Editor's Choice
Why does Mrs. Flowers encourage Marguerite to listen to "mother wit" in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?
Quick answer:
Mrs. Flowers encourages Marguerite to listen to "mother wit" because she recognizes the wisdom and truth in folklore/country sayings, tales, phrases, and idioms. Thus, the answer to this question is number 1. Mrs. Flowers encourages Marguerite to consider the wisdom of those who are not considered formally "educated" and challenges the narrative that intellect and wisdom are inherently connected with how formally educated one is. She also pushes Marguerite to consider that there is great wisdom and an entirely different kind of education found in those who still have a connection to the land and a more humble life. Mrs.
The answer to this question is clearly choice #1. Mrs. Flowers is trying to tell Marguerite that the old sayings that the (seemingly ignorant) country people tell are actually full of wisdom.
This can be seen in Chapter 15. It is one of the first of the "lessons in living" that Mrs. Flowers imparts to Marguerite when Marguerite is sent to Stamps to live. In this particular lesson, she is trying to get Marguerite to understand that people who lack formal education are not stupid. She wants Marguerite to understand that many of them have simply not had the chances to get educated.
In the quote you are asking about, she is emphasizing that these uneducated people have a great deal of wisdom accumulated in their sayings. This is one of her ways of saying that Marguerite should not look down on such people.
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