Aunt Alexandra Character Analysis

Atticus’s sister. She’s married, but Scout insists that her husband isn’t worth mentioning. Aunt Alexandra is a formidable lady and is the only Finch sibling who stayed at Finch’s Landing, the family’s old plantation. Scout dislikes her, as Aunt Alexandra takes great offense to Scout’s tomboyish nature and desperately wants Scout to wear dresses and act more feminine. In the months before Tom Robinson’s trial, Aunt Alexandra inexplicably decides to move in with Atticus in order to give Scout a feminine role model, though Scout suspects that there’s more to it than this. While in Atticus’s home, Aunt Alexandra proves to be somewhat racist and very classist—she detests Calpurnia’s presence and disapproves of Atticus’s choice to defend Robinson. She makes it very clear to Scout that the Finches are a good family and that Scout shouldn’t spend time with her poorer peers. For all these faults, Aunt Alexandra does rally around Atticus and try to comfort him when he loses the trial, and she remains concerned for Scout and Jem’s safety once Mr. Ewell begins harassing Atticus, Helen Robinson, and Judge Taylor.