Character Analysis
Aunt Fannie lives next door to the Upstairs Cranstons in their Hudson River Valley house. She's got quite the knack for predicting the future through her crystal ball (a.k.a. marble), and she's not afraid to tell her clients precisely what they're in for. Oh—and she's also a mouse.
We don't meet Aunt Fannie for long, but she has a huge impact on Helena and her siblings. Helena goes to Auntie F for advice on the future, and Aunt Fannie calls it like she sees it and tells Helena that they better get over their fears and hop on the ship to England. Aunt Fannie is quite proud of having all the info. Does this remind you of anyone else in this story? Oh yes—we're thinking of Helena herself. Both of these mice sure can be know-it-alls.
But there's one thing that makes Aunt Fannie a wee bit troublesome: her advice doesn't come cheap. In fact, she's a greedy gal. As Helena says: "Aunt Fannie is very greedy. Don't go empty-handed to her" (5.7). So Auntie F wants to help Helena out, but she also wants to snack on her gift of apple fritter crumbs, too.
We think Aunt Fannie has a pretty big effect on this story, even though we only meet her for one chapter. What do you think? How might the story be different if Auntie F weren't around?