Mrs. Dubose Quotes

“Son, I have no doubt that you’ve been annoyed by your contemporaries about me lawing for n*****s, as you say, but to do something like this to a sick old lady is inexcusable. I strongly advise you to go down and have a talk with Mrs. Dubose,” said Atticus. “Come straight home afterward.”

– Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11. Atticus rebukes Jem for destroying Mrs. Dubose’s flowers because he is angry at her making racist comments about Atticus defending a black man. In Atticus’s code of morality, just because Mrs. Dubose lashes out doesn’t mean Jem can lash back.

“You know, she was a great lady.”
“A lady?” Jem raised his head. His face was scarlet. “After all those things she said about you, a lady?”

– Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11. Atticus to Jem on Mrs. Dubose, who has died. Though Mrs. Dubose, a morphine addict who was able to conquer that addiction with Jem’s help, could be racist and harsh, Atticus admired her courage in braving the pains of morphine withdrawal. To Jem she was a woman who said mean things about his father defending Tom Robinson.

“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.”

– Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11. Atticus to Jem after the death of Mrs. Dubose, whom Jem had been reading aloud to for the previous month. Atticus is a good father who wants to teach his children about courage. Mrs. Dubose was addicted to painkillers but was determined to overcome her addiction before dying and Atticus made Jem read to her to distract her from her pain. This also foreshadows that Atticus will take on the Tom Robinson case, knowing he has little chance of winning and angering many townspeople.

Jem and I laughed. Miss Maudie on a jury would be impressive. I thought of old Mrs. Dubose in her wheelchair – “Stop that rapping, John Taylor, I want to ask this man something.” Perhaps our forefathers were wise.

– Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 23. Jem and Scout laugh as they picture Mrs. Dubose on a jury and barking orders at the judge, were women allowed to sit on them. Then Scout remembers how mean Mrs. Dubose was and thinks their forefathers might have been wise in excluding women.
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