What is the comparisons with Maddie in the beginning of the book to the end of the book?

Mattie was born in 1779 and is 14 years old at the time of the events described in the novel. She is the narrator and the principle protagonist. Mattie is present in every scene described in the novel and, indeed, is generally the driving force behind most of the action.

In the novel's opening scenes, Mattie is described as a typical teenager with a strongly modern view on life. Although capable of hard work, she much prefers an easy life and looks for ways to avoid physical labor while enjoying the good things life has to offer. Mattie is content to let others, such as her mother or Polly Logan, perform the hard work; she would prefer to eat a breakfast sweetened with sugar while someone else scrubs the pots.

During the novel, Mattie experiences numerous hardships and is faced with several choices. In every instance, Mattie rises to the occasion and takes a proper, if difficult, course of action. As the novel progresses, Mattie matures from a child to a young woman through prolonged hardship.

When Mattie's mother becomes sick with yellow fever, she sends Mattie to the country to escape the epidemic. Mattie is accompanied by her grandfather who himself becomes sick with a summer cold on the journey, forcing the two characters to try and return to Philadelphia on foot. Mattie cares for her ailing grandfather until he recovers, whereupon she falls ill with yellow fever. Mattie then awakens in a hospital several days later and convalesces for several weeks. She discovers her mother has vanished and the family coffeehouse has been robbed and vandalized. Mattie sets to work but is once again brutalized when robbers break into the family house, beat her, and murder her grandfather. Saddened but not daunted, Mattie continues to place her life in order - she finds Eliza and helps her care for others while the epidemic rages. Finally, they return to the family coffeehouse, clean it thoroughly, and reopen it for business. The arrival of winter ends the epidemic and Mrs. Cook, having traveled to the country, finally returns home.