From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

by

E. L. Konigsburg

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From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler: Chapter 4 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Claudia and Jamie wake up early the next morning, while it’s still dark. Their stomachs feel empty, they feel unwashed, and it’s chilly. They hurriedly get dressed, then stash their belongings around the museum in different locations, so that if museum workers find one thing, the rest of their things will still be safe. Claudia hides her violin case in a marble sarcophagus, and her book bag goes behind a tapestry screen. She dissuades Jamie from hiding his things in a mummy case.
The kids’ first morning in the museum is uncomfortable because it’s outside of their normal routine—adventure forces them to make adjustments. They also have to think about how they could potentially get caught, showing foresight and cleverness.
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Then the kids “[man] their stations,” which means they hide in the bathrooms again until the museum opens. They both use this time to wash up and brush their teeth, then begin the long wait for staff to arrive. Claudia can’t stop thinking about how hungry she is. And a few minutes after 10 o’clock, Jamie makes a mistake: he hears water running and thinks it’s a museum guest, so he steps out of his stall and finds a janitor with a mop and bucket instead. When the janitor asks where Jamie came from, Jamie politely answers, “Mother always says that I came from Heaven.” He enjoys the brush with danger.
The kids have to arrange their daily schedule around the museum’s opening and closing hours, which often means waiting uncomfortably long to eat meals. And there are many opportunities to potentially get caught, even when they stick to their plan perfectly: it’s only because of Jamie’s unflappable quick thinking, throwing the janitor off guard, that he doesn’t get caught right away.
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Quotes
Since the snack bar won’t open for hours, Jamie and Claudia leave the museum and buy food at the automat. They also stop at a grocery store to buy peanut butter crackers for that night’s dinner. They figure that for lunch, they’ll just blend in with a school group at the snack bar. In the meantime, Claudia tells Jamie that they should take advantage of this amazing educational opportunity. She decides the two of them should learn everything about the museum, one artwork at a time. (Claudia probably doesn’t realize that the museum contains over 