Social issues are not a focus of this book. Bailey focuses on personalities, suggesting that everyone must be true to their inner natures, which can be as complex and ambivalent as the natural world. There are extremes to nature— cruel as well as nourishing elements, bitter winters and warming springs, a mixture of good and bad outcomes. It is not easy to understand oneself or to find out where one belongs in the world. Miss Hickory struggles between the desires of her heart and the demands of her head.

But when she shockingly loses her head to the squirrel, she is somehow free to follow a deeper instinct. Such ambivalence pervades Miss Hickory and can provide interesting points for group discussion.