“It is not very good. Her hair and her smile were her chief beauties, and they aren’t shown at all. She was much slimmer than that, too. There were never any fat women in the family, thank God.”
Harry makes this statement as he looks at the portrait of his late sister Amy. She died while she was a young girl and her beauty was spectacular. He reflects how marvelous she looked and remembers that her hair and smile were her chief beauties. Although in the picture she seems to be a little fat, he disagrees that in her lineage, there is no fat woman. Slimness is a symbol of beauty. According to Harry, there is no way her sister could have been fat and be that beautiful.
“My sentiments of chivalry are not dead in my bosom; but neither is my common sense, to say nothing of charity to our faithful dumb friends. And the greatest of this is charity.”
There is a suggestion that great-uncle John Jacob should not deny Keziah an opportunity to ride on the horses. According to him, he is worried about the backs of the horses because his wife is becoming fat and too heavy. He suggests that for the time being she needs not to ride them until her weight comes down. It is argued that such a comment on women is not good especially when it is meant to analyze beauty. Based on Harry’s sentiments, beauty is defined by the slimness of a woman. He says that in the family lineage there is no fat woman. Therefore, when John Jacob uses body volume to deny his wife a chance of riding horses, it is degrading fat women. John Jacob accuses his wife of a lack of proper female vanity because if she had that, she could not have become shapeless.
“She ran into the gray cold and stepped into the carriage and turned and smiled with her face as pale as death, and called out ‘Good-bye, good-bye,’ and refused he cloak, and said, ‘Give me a glass of wine.’ And none of us saw her alive again.”
Maria questions her cousin Cora to explain how Aunt Amy died. Cora is a grown-up but she sees no wrong to explain to the young girl what transpired. She says that one day Amy just walk into the carriage way, which is a symbol of death in this scenario. People tried to call her to get out but she refused and instead gave a smile, which symbolized death. Ironically, instead of getting out she asked for a glass of wine and since that day no one has ever seen her again. The young girl's curiosity is not satisfied and she asks Uncle Bill if Aunty Amy was beautiful as her father claims and the rest of the family. He confirms that Aunty Amy was as beautiful as an angel was.
"She rides almost as well as Amy, doesn't she? But Amy had the pure Spanish Style, she could bring outpaces in a horse no one else knew she had."
The narrator says that besides beauty, Isabella is an excellent horse rider. She compares her to Amy who was a darling to most people not only because of her beauty but also because of horse riding skills. Besides, Amy was a good dancer and every party she attended, people admired her a lot. As Maria listens to this, she wishes to grow up and be like Amy. She hopes Amy was the way people talk about her.
