Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Growing Up
Adventure, Mystery, and Secrets
Family
Independence, Capability, and Creativity
Art, Beauty, and Wonder
Summary
Analysis
Claudia Kincaid knows she can’t pull off the “old-fashioned,” angry kind of running away. What’s more, she hates being uncomfortable. So, she decides that she won’t just run from somewhere but to somewhere—somewhere comfortable, indoors, and preferably beautiful. She chooses the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Right now it’s not clear who Claudia is or what her relationship is to Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. What is clear is that she’s unhappy in some way—and yet, her situation must not be too dire, if she can take her time planning to run away and choosing a suitably comfortable destination. And her choice—a famous art museum—is an unconventional one, suggesting that Claudia cares about beauty and culture.
Themes
Claudia plans carefully. She saves up her allowance and chooses Jamie, the second youngest of her three younger brothers, to be her companion. He’s quiet, occasionally funny, and rich—he saves almost every penny he gets. But Claudia takes her time sharing the plan with Jamie. Besides, she has to save up for train fare from the suburbs and a few other expenses.
Claudia is obviously a thoughtful kid. She doesn’t just run away in a spontaneous huff like many kids might; she thinks ahead about what she’ll need in order to run away successfully, including a budget and a suitable companion. Claudia’s planning establishes that kids can be capable and resourceful.
Themes
In the meantime, Claudia almost forgets her reason for running away, but not entirely. As the oldest child and the only girl, she suffers a lot of injustice. She has to do all the chores while her brothers get out of everything. But a bigger reason, clearer to Mrs. Frankweiler than to Claudia, is that she’s sick of monotony and routine, tired of being “straight-A’s Claudia Kincaid.”
On the one hand, it sounds like Claudia has some legitimate complaints—especially if it’s true that her parents unfairly stick her with her brothers’ chores. On the other hand, it’s common for kids to perceive that their parents treat them unfairly compared to their siblings, so readers have to take Claudia’s word for it that her situation is “unjust.” For her part, Mrs. Frankweiler can see that Claudia is simply bored and wants to experience something different in her life.
Themes
To save enough money for train fare, Claudia has to skip hot fudge sundaes for more than three weeks. This, too, is an injustice. (Since Saxonberg drives to the city and probably doesn’t know how much train fare costs, Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler tells him: one-way fare costs $1.60, but since Claudia and Jamie are both under 12, they can travel for half price.) Claudia has to save up for the return fare, too, since after everyone’s “learned a lesson in Claudia appreciation,” she intends to return home.
The fact that Claudia perceives skipping sundaes as an injustice (as opposed to an inconvenience) hints that her home life isn’t truly as oppressive as she makes it sound. Indeed, the fact that she plans to return home after her family has “learned a lesson” confirms this hint—rather than escaping an awful situation, Claudia is trying to make a point.
Themes
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Greenwich is a commuting suburb of New York, so Claudia knows the city isn’t that far away, but she also knows it’s a good place to get lost. She loves New York; she finds it elegant and important. To prepare, she studies guidebooks and pamphlets. She also practices giving up things: instead of hot fudge sundaes, she contents herself with Good Humor bars from the freezer.
Greenwich, Connecticut, is only about 30 miles from New York City, but it’s much smaller and quieter than a bustling metropolis—hence Claudia’s belief that New York is an ideal place to hide. Again, she shows her competence by taking the time to research and prepare for the trip. Some of her preparations are funny, like settling for subpar ice cream—not exactly a huge sacrifice.
Themes
Claudia figures she has the smallest allowance in her class. Plus, she forfeits a nickel every time she forgets a chore, and most of the other sixth graders have maids to do their chores for them. Claudia’s family just has a twice-a-week cleaning lady. Jamie, for his part, rarely spends money. A year and a half ago, he bought a transistor radio he’d saved up for. Claudia figures the transistor radio might come in handy.
This passage also suggests that Claudia’s home life isn’t terribly difficult, even though she perceives it that way. The fact that her family can afford to hire someone to clean for them and give the kids allowances suggests that they’re financially comfortable, even if most of Claudia’s classmates are wealthier. Claudia shows her immaturity in that she finds chores and a limited allowance unfair.
