Is that a doll or (ventriloquist’s) dummy? And she might not be a schoolmarm, but perhaps a suffragette or, because I seen them even in my sleep, a temperance crusader.

The short gray hair and the black dress may offer clues: hair cut short was often a sign of an uppity woman and women teachers were typically young (only those that had to continued teaching after marriage) and this woman is clearly a mature vintage. And, while many women wore black, it was often the uniform of temperance workers and suffragettes as well as Quaker women. Now, if only she’d been wearing bloomers…..