Describe Aunt Alexandra. In what ways is she a proper “Southern lady”?

Aunt Alexandra is the epitome of a Southern belle in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Alexandra is depicted as a proper Southern lady through her appearance, behavior, and interests. Aunt Alexandra is continually described as wearing dresses and corsets throughout the novel and is highly critical of Scout's tomboy attire. She constantly criticizes Scout for wearing overalls and attempts to encourage her niece to dress in formal attire. Alexandra also engages in proper Southern etiquette and uses her manners whenever she addresses her fellow neighbors. She also enjoys social events and makes an effort to participate in nearly every available town committee or club. Scout describes her aunt by saying,

She [Aunt Alexandra] had river-boat, boarding-school manners; let any moral come along and she would uphold it; she was born in the objective case; she was an incurable gossip. When Aunt Alexandra went to school, self-doubt could not be found in any textbook, so she knew not its meaning. She was never bored, and given the slightest chance she would exercise her royal prerogative: she would arrange, advise, caution, and warn (Lee 130).

Aunt Alexandra is also obsessed with heredity and attempts to educate Scout and Jem on their impressive family history. As a proper Southern lady, Alexandra feels that it is her duty to positively influence Jem and Scout into acting like respectable, responsible children. She is also a gracious host and goes to great lengths to entertain the local women during her missionary circle meetings. Overall, Alexandra is portrayed as a proper Southern lady who takes pride in her family's name, dresses in formal attire, enjoys social events, and exercises her manners in public at all times.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, there is plenty of evidence that Aunt Alexandra is indeed a proper "Southern lady." In chapter 13, when she comes to stay with the Finch family, the reader is informed that Aunt Alexandra's irritable mood may be a result of her "Sunday corset." Just as a Southern lady should be, she is dressed in, "protective garments that drew up her bosom to giddy heights."
Aunt Alexandra also maintains her reputation of being a good hostess as any proper lady would. Her "Missionary Society" refreshments are proof of this. Aunt Alexandra is also described as having "river-boat, boarding school manners." She makes an attempt to educate Scout on proper manners. For example, during social gatherings at the Finch house, Aunt Alexandra asks Scout to come talk with the ladies. However, she often regrets this request because Scout is "usually mud-splashed or covered with sand."
A family's reputation is something that a proper Southern lady must maintain. For this reason, Aunt Alexandra has words with Atticus on the upbringing of his children. She reminds him that they are the product of "gentle breeding" and that they must "behave like the little lady and gentleman" they are. Southern ladies are also skilled at gossip, and Aunt Alexandra is well-educated on the quirks and qualities of the families in Maycomb. She often attributes a characteristic of one member of a family to the entire family. As Scout says, it seems that every family "had a Streak: a Drinking Streak, a Gambling Streak, a Mean Streak, a Funny Streak."