Themes
On Saturdays, Claudia has to empty everyone’s wastebaskets. One week, Claudia discovers a 10-ride railroad pass in her parents’ wastebasket. There’s one ride left on it—her dad must have lost track of the pass, and then the cleaning lady mistakenly threw it away. Claudia feels this is a stroke of good luck, since both she and Jamie can use the pass to get to New York. She decides they’ll leave on Wednesday.
Claudia shows her resourcefulness again: while doing ordinary chores, she keeps her eyes open for things that could potentially support her plans to run away. And even though she resents having to do chores, she’s ready to turn the situation to her advantage.
Themes
On Monday after school, Claudia tells Jamie she wants to sit with him on the bus so they can talk. Usually, the Kincaid kids don’t wait for one another, except that one of the older kids is in charge of Kevin each week (at six, he’s the youngest Kincaid, and Claudia thinks he’s spoiled). Jamie had wanted to sit with his friend Bruce since they always play cards together, and he pouts when Claudia pulls him away. Once he’s cooled down, Claudia tells Jamie that she wants him “for the greatest adventure in our lives.” After letting suspense build, she explains that she’s chosen Jamie to run away with her.
The Kincaid kids don’t seem to be extremely close: after school, they each go their separate ways unless they’re forced to do otherwise (like taking care of Kevin). So, Claudia’s interest in talking to Jamie is unusual and definitely not to his liking at first. At the same time, Claudia seems to know Jamie well enough to guess what will be persuasive to him—like presenting her plan in as dramatic and suspenseful a way as possible.
Themes
At first, Jamie wonders why Claudia is picking on him instead of their brother Steve, but soon he starts feeling special and chosen. He asks Claudia how they’re going to “bust out of here” and urges her to make the plan as complicated as possible, since he likes complications. But Claudia says a successful plan has to be simple. That’s why she’s picked Wednesday—it’s music lesson day. She can take her violin out of its case and pack the case full of clothes; Jamie should do the same with his trumpet and trumpet case. She also tells him to bring his transistor radio.
Singling Jamie out as special seems to work for Claudia. He doesn’t indicate that he feels the same way about their home life as Claudia does, but he’s clearly inspired by the idea of running away. In explaining her plan, Claudia demonstrates her talent for planning—instead of making the plan as elaborate as possible, as Jamie would prefer, she builds the plan on top of their usual routine. Keeping things simple like this might help the kids avoid suspicion.
Themes
Claudia butters Jamie up by assuring him that if he runs away with her, he’ll be allowed to wear his sneakers. Then she asks him how much money he has. At first, he doesn’t want to answer. He tells her that she can’t tell their parents this, but he gambles with Bruce and collects winnings every Friday. He always wins. Claudia finally gets him to admit that he’s saved up $24.43 in winnings. Furthermore, he knows he’ll win again this Friday (he won’t say how he knows), so if Claudia will wait until then, he can make the total an even $25.
In some ways, Jamie is an ordinary kid, concerned about whether he’ll be allowed to wear his favorite shoes while running away. In other ways, he is precocious and even conniving for a nine-year-old. Not only does he gamble with his friend, but it’s also implied that he isn’t completely honest in his card-playing, though he won’t admit it to Claudia.
Themes
Claudia feels justified for choosing Jamie, since they complement each other so well—she is cautious where he’s adventurous, and she is poor while he’s rich. But Claudia refuses to wait until Friday to run away. She says she will write down their plan, and after Jamie memorizes the plan, he must destroy the note. Jamie says he’ll eat the note, since he likes complications.
Claudia appreciates her brother’s strengths, though so far, she mostly thinks about Jamie in terms of how he can benefit her plans. Meanwhile, Jamie’s preference for “complications” isn’t always rational, showing that while he’s clever, he’s still a silly little kid at times.
Themes
When they get off the bus, Steve yells that it’s Claudia’s responsibility to walk Kevin home, so she pulls him along. Kevin whines that he’d rather walk with Steve all the time, and Claudia tells him he might get his wish. Kevin, pouting, never realizes that Claudia gave him a clue.
Though Claudia feels that her family takes her for granted and doesn’t appreciate her, her impatience with her siblings suggests that maybe she doesn’t appreciate them as much as she should, either.
Themes
