The Hundred Dresses

In Chapter 5, the reader is invited to share the class’s shock and delight at Wanda’s wonderful display of drawings via a double-page spread depicting a classroom wall lined with dozens of colorful, detailed dresses. Wanda’s artistic talents are emphasized and celebrated, reinforcing The Power of Imagination as a form of self-expression.

Maddie is further characterized as a sympathetic person with a strong sense of right and wrong. Despite her decision to remain silent in the face of Wanda’s bullying, the reader’s sympathy is evoked by Maddie’s obvious regret at her inaction. Her despondent and miserable expression in Chapter 6’s illustration further emphasizes her distress at her inaction. She understands that “she had stood by silently, and that was just as bad as what Peggy had done” (49). Maddie even imagines rescuing Wanda from bullies—“Maddie would cry out, ‘Stop! This girl is just a girl like you are!’ And then everyone would feel ashamed the way she had felt ashamed”—and outlandish situations—“sometimes she rescued Wanda from a sinking ship or from the hooves of a runaway horse”—in order to cope (68). This guilt is compounded by Wanda’s choice to respond to her bullies’ cruelty with an act of thoughtful kindness, drawing them in beautiful dresses; this makes Maddie feel even more guilty for being a bystander to others’ bullying of Wanda. Her remorse prompts her to resolve that “she was never going to stand by and say nothing again” (63). She learns an important lesson about The Importance of Respect and Kindness, that everyone deserves to be treated well regardless of perceived or real differences.

Peggy also feels guilt over Wanda’s departure, though less so than Maddie; this characterizes Peggy as a less principled and sympathetic character. At first, she attempts to justify her bullying to herself and Maddie: “I never thought she had the sense to know we were making fun of her anyway. I thought she was too dumb. And gee, look how she can draw! I thought I could draw” (52). Maddie believes Wanda inherently deserves respect as a person, whereas Peggy is more motivated to respect Wanda when she discovers her artistic talent. Peggy even suggests that her bullying may have been a positive for Wanda: “[W]hen I was asking her about all of her dresses she probably was getting good ideas for her drawings. She might not even have won the contest otherwise” (62). She is characterized as immature through her refusal to internalize Wanda’s lesson on The Importance of Respect and Kindness to the same degree that Maddie has. Peggy is a somewhat static character who tries to bury her guilt whereas Maddie is a dynamic character who acknowledges her part in Wanda’s suffering.

The theme of The Importance of Respect and Kindness is also explored in Wanda’s father Jan Petronski’s demands to be treated with respect; he explains that his family will not tolerate the racist remarks and small-mindedness of the town. He hopes that in the city, his family will no longer experience discrimination: “No more holler Polack. No more ask why funny name. Plenty of funny names in the big city” (47). It is implied that in the Connecticut town, the Petronskis were derisively called ‘Polack’ and discriminated against. Through Jan Petronski, Estes draws the reader’s attention to The Damaging Effects of Bullying and Discrimination: His letter to the school reveals that, as part of a minority, his family experienced constant bullying. This reveal paints the school as a microcosm of the town’s larger problem with discrimination.