The Hundred Dresses

The Damaging Effects of Bullying and Discrimination is introduced as an important and recurring theme in the school children’s treatment of Wanda. In Chapter 1, Peggy and Maddie wait for Wanda to bully her. It is apparent that this is not an isolated incident: “[S]ometimes they waited for Wanda—to have fun with her” (4). It is established that the children wait for Wanda on her walks to school, or during breaks between classes, to ask her how many dresses, shoes, or hats she has. The question is not genuine, but rather a derisive mockery of the fact that Wanda is poor and clearly only has one dress: “[S]he always wore a faded blue dress that didn’t hang right” (11-12). When Wanda claims she has a wardrobe full of beautiful colors, “the girls laughed derisively” (13) rather than practice empathy.

Wanda’s poverty is established by her limited wardrobe, and also in the description of her small home in an undesirable part of town: “[S]he came all the way from Boggins Heights, and her feet were usually caked with dry mud that she picked up coming down the country roads” (3). The mud on her shoes denotes the area she lives in as dirty and undesirable. In the explicit opinion of the town’s children, “Boggins Heights was no place to live” (9). Again, the children judge Wanda based on circumstances out of her control, rather than practicing empathy.

Wanda is also marked as different from the other children by her Polish name: Wanda Petronski: “[M]ost of the children in Room 13 didn’t have names like that. They had easy names to say, like Thomas, Smith, or Allen” (10). Wanda’s unusual name for her environment partially leads to her isolation from the other children. The children’s Connecticut school is established as staunchly and traditionally American in their recitation of the Gettysburg Address at the beginning of each school day; Wanda, a Polish immigrant, is thus established as “other.” She is discriminated against because she is part of an ethnic minority.

The damaging effect of the children’s bullying and discrimination is apparent in Wanda’s demeanor as she escapes the taunting, with “her eyes dull and her mouth closed tight” (16). Her attempt to dissociate from the trauma of the situation is apparent in her expression. Classmate Peggy is established as a literary foil to Wanda: While Wanda is poor, isolated, and othered, Peggy is wealthy, popular, and ethnically similar to the other children at school. Peggy is established as a bully early on, seeing her mockery of Wanda as a game. As one of the crowd, she feels entitled to mock Wanda for her differences.

On the other hand, Peggy’s friend, Maddie, shows ambivalence toward the bullying of Wanda, establishing her as somewhat more principled than Peggy: “Sometimes when Peggy was asking Wanda these questions in a mock polite voice, Maddie felt embarrassed and studied the marbles in her hand” (17). Maddie clearly feels uncomfortable at her friend Peggy’s cruelty, especially given Wanda’s vulnerability as poor, isolated, and othered.

This highlights another key theme: The Importance of Respect and Kindness. Maddie’s persistent regret over her involvement in the bullying of Wanda, and her wish that she had instead treated this lonely person with kindness, is alluded to. The damaging effects of bullying on the perpetrators, as well as the victim, are made clear in Maddie’s distress at Wanda’s treatment. Estes highlights the way bullying of others is often motivated by one’s own fear of being bullied. Maddie resists intervening in the bullying of Wanda for fear that she will be bullied next: “But suppose Peggy and the other girls started in on her next! She wasn’t as poor as Wanda perhaps, but she was poor” (18).

An accompanying illustration in Chapter 2 depicts Peggy standing, erect and confident, before Wanda, whose posture looks defeated. This illustration draws attention to the power structure inherent in this exchange; Peggy, stereotypically beautiful and affluent, holds more power than Wanda, who is ethnically distinct and impoverished. Wanda’s defeated posture illustrates the harmful effects of bullying; she is clearly upset. To one side stands Maddie, who looks downcast. This illustrates Maddie’s compunction over the bullying, and the shame she feels at not intervening.

The Power of Imagination is introduced as an important theme in Wanda’s claims about her wardrobe: In the face of taunting children, she says, “Every pair [of her shoes] is different. All colors. All lined up” (15). The children are confused about these clearly fabricated responses, but Wanda’s descriptions illustrate her use of imagination as a tool to escape from the poverty, isolation, and drudgery of her life. Imagination functions as a transportive ally in Wanda’s life, as she vividly imagines hundreds of beautiful dresses as a balm to her loneliness. These exchanges about Wanda’s embellished wardrobe foreshadows her incredible art display of 100 imagined dresses.