SPOILER!
PLEASE DON'T READ UNTIL YOU'VE READ 'TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD'.
Something else I wrote for school. The assignment was - 'Write a letter from the main character's mother criticising her child's actions and offering ill-wanted advice.' I felt that because Scout's mum died when she was two, she wasn't really in any position to tell her off.
I made up Scout's mum's name - Guinevere because of King Arthur, and Jean because of Jean-Louise.
Enjoy :)
Scout,
You won't have any recollection of me, I left when you were only two. I have finally gained permission to write to you; until recently, all I could do was watch you from here, and no contact for seven stifling years was…painful, to say the least. I miss you, your father and your brother so much, but, I am happy here.
This is, obviously, your mother, Guinevere Jean Finch.
Firstly, Scout, I feel the need to discuss the matter of my passing. If I managed to grasp one wish, it would be to rewind time, and stay with you, until you grew up. Not that it was ever my wish to ever leave you, but we cannot control fate.
I'm sorry you and Jem were raised without a mother; I'll never be more remorseful. I know the lack of a mother figure has affected your upbringing, and some obstacles would have been avoided if I was present. Atticus is a wonderful father, but he isn't a mother.
On the day when you were first mocked for your father's righteousness, I wanted nothing more than for you to be able to confide in me, so that, in the midst of your confusion, I could give you that slight nudge towards the right path, the moral one. I didn't want for you to have to find it on your own. Copious amounts of angst would have been spared. But, your intellect and understanding steered you in the right direction, as well as your father's subtle guidance, for which I am glad.
There is another point I have been waiting to address. It's a known fact that you're different from the other girls. When girls avoided 'boy germs' as if they were contagious, you felt no shame in interacting with a child of the opposite sex; we both know that your communications with them were not very kind. I don't mind you not being repulsed by boys, but I couldn't side with you as you physically assaulted them. I believe that if I was there, I'd have steered you away from those habits sooner than your father, but, I wasn't.
My attention has also been called towards your etiquette, or lack thereof. You used to backchat; treat others as if they are inferior to you. No-one can deny, Scout, your intelligence, but it does not place you in a higher ranking than others. I've also found that you're inclined to blurting out whatever's plaguing you, not thinking before speaking. I would advise you to work on that. I would have done so before, if I had been there, I suppose.
I remember watching when you first met Dill. A kind young boy, he sparked your curiosity in Arthur Radley. Yourself, Jem and Dill began to act out little improvised scenes? I admired your creativity, but I did not think so fondly of you when you delved into other's private matters (but I can't really blame you, with Miss Stephanie present, it was impossible to find someone bare of a cruel back-story). But I was incapable of correcting your ways from here. So I had to sit back and patiently wait for your father to do so. Which he did, all in good time…
Your father is one of the best. Kind, loving, caring…though he lacks one quality. Restriction. By that, I mean he didn't really draw out any boundaries for yourself and Jem. Freedom is a rare and priceless gift, and like anything that is so, it needs to be used wisely; it is not to be given to children to run wildly with it. I understand Atticus' motives when he entitled you to all this gold, he simply wished for you to be free, but I know that your upbringing would have better fared if that freedom was balanced out with some rules, as well. Just so you wouldn't have needed to scrabble in the dust for your answers, while tripping over brittle stones of confusion. Alas, there were very few rules, but you have grown to be the woman and man I pictured you to be, and I am bursting at the seams with pride.
Scout, though it may seem this letter is woven with regret, it is quite the opposite. I am simply giving you my opinion on your events in life, as I have not been able to mentor you as I wished to. I love you, Jem and Atticus irrevocably and I'm sorry that I wasn't present in times of need. I'm ecstatic that I'm able to contact you, however, this letter is like a postcard, I'm sending you a one-way letter, except, I won't be coming back from this holiday. You will join me one day. Until then,
Send Atticus and Jem my love,
Guinevere.
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