Themes & patterns

Sara uses her vivid imagination and storytelling to cope with hardship, transforming her attic into a magical place and maintaining her identity as a 'princess' even when treated as a servant.

Despite losing her wealth, father, and social status, Sara endures poverty, cold, and cruelty by pretending to be a princess and holding onto her dignity and kindness.

The book contrasts Sara's initial wealth and privilege with her later life as a scullery maid, highlighting how class determines treatment, as seen in Miss Minchin's favoritism and Becky's servitude.

Sara consistently shows compassion to others, sharing her food with a hungrier child, befriending the scullery maid Becky, and later using her restored wealth to help the poor.

Sara forms deep bonds with Ermengarde, Lottie, Becky, and even the rat Melchisedec, and these friendships provide comfort and support during her darkest times.

The story explores the transient nature of fortune, as Sara moves from riches to rags and back, and critiques how wealth determines one's value in the eyes of people like Miss Minchin.

Sara maintains her identity as a 'princess' not through material possessions but through her behavior, integrity, and belief in her own worth, regardless of external circumstances.

Miss Minchin's exploitation of Sara after her father's death, forcing her into hard labor and deprivation, illustrates the cruelty of those in power toward the vulnerable.