The children go home with Miss Clavel, and all head to bed. One question has been resolved, however: Madeline is not an orphan, so the canny reader concludes that she is at a boarding school whose clientele all look alike. This implies that Madeline is much better, so why she is being held at the hospital is also a mystery. The children, though, are most impressed by Madeline’s appendix scar, which she proudly stands on her bed to show her friends. Upon arriving, we discover that Madeline’s Papa has sent toys, candy, and a dollhouse to the hospital room. Why she decides this is not clear, as we do not have any reference for whether Madeline will be going home yet. At this point, Miss Clavel decides that it is a good idea to bring 11 young children into a hospital to visit our convalescent heroine. From this we can surmise that Madeline’s medical care was top tier, although again the modern reader might be surprised to note that her stay in the hospital was a full ten days. She wakes up two hours after being taken away from the old house covered in ivy to flowers at her bedside table, in a single room with a view of a park.
Madeline’s hospital experience seems to have been a positive one, and her surgery is incredibly quick. Therefore the reason for her nun’s habit is also a mystery, and hopefully one that will also be resolved. It also occurs to me at this point that Miss Clavel must not be a nun, or she would be called Sister Clavel. The supernatural hints in Madeline are never fully realized, but as this is a series, it is possible this is a long-term hint as to future plot points. One night, the apparently psychic nun wakes, knowing something is not right. One of Madeline’s favorite things to do is to frighten Miss Clavel. I am not familiar with the traditional 1930s era dress for boarding school teachers, but the adult, Miss Clavel, appears to be a nun in a habit, and so her hair color is not determined. These are hardly unique traits - I myself embody all three, even if my hair is dyed - but in an illustrated text, Madeline’s red hair is a way to differentiate her from the other 11 children, who all seem to be brunettes. Bemelmans illustrates her individuality by describing her fearlessness of mice, her love of winter, and her red hair. Our heroine is Madeline, the smallest of the girls.
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