Response to The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

"She had grown older. Her rough and childish ways were almost gone. And instead there was something ladylike and delicate about her that was hard to point out. The earrings, the dangle of her bracelets, and the new way she crossed her legs and pulled the hem of her skirt down past her knees. He watched her and felt only a sort of gentleness" (McCullers, 357).

This quote is describing Mick Kelly from Biff's point of view toward the very end of the novel. I thought this was interesting when I read it the first time. Mick has obviously matured drastically throughout the novel. After I read this I remembered my first impressions of her-tom boy, wanderer, free-spirited, etc. Now, she works and doesn't have time for school or the "inside" room. It's almost saddening to see such a change in her character. She's actually one of my favorites. And then I started to wonder why McCullers decided to portray her this way...Was it because of the Depression forcing her to "grow up"or was this eventually going to be becoming of her anyway? I also noticed her change in mood after Singer died. Why was she so drawn to him? I like this quote most of all because it really does show how dynamic a character she turned out to be. I didn't expect her to ever be so ladylike or composed. I can't decide which aspect of her I like more. I think I would have been more pleasantly surprised if she'd found a balance in her personality. But then again, this is a southern gothic novel. There is a lot of darkness in this book. Maybe she too changed when Singer died just as Singer changed when Antonapoulos. Or maybe it was everything that she had experienced that molded her into a lady.