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Mary Fesak
Professor Richards
ENGL 385.01
September 13, 2013
The Chameleon Lady: Miss Maudie Atkinson and Gender Norms in Harper Lee’s To Kill a
Mockingbird
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Miss Maudie Atkinson blurs gender lines within
the confines of southern society, allowing her to maintain her independence and personal
integrity without losing her respectability. Scout describes Maudie as “a chameleon lady” (56)
who wears “an old straw hat and men’s coveralls” (56) to work in her garden during the daytime.
In the evening, though, Maudie “would appear on the porch and reign over the street in
magisterial beauty” (56). Maudie recognizes that her southern neighbors do not condone either
cross-dressing or an upper-class woman doing manual labor. She maintains her passion for
gardening while upholding her reputation as a respectable southern woman by only laboring in
the daytime. In the evening, she returns to the social gender norms by dressing nicely and sitting
on her front porch, evoking the image of a traditional southern aristocratic woman surveying her
husband’s plantation. However, Maudie is a widow and takes ownership of her house and yard, a
man’s domain.
Likewise, Maudie contradicts gender stereotypes through her lack of hysterics when her
house burns down. Her initial reaction is to stare “at the smoking black hole in her yard” (95)
instead of crying, praying, or fainting, responses expected from a woman. The following day, she
explains that she views the destruction of her house as a positive event, stating, I “always wanted
a smaller house […] gives me more yard” (97). She defies the social norms dictating that a
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proper southern woman should be weak in the face of such disasters. Instead, she exclaims, “I
hated that old cow barn. Thought of settin’ fire to it a hundred times myself, except they’d lock
me up” (97). Maudie dislikes her oversized house because it represents the bovine domesticity of
the housebound southern lady. The destruction of her house allows her to expand her garden,
furthering her erasure of the domestic. However, Maudie expresses her happiness at her house
burning within the confines of social standards. She realizes that she cannot burn or destroy the
house herself, even though the structure does not fulfill her dreams for her property. A woman
would be institutionalized or socially condemned for making such a drastic change to her
property, whereas social standards permit a man to modify his house however it suits him.
Although Maudie willingly participates in female society, she retains masculine attributes
such as her unwillingness to engage in gossip. When Scout’s Aunt Alexandra hosts a social event
for the town ladies, Maudie participates in the gathering. She refrains from making derogatory
comments about Scout when Miss Stephanie makes fun of Scout by saying, “I thought you
wanted to be a lawyer, you’ve already commenced going to court” (308). Instead, Maudie’s
“hand closed tightly on mine [Scout’s]” (308), reflecting Maudie’s support of Scout’s parallel
desire to be both a tomboy and a lady. Several of the ladies begin a racist conversation deriding
Atticus’ attempts at defending an innocent black man in a rape case against a white woman.
Maudie abruptly ends the conversation by saying, “His food doesn’t stick going down, does it?”
(312), a reference to Atticus’ uprightness. While Maudie retains her socially acceptable status by
being a member of the women’s circles, she refuses to debase her personal values by agreeing
with the other women. Like a chameleon, Maudie carefully changes the degrees to which she
defies gender norms without losing either her integrity or her social standing.