Miss Maudie quotes highlight the themes of wisdom and optimism.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch’s neighbor, Miss Maudie Atkinson, is known for her wise words and sage advice.
In this blog post, we will analyze some of Miss Maudie’s most famous quotes to see what lessons we can learn from her.
To Kill A Mockingbird Quotes With Page Numbers
Miss Maudie Quotes With Page Numbers
“Our tacit treaty with Miss Maudie was that we could play on her lawn, eat her scuppernongs if we didn’t jump on the arbor, and explore her vast back lot, terms so generous we seldom spoke to her, so careful were we to preserve the delicate balance of our relationship, but Jem and Dill drove me closer to her with their behavior.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 5, Page 47
“Miss Maudie hated her house: time spent indoors was time wasted…She loved everything that grew in God’s earth, even the weeds.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, about Miss Maudie (Character: Scout Finch as the narrator), Chapter 5, Page 47
“She was a widow, a chameleon lady, who work 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 magisterial beauty.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 5, Page 47
“Her speech was crisp for a Maycomb County inhabitant. She called us by all our names, and when she grinned she revealed two minute gold prongs clipped to her eyeteeth. When I admired them and hoped I would have some eventually, she said, “Look here.” With a click of her tongue she thrust out her bridgework, a gesture of cordiality that cemented our friendship.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 5, Page 47
“Every time she baked she made a big cake and three little ones, and she would call across the street: “Jem Finch, Scout Finch, Charles Baker Harris, come here!” Our promptness was always rewarded.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 5, Page 47
“We saw Uncle Jack every Christmas, and every Christmas he yelled across the street for Miss Maudie to come marry him. Miss Maude would yell back, “Call a little louder, Jack Finch, and they’ll hear you the post office, I haven’t heard you yet!” Jem and I thought this a strange way to ask for a lady’s hand in marriage, but then again Uncle Jack was rather strange.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 5, Pages 48, 49
“Miss Maudie settled her bridgework. “You know old Mr. Radley was a foot-washing Baptist—” “That’s what you are, ain’t it?” “My shell’s not that hard, child. I’m just a Baptist.” “Don’t you all believe in foot-washing?” “We do. At home in the bathtub.” “But we can’t have communion with you all—”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 5, Page 49
“Foot-washers believe anything that’s pleasure is a sin. Did you know some of ‘em came out of the woods one Saturday and passed by this place and told me me and my flowers were going to hell?”
“Your flowers, too?”
“Yes ma’am. They’d burn right with me. They thought I spent too much time in God’s outdoors and not enough time inside the house reading the Bible.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 5, Page 49
“He said he was trying to get Miss Maudie’s goat, that he had been trying unsuccessfully for forty years, that he was the last person in the world that Miss Maudie would think about marrying but the first person she thought about teasing.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, about Miss Maudie (Character: Scout Finch), Chapter 5, Page 49
“Jem and I had considerable faith in Miss Maudie. She had never told on us, had never played cat-and-mouse with us, she was not at all interested in our private lives. She was our friend.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, about Miss Maudie (Character: Scout Finch), Chapter 5, Page 50
““You are too young to understand it,” she said, “but sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whiskey bottle in the hand of—oh, of your father.”… There are just some kind of men who – who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 5, Page 50
“What I meant was, if Atticus Finch drank until he was drunk he wouldn’t be as hard as some men are at their best. There are just some kind of men who-who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 5, Page 50
“There are just some kind of men who – who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 5, Page 50
“Stephanie Crawford even told me she woke up in the middle of the night and found him looking in the window at her. I said what did you do, Stephanie, move over in the bed and make room for him? That shut her up a while.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 5, Page 51
“No, child,” she said, “that is a sad house. I remember Arthur Radley when he was a boy. He always spoke nicely to me, no matter what folks said he did. Spoke as nicely as he knew how.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 5, Page 51
“Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 5, Page 51
“We eased in beside Miss Maudie, who looked around. “Where were you all, didn’t you hear the commotion?”
“What happened?” asked Jem.
