On the day that Scout goes to church with Calpurnia, she learns many things. She talks to Calpurnia in a way that she had not before. She asks Calpurnia questions about her personal life.
Scout asks Calpurnia how she learned to read. Calpurnia tells Scout that Miss Maudie's aunt, Miss Buford, taught her. Miss Buford and Calpurnia had lived by Finch's Landing. Scout is shocked to hear this. Miss Maudie is quite old, which means her aunt had been born many years before even her. Scout questions Calpurnia about her age. Calpurnia gives her the story:
"I'm older than Mr. Finch, even." Calpurnia grinned. "Not sure how much, though. We started rememberin' one time, trying to figure out how old I was—I can remember back just a few years more'n he can, so I'm not much older, when you take off the fact that men can't remember as well as women" (Chapter 12).
This surprises Scout because she thinks her father is very old. She points out to Calpurnia that she looks very young despite being older than Atticus. Calpurnia explains why she thinks this is.
"Colored folks don't show their ages so fast," she said.
The story is told solely from Scout's point of view. As a child, Scout does not always see the bigger picture. She has an idea in her mind about Calpurnia. She may see her as ageless, while she views her father as being older. Scout thinks that because Calpurnia looks young that she is young. She only experiences Calpurnia in her own home. She rarely considers Calpurnia's life outside of the Finch home. She does not think about Calpurnia having an adult son or growing up with Atticus.
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