will expose the truth. The real threat in her life is her father. It is generally acknowledged in Maycomb that Bob is a drunk, abusive father. Atticus almost gets Mayella to admit this. Atticus asks if Bob is easy to get along with. Mayella says he is tolerable "'cept when--" and she does not finish her sentence. Atticus replies with what everyone knows, "Except when he's drinking?" Mayella nods in the affirmative, essentially saying 'yes.' Atticus presses her and asks if Bob has ever beaten her. She denies it, but she says this because she is afraid of Bob. Had she been questioned in private, without her father present, who knows what she would have revealed.  

Chapter 18 of Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is mostly about Mayella Ewell's testimony on the witness stand and how the two attorneys question her. Mr. Gilmer barely asks her two questions when she bursts out in tears. Judge Taylor waits for a minute and then tells her to calm down and that she has nothing to be afraid of if she tells the truth. Then the judge asks her what she is scared of and she says, "Him," and points to Atticus. Shocked, Judge Taylor asks, "Mr. Finch?" Scout describes Mayella's response as follows:

"She nodded vigorously, saying, "Don't want him doin' me like he done Papa, tryin' to make him out lefthanded. . ." Judge Taylor scratched his thick white hair. It was plain that he had never been confronted with a problem of this kind" (179).

Mayella is afraid of Atticus because he made Bob Ewell, her father, look like a the sniveling liar that he is. In retaliation, Mayella does the only things she knows how to do--lie and cry. She must figure that she can draw a sympathy card if she makes Atticus look bad or feel awkward. It doesn't work.

I think Mayella Ewell is primarily afraid of her father, which prompts her to lie about Tom Robinson raping her. Mayella is afraid that if she admits to having sexual interest in a black man that her father will abuse her, something that is already heavily implied in the text—Bob Ewell likely physically and/or sexually abused Mayella, therefore inspiring her fear of him. In her mind, it is easier to agree with her father’s assumption than to admit the truth.

However, one could also argue that society’s perception also inspires Mayella’s fear. Because this has already been made public, Mayella would be forced to admit that she pursued Robinson against his will. Interracial relationships during this time period were not only taboo but also illegal, and Mayella may not have been willing to admit that she wanted to have a romantic or sexual connection with a black man under the scrutiny of public opinion.

It is clear that Mayella manipulates racial and gender stereotypes to her advantage in this situation in order to avoid humiliation or abuse, and while it is tempting to paint her as a victim because of how much she fears her father, she is ultimately responsible for Tom Robinson’s death.

Fear and the threat of violence were the primary reasons why Mayella Ewell decided to falsely accuse Tom Robinson of assaulting and raping her. Mayella's father, Bob Ewell, is a notorious, abusive alcoholic, who assaulted his daughter after he witnessed her kissing Tom Robinson. After severely beating Mayella, Bob threatened Mayella to corroborate his story and blame Tom Robinson for her extensive injuries and bruises.

During Tom Robinson's testimony, he states that Mayella implied that her father sexually molested her, and Tom also heard Bob Ewell threaten Mayella as he ran out of the house. Given the location of Mayella's injuries on the right side of her face, it is likely that Bob was her attacker. Mayella's contradicting testimony also reveals that she is lying about Tom's attack.

In addition to the threats from her abusive father, Mayella also feared society's reaction to her kissing a black man. During Atticus's closing arguments, he states that Mayella was motivated by guilt to place the blame on Tom Robinson because she realized that she had "broken a rigid and time-honored code" by tempting a black man. In order to avoid disgrace and public scrutiny for the remainder of her life, Mayella chose to accuse Tom Robinson of assaulting and raping her. Atticus not only presents a logical case revealing Mayella's motivation to lie, her contradicting testimony, and lack a of medical evidence, but he also proves that Tom was physically incapable of inflicting Mayella's wounds and suggests that Bob Ewell attacked his daughter on the evening of November 21.