“Mr. Radley shot at a N**** in his collard patch.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character: Miss Maudie and Jem Finch), Chapter 6, Page 61
“Atticus strolled over to Miss Maudie’s sidewalk, where they engaged in an arm-waving conversation, the only phrase of which I caught was “…erected an absolute morphodite in that yard! Atticus, you’ll never raise ’em!”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, about Atticus (Character:Scout Finch as the narrator and Miss Maudie), Chapter 8, Page 77
“I saw Atticus carrying Miss Maudie’s heavy oak rocking chair, and thought it sensible of him to save what she valued most.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, about Miss Maudie (Character:Scout Finch as the narrator), Chapter 8, Page 78
“Always wanted a smaller house, Jem Finch. Gives me more yard. Just think, I’ll have more room for my azaleas now!”
“You ain’t grievin’, Miss Maudie?” I asked, surprised. Atticus said her house was nearly all she had.
“Grieving, child? Why, I hated that old cow barn. Thought of settin’ fire to it a hundred times myself, except they’d lock me up.”
“…Don’t you worry about me, Jean Louise Finch. There are ways of doing things you don’t know about. Why, I’ll build me a little house and take me a couple of roomers and – gracious, I’ll have the finest yard in Alabama. Those Bellingraths’ll look plain puny when I get started.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character:Miss Maudie and Scout Finch), Chapter 8, Page 82
“Miss Maudie puzzled me. With most of her possessions gone and her beloved yard a shambles, she still took a lively and cordial interest in Jem’s and my affairs.
“Only thing I worried about last night was all the danger and commotion it caused. This whole neighborhood could have gone up.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character:Miss Maudie and Scout Finch as the narrator), Chapter 8, Page 83
“I asked Miss Maudie about it. “Your father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corn cribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 10, Page 103
“You’re lucky, you know. You and Jem have the benefit of your father’s age. If your father was thirty you’d find life quite different.”
“I sure would. Atticus can’t do anything…”
“You’d be surprised,” said Miss Maudie. “There’s life in him yet.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, about Atticus Finch (Character: Miss Maudie and Scout Finch), Chapter 10, Page 104
“If your father’s anything, he’s civilized in his heart. Marksmanship’s a gift of God, a talent – oh, you have to practice to make it perfect, but shootin’s different from playing the piano or the like. I think maybe he put his gun down when he realized that God had given him an unfair advantage over most living things. I guess he decided he wouldn’t shoot till he had to, and he had to today.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, about Atticus Finch (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 10, Page 112
“People in their right minds never take pride in their talents.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 10, Page 112
“Aren’t you goin’ down to watch?” asked Dill.
“I am not. ‘t’s morbid, watching a poor devil on trial for his life. Look at all those folks, it’s like a Roman carnival.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Characters: Dill Harris and Miss Maudie), Chapter 16, Page 181
“Don’t fret, Jem. Things are never as bad as they seem.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Characters: Miss Maudie), Chapter 22, Page 245
“There are some men in this world who are born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father’s one of them.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 22, Pages 245-46
“We’re the safest folks in the world,” said Miss Maudie. “We’re so rarely called on to be Christians, but when we are, we’ve got men like Atticus to go for us.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, about Atticus Finch (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 22, Pages 246
“Did it ever strike you that Judge Taylor naming Atticus to defend that boy was no accident? That Judge Taylor might have had his reasons for naming him?”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, about Atticus Finch (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 22, Pages 246
“I waited and waited to see you all come down the sidewalk, and as I waited I thought, Atticus Finch won’t win, he can’t win, but he’s the only man in these parts who can keep a jury out so long in a case like that.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, about Atticus Finch (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 22, Pages 246
“For one thing, Miss Maudie can’t serve on a jury because she’s a woman – ”
“You mean women in Alabama can’t?” I was indignant.
“I do. I guess it’s to protect our frail ladies from sordid cases like Tom’s. Besides, I doubt if we’d ever get a complete case tried – the ladies be interrupting to ask questions.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Characters: Atticus Finch and Scout Finch), Chapter 23, Pages 252
“Miss Maudie’s gold bridgework twinkled. “You’re mighty dressed up, Miss Jean Louise,” she said, “Where are your britches today?”
