‘Explore how Harper Lee describes the character of Miss Maudie’

The first time Harper Lee introduces Miss Maudie to the reader, Scout says that she spent the rest of her remaining twilights with her. This at once shows us that Miss Maudie isn’t like most adults in the book, who treat Scout like a child, because she is one whom Scout likes to be with and talk to. ‘I spent most of the remaining twilights that summer sitting with Miss Maudie.’ This shows us that Scout, who is quite an adventures child, is very comfortable with Miss Maudie, and Miss Maudie instead of treating Scout like a child treats her more like a friend. She is given off as an auntie figure to the children and it is shown within the book that she is very fond of them as they are of her.
Harper Lee shows through a metaphor that Miss Maudie is very adaptable to her surroundings. ‘A chameleon lady who worked in her flower beds in an old straw hat and men’s coveralls, but after her five o’clock bath she would appear on the porch and reign over the street in her magisterial beauty.’ The word ‘magisterial’ Harper Lee uses to describe Miss Maudie once changed from her worker appearance to her more feminine appearance makes me think of how royal she would have looked and how the sudden change would appear to everyone else within the town who saw her.
Miss Maudie takes pride in the appearance of her garden as well and it seems to me that because she has no children she treats her plants like children by devoting all her time and effort to them. The way Harper Lee describes her being an outdoors person, ‘Miss Maudie hated her house: time spent indoors was time spent wasted’ this shows Miss Maudie is a very proper person whom instead of complaining about he house she would just prefer to not spend time in it and would rather be outside in the garden that she loves.
She is a very good natured person