TKAM Chapter 13

  Aunt Alexandra came because Atticus asked her to. Jem and Scout are growing up and Scout apparently needs a female influence in her life, even though Calpurnia is female. Aunty's husband, Uncle Jimmy didn't even come, Jem and Scout aren't too fond of Aunty. Isn't their family just SO close? Maycomb welcomed her, Miss Maudie baked a Lane cake, Miss Stephanie Crawford gossips with her, and Nathan Radley came to the front yard and said it was good to see her. Scout doesn't understand Aunty's preoccupation with heredity, she says things such as Sam Merriweather's suicide was caused by a morbid streak in the family, a 16 year old girl giggling in the choir would show all Penfield women are flighty. According to Aunty, everyone had a streak of some kind: drinking, gambling, mean, funny. Scout goes on to narrate more about the history of Maycomb. Maycomb is 20 miles east of Finch's Landing, it's small and ancient. A man named Sinkfield was a part to Maycomb's beginning and growth. It was ignored during the Civil War, and after, it grew, and it was rare for new people to settle, so basically, it was a small town. For the first month of her stay, Scout and Jem didn't see her very much. On days Scout came inside for water, Aunt Alexandra would make her talk to some people, some who were relatives that Scout had no idea were her cousins. Atticus talked to Jem and Scout in their room one night to tell them to basically be more like the proud Finches that they are, and he was taking Aunty's side on how they should behave. Scout cries because she doesn't recognize Atticus, but by the end of the chapter, Atticus is 'himself' again.
  I personally don't like Aunt Alexandra very much at the moment. She goads Scout to be more ladylike, she gossips and talks trash about a lot of people, including Atticus, her own brother. The first two things she said when she saw Calpurnia, Scout, and Jem coming back from church was for Cal to take her heavy suitcase to the bedroom, and for Scout to stop scratching her head. No hi or hello, no asking them how they were, not even starting with the reason why she was there. she literally just came and starting giving commands. I have no doubt Atticus asked her over with Jem and Scout's best interests at heart, but I'm wondering a little if it was actually the best choice to do so. We may learn later in the book why her sole mission is to make Scout a proper girl, but for now, I can relate with Scout about being frustrated with Aunt Alexandra constantly trying to get Scout to be a proper girl.