Headscratchers / A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

• When Francie and Miss Gardner are talking about her graduation play and Miss Gardner says,
  "But you spoil it here: Fate: That's what thou wouldst be. But see, this is what thou shalt be." Light shines on old man soldering bottom of ash can. Old man: Once I thought to be a mender of men. Now I'm a mender of-
  Miss Gardner: You didn't by any chance mean that to be funny, did you, Frances?
  • What is Miss Gardner talking about? Is it just language that's been censored or something else?
    • Maybe she just didn't want to read anymore because she hated it.

• Why does Lee stay so long if he was going to get married before shipping out. Wouldn't he have wanted to spend time with his fiancée before leaving?
  • He does, and they marry before he actually ships out. Francie writes him a love letter but his now-wife reads it (since he’s overseas) and she relays this in the letter she writes back.
    • Right, but you'd think, if he was going home to get married that he'd have headed straight home. Would have spared Francie a lot of grief.
    • It's entirely possible that Lee would have wanted to pretend to be in love with Francie for as long as he could so the revelation that he was engaged would hurt her more. He's not exactly a stellar paragon of morality.
• If Francie was christened Mary Frances, shouldn't her name in the family Bible be listed as Mary Frances?