's comment also describes the tradition of wearing one's nicest outfit to church on Sundays. Church was a social gathering that most upper-class women would attend in the South. "Southern Bells" took pride in their appearance, especially when attending church.
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