Gilbert is more interested in working than attending school. He sees school as a waste of time when he could easily be working and doing something he views as productive. Fancy thinks that she should keep going to school to become something then an in home maid. The father disagrees with Fancy and thinks that she should be more focused on helping around the house instead of going to school. He also does not seem to care that his son does not go to school anymore. The mom sort of agrees with the father with the fact that she does not really understand why Fancy wants to keep going to school.  

The story ‘says’ that girls should have more knowledge of the work that needs to be done in the home and what is “important”- taking care of the younger children, knowing how to aid sick people, cooking meals, cleaning, etc.. They do not want the girls to overstep the mens “jobs.”

Fancy thinks that if she can get the patchwork done on this table cloth, then she would be able to do things in the household. Because of her lack of work in the housework, specifically the tablecloth, and the house being a disaster for her mom’s arrival, they’re trying to say that you have to get your priorities straight, and that Fancy should have known better than to leave the house a mess. 

Gilbert got in trouble and it is implied that it was Fancy’s fault because she did not uphold one of her feminine “duties” which would have been to entertain him. If men are not “entertained” they will get themselves in trouble. In chapter 4, Fancy should have “made things pleasant to others” then she would have stopped Gilbert from getting into trouble. In chapter 7 her mom also blames Fancy but she says that it was because she ignored her duties in the household. Both times it says that it is Fancy’s fault. 

I think that the Vicar was being helpful to Fancy. He wants her to see what is actually important, that she needs to prioritize things before she can do the stuff she wants. He is trying to guide her, not attack her. And when she confesses, all her sins were repented.