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Imagination is presented as a powerful tool to endure times of hardship and isolation in The Hundred Dresses. It helps Wanda endure her family’s poverty and her disappointment with her sparse possessions by imagining beautiful, colorful dresses and rows of matching shoes. Wanda describes her 100 dresses in vivid and almost sensual detail, her ensemble including “a pale blue one with cerise-colored trimmings” and another that is “brilliant green with a red sash” (38). Her delight in beautiful colors and designs, as well as her longing to possess beautiful things, is made clear in these vivid descriptions. Wanda creates a beautiful illusion in her mind in order to tolerate the reality of her “faded blue dress that didn’t hang right” (11-12). She tries to connect with her classmates by telling them about her 100 dresses, but they don’t believe her, and she is further excluded as a result of this claim.
Wanda’s drawings, which her classmates are awed by, emphasize the importance of creativity and self-expression. Prior to the reveal of her drawings, Wanda’s imprecise English and slow reading are emphasized: Maddie says, “[I]t took [Wanda] forever to read a paragraph” (36). The same students who impatiently wait for Wanda to read are stunned by the beauty of her drawings. Estes reminds readers that intelligence can be expressed in many ways, and that reading, writing, and arithmetic are not the only measures of one’s abilities. This isn’t to say that Wanda is inherently lacking in these classroom skills; she struggles to read because English is her second language. Regardless, Wanda’s artistic ability speaks to her passion.
Creativity is also presented as a tool for bonding and connection. Peggy, who had only ever mocked Wanda, says “[G]ee, look how she can draw! I thought I could draw,” and is inspired to see Wanda at Boggins Heights to tell her that she won the drawing contest (52). Although Wanda is excluded by her classmates, she fosters a sense of connection to them by drawing them in her beautiful dresses; Maddie recognizes herself in one such drawing. Wanda’s creativity helps her make connections with her community, despite being othered by it. Estes suggests that the benefits of imagination are multifaceted, and can be used as a coping mechanism in times of hardship. Furthermore, creatively representing imaginative ideas is a means of self-expression and can enable individuals to form positive connections within their community.
The Hundred Dresses explores the negative effects of bullying and discrimination on individuals as well as on communities. Bullying is explored through the taunting of Wanda, a Polish immigrant who wears the same faded blue dress to school everyday. Her classmates bully her by excluding her from their games and conversations, and by mockingly asking about her many dresses, shoes, and hats.
This bullying comes from a place of prejudice. As a Polish immigrant, Wanda is a minority, and therefore has a different name, accent, and manner of speaking than the majority of the Connecticut town. She also lives in an undesirable part of the town. All of these traits mark Wanda as different, and make her a target for bullying by the other children. When Wanda tells Peggy, “I got a hundred dresses home” (29), her imprecise English makes her seem laughable to the other girls. It also causes them to question her intelligence, with even the sympathetic Maddie reflecting on her reading ability. Discriminatory bullying is also experienced by the rest of Wanda’s family, as is suggested in Jan Petronski’s letter to the school; he explains that they will be moving to the city in the hopes that no one will holler “Polack” at them or mock their “funny name” (47).
Wanda’s differences cause the other girls to think of her as “other,” which “justifies” their cruel treatment of her in their minds. The sympathetic Maddie reasons to herself that “[Wanda] wasn’t just an ordinary person, else why would she have a name like that?” (16-17). Peggy tells Maddie that “I never thought she had the sense to know we were making fun of her anyway” (52). However, Wanda is aware that she is being mocked, and the bullying has a negative effect on her wellbeing. This is observed by Maddie, who notes that Wanda has “dull pained eyes” when she is mocked by the other girls (68). Still, Maddie doesn’t intervene out of fear of becoming a target of bullying herself, and Peggy is emboldened by Maddie’s inaction and others’ laughter to keep targeting Wanda.
Estes explores the way that participants in bullying are often kept silent by fear that they themselves will be targeted next. Maddie is about to speak up against Peggy’s bullying, but then “pictured herself in the schoolyard, a new target for Peggie and the girls” (35). She stays silent knowing her family’s relative poverty makes her a potential target, but her silence brings her immense regret; she reflects that “she had stood by silently, and that was just as bad as what Peggy had done” (49). Maddie’s regret suggests that it is important to speak up against bullying, rather than remain a bystander. Furthermore, Estes suggests that bullying has a negative effect not only on the victims of bullying, but also on perpetrators and bystanders.
The Hundred Dresses emphasizes the importance of treating all individuals with respect and kindness, regardless of perceived or real differences. Wanda’s differences (as an impoverished Polish immigrant) make her “other” to the other girls. Maddie unconsciously dehumanizes Wanda when considering her identity: “[Wanda] wasn’t just an ordinary person, else why would she have a name like that?” (16-17). Fixating on Wanda’s differences, the other girls feel justified in mocking her and do not believe she deserves the same kindness they extend to each other.
The bullying experienced by Wanda is also experienced by the other members of the Petronski family. Wanda’s father, Jan Petronski, chooses to move because he demands to be treated with respect; he explains that his family will not tolerate the racist remarks and small-mindedness of the Connecticut 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). Estes draws attention to the family’s pain to stress the importance of treating those who are different with respect and kindness.
Later, Maddie realizes that “This girl [Wanda] is just a girl like you are” (68). This illustrates Maddie’s growing maturity, as she has learned that all people deserve to be treated with respect. She even imagines ways she could demonstrate her newfound respect for Wanda, one being her actually intervening in the latter’s bullying after the fact. These imaginative reconstructions demonstrate Maddie’s wish to go back in time and treat Wanda with the respect she now understands she deserves.
On the other hand, Wanda epitomizes kindness, which exacerbates Maddie’s guilt over her own failure to intervene in Peggy’s bullying. Instead of feeling angry and resentful at Peggy and—by extension—Maddie, Wanda replies to their letter kindly and gifts them two of her drawings. Peggy and Maddie later realize that Wanda depicted them in the drawings. Estes suggests that when cruelty is responded to with kindness, conflicts are deescalated, and healing and learning can occur.
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