Sinceis
her brother, Alexandra tends to support him because he is family--and the Finch name has always
been of the utmost importance to her. If we can believe 's cousin, Francis, then we know that
Alexandra cares little for Negroes.
"Grandma
(Alexandra) says its bad enough he (Atticus) lets you all run wild, but now he's turned out to
be a nigger-lover..."
We know that Alexandra was not
happy with Atticus defending Tom, since Scout later overheard her arguing with her
father.
"She won't let him alone about Tom Robinson.
She almost said Atticus was disgracin' the family."
Alexandra refused to attend the trial, but she did seem sincerely disappointed that
Atticus had suffered defeat. Alexandra seems to have mellowed even more when she hears of Tom's
death. But it is her brother that she is most concerned about, not Tom.
"I can't say I approve of everything he does, Maudie, but
he's my brother, and I just want to know when this will ever end... It tears him to
pieces."
Alexandra never speaks much about Bob
Ewell, but since she despises the Cunningham clan, we can only assume that she must feel
likewise about the Ewells. She does warn Atticus about Bob's persistence, however.
"His kind'd do anything to pay off a grudge. You know how those
people are."
Perhaps Alexandra's most telling
opinion of Bob was one that was never uttered. In , she had a premonition.
... she stopped short in the middle of her sentence. She closed her
mouth, then opened it to say something, but no words came.
" 's matter,
Auntie?" I asked.
"Oh nothing, nothing," she said, "someone
just walked over my grave."
After the children were
attacked, Alexandra realized what her unexplained feeling had meant, and she blamed herself for
not understanding the implications of it.
As for Alexandra's hobbies, she
likes to socialize with other Maycomb women of high standing; she enjoys cooking; and she
attempts to put her mark on Atticus' children--escpecially Scout, whom she hopes to somehow make
more ladylike.
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