The novel is not divided into
chapters, but there are two distinct sections of the work. The first focuses on the school and the week of lessons, and the second section is a collection of letters written between the students and to the teacher. The first section represents a more traditional narrative structure and will be discussed below as the "Narrative" section and the second section is labeled "Letters".
Narrative The Narrative portion of the novel serves two purposes. First, it serves as an introduction to Harmony Grove and its
preceptress Mrs. Williams and it is also the section that details the final lectures that Mrs. Williams is giving to her students as they are finishing up their time at the school. There are eleven individual lessons ranging from more academic topics such as
reading and
writing, to artistic pursuits, even to her opinions on more personal subjects of dress and friendship. Mrs. Williams does not just give the girls her opinions on these matters; she uses examples of past students and girls that she knew to show both the right and wrong things for her students to do in their lives outside of the school. The opinions that are expressed in this section are those of Foster herself, veiled by the fiction this is touted to be.
Letters The section of the novel that contains the letters of Harmony Grove students shows how the girls put into practice the lessons that Mrs. Williams taught them. The letters contain commentary on the fashions of the time, both sartorial and cultural, as well as the new graduates adjustments back into the world. Comments are made on the actions of other women who had not been at Harmony Grove, stating whether or not they are appropriate. Using an
epistolary structure, Foster attempts to instruct her ideal readers, young women like the characters in the book, in the proper course of behavior and the ideal result of a proper education. == References ==