In To Kill a Mockingbird, the physical description of Miss Maudie is largely vague and scattered throughout the book. Her description is based on her words and actions more than her features. When she gardens, she wears men's coveralls and a straw hat, and in the evenings, after her bath, she presents herself "in magisterial beauty" (41). Her bridgework, introduced on page 41, is mentioned a few times as Miss Maudie has a tendency to "settle them" when she has something to say. Her voice is described as "enough to shut anybody up" and it is noted throughout the book that she has elevated diction and clarity in her speech (44). On page 91, Miss Maudie reveals herself to be fifty years old. When Scout sets out to shoot her air rifle at Miss Atkinson's behind, Scout narrates it as being a "generous target", suggesting it to be wide (92). We also know that her shoulder "stoops" apparently due to her lineage(132). A description on page 159 tells us that she wears glasses. This concludes all discussion of her appearance. Apparently, Scout paid little attention to Miss Maudie's physicality. Perhaps it wasn't important to her. This suggests that Scout valued Miss Maudie for her conversation and time, and that it didn't matter if she was ugly or beautiful--only that she was there for Scout when she needed her.
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