“Under my dress.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Characters: Miss Maudie and Scout Finch), Chapter 24, Pages 262
“His food doesn’t stick going down, does it?”
Miss Maudie said it. Two tight lines had appeared at the corners of her mouth. She had been sitting silently beside me, her coffee cup balanced on one knee. I had lost the thread of conversation long ago, when they quit talking about Tom Robinson’s wife, and had contented myself with thinking of Finch’s Landing and the river. Aunt Alexandra had got it backwards: the business part of the meeting was blood-curdling, the social hour was dreary.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Characters: Miss Maudie and Scout Finch), Chapter 24, Pages 266
“We’re paying the highest tribute you can pay a man. We trust him to do right. It’s that simple.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character: Miss Maudie), Chapter 24, Page 269
What did Miss Maudie say about the fire?
“Grieving, child? Why, I hated that old cow barn. Thought of settin’ fire to it a hundred times myself, except they’d lock me up.”
“…Don’t you worry about me, Jean Louise Finch. There are ways of doing things you don’t know about. Why, I’ll build me a little house and take me a couple of roomers and – gracious, I’ll have the finest yard in Alabama. Those Bellingraths’ll look plain puny when I get started.”
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Character:Miss Maudie and Scout Finch), Chapter 8, Page 82
Miss Maudie Character Traits
Miss Maudie Atkinson is an influential and wise character in Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Her perceptions and beliefs subtly guide and shape the perspectives of the young characters.
Miss Maudie is a generous and caring widow who loves spending time outdoors and cherishes every living thing, even the weeds.
She invited neighborhood children to play on her lawn, eat her scuppernongs, and explore her vast backyard, imposing only gentle conditions to preserve the delicate balance of relations.
However, she disliked staying indoors, believing it was wasted time, reflecting her profound love for nature and outdoor activities.
Outside her gardening hours, she would bathe at five o’clock and coveralls, then appear on her porch in majestic beauty, her presence reigning over the street. This transformation showcased her intriguing, chameleon-like personality.
One of Miss Maudie’s quotes from Chapter 5 showcases her discerning understanding of human behavior. She states, “There are just some kind of men who—who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.” (Chapter 5 Page 50)
Through this statement, she discloses her perspective on individuals disregarding the importance of living a fulfilling life today, trapped by the anxiety of what might come in the afterlife.
The quote emphasizes her disapproval of such an approach to life and how its effects can be visibly seen in society.
Likewise, in Chapter 10, another characteristic dialogue of Miss Atkinson regarding the symbolic mockingbird is framed. The quote unfolds as, “Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (Chapter 10, Page 103)
When questioned by Scout about the phrase, she clarifies, “Your father’s right. Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corn cribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Chapter 10, Page 103)
These words highlight Miss Maudie’s simple yet elegant interpretation of life, explaining why harming creatures that only offer joy and bring no harm is unjust.
This quote also underscores the pivotal theme of the book, i.e., the innocence of individuals (represented by the Mockingbird) who are undeservingly harmed by society’s prejudices.
Miss Maudie’s reaction to the burning of her house reveals her unique and optimistic personality.
While any typical person would be grief-stricken losing their home, Miss Maudie’s response is quite the opposite, stating, “Grieving, child? Why, I hated that old cow barn.” (Chapter 8, Page 82)
This showcases her resilience and ability to find a silver lining, even in the gravest of situations – she sees the incident as an opportunity rather than a loss.
She expresses, “Just think, I’ll have more room for my azaleas now!” and insists that she’d “…build me a little house and take me a couple of roomers and—gracious, I’ll have the finest yard in Alabama. Those Bellingraths’ll look plain puny when I get started.”
Instead of surrendering to sorrow, she uses this incident to motivate her to create something better, highlighting her forward-looking approach and adaptability.
These quotes offer a comprehensive sketch of Maudie Atkinson’s character: a wise, thoughtful, and impactful figure through her enlightened understanding of life and society in “To Kill a Mockingbird.”