Author: Eleanor Estes
Introduction
Part II of "The Hundred Dresses" continues the story after Wanda has left school. It focuses on the guilt experienced by Maddie and Peggy, their attempt to find Wanda and apologise, and the final letter from Wanda that brings the story to its poignant conclusion. The central themes in Part II are guilt, remorse, moral courage, kindness, and reconciliation.
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Recap from Part I
In Part I, Wanda Petronski — a Polish immigrant girl — was teased daily by her classmates for claiming to own a hundred dresses. She won the school drawing contest with a hundred beautiful dress designs. Just before the award was given, Wanda stopped coming to school. Her father had written a letter saying the family was moving to a city where nobody would mock their name.
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Key Events in Part II
Example 1: Miss Mason Reads the Letter
Miss Mason, the teacher, reads Mr. Petronski's letter to the class. The letter is dignified and heartbreaking. It explains that the family is moving because people in their town mock the name "Petronski." Miss Mason tells the class that it is never right to make anyone feel different because of their name or appearance. The class sits in silence.
Example 2: Maddie's Guilt
Maddie is overwhelmed by guilt. She cannot eat or sleep properly. She resolves that she will never again stand by silently while someone is being bullied. Even if it means losing Peggy's friendship, she will speak up.
Example 3: Peggy's Response
Peggy's reaction is more complicated. She feels bad but argues that she was not "really" cruel — she never called Wanda a foreigner or made fun of her name directly. She convinces herself that Wanda's situation was not entirely her fault. This self-justification is an important character moment.
Example 4: Going to Boggins Heights
Maddie and Peggy decide to find Wanda's house and apologise. They walk to Boggins Heights after school. They find the house — small, unpainted, abandoned-looking. The Petronski family has already moved. They do not see Wanda.
Example 5: Peggy and Maddie Write a Letter
Unable to apologise in person, the girls write a friendly letter to Wanda. They tell her she has won the drawing contest, that everyone admired her drawings, and that they miss her. They are hoping for a reply.
Example 6: Wanda's Reply
Some time later, at Christmastime, Miss Mason receives a letter from Wanda. In it, Wanda wishes the class a Merry Christmas and says that the girls may keep the drawings of the green dress and the blue dress — because she has a hundred others. She says Peggy and Maddie can keep those as Christmas presents.
Example 7: The Final Realisation
Maddie and Peggy examine the drawings Wanda gifted them. They realise with a shock that the faces in the drawings look like their own faces — Wanda had drawn them into the dresses. This moment is deeply moving: despite being mocked and driven away, Wanda held no grudge. Her generous, kind spirit — showing their faces on the dresses — is her final gift to the girls who hurt her.
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Key Themes in Part II
Guilt and Remorse: Maddie's deep guilt is central. She resolves never to be a bystander again. Her transformation is the moral arc of the story.
Forgiveness: Wanda's letter shows she has forgiven the girls who hurt her. She offers them a gift — both material (the drawings) and spiritual (her forgiveness and absence of bitterness).
Moral Courage: Maddie's resolution — to speak up in future even at personal cost — represents the moral growth the story asks of its readers.
Kindness in the face of cruelty: Wanda's response to years of mockery is generosity, not revenge. This is the most powerful and moving element of the story.
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Key Quotes
- "She had liked her so much and had thought she knew Peggy so well. Now she did not feel so sure."
- Maddie's resolution: "She would never stand by and say nothing again."
- Wanda's letter: "You can keep those pictures. I have a hundred others."
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Common mistakes
> Students often miss the significance of the faces in the drawings. The fact that Wanda drew the faces of Peggy and Maddie on the dresses she gave them is NOT accidental — it shows Wanda's extraordinary generosity of spirit. Also, Maddie's resolution is more complete and morally serious than Peggy's — Peggy still makes some excuses for her behaviour.
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Summary
Part II resolves the story with emotional power. Maddie's guilt leads to a genuine moral awakening — she resolves never to be silent in the face of injustice again. Peggy's self-justification is more ambiguous. Most powerfully, Wanda's response is one of grace and generosity: she gifts her tormentors drawings with their faces on them, showing that she harbours no malice. The story ends as a profound meditation on the lasting damage of casual cruelty and the healing power of forgiveness.