Quote:
Originally Posted by astrangerhere
I agree about the divide. However, I didn't think that Mrs. Bently was treated differently because she was a woman. I think the disparity is in the fact that it was little girls who were the source of her misery. The little girls were patently awful. They didn't believe in old age and were only interested in being given things. I found this an interesting contrast with the boy's innocently portrayed desire for new shoes at the beginning of the book.
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That could get back to the gender divide, as Doug
earned his new sneakers, kind of. But I think it's mostly age-related, as Dazrin pointed out upthread.
And for what it's worth, the horrible little girls were the agent for Mrs. Bentley's epiphany. After a lifetime of living for her stuff, she was happier having jettisoned it all and sitting on the porch eating ice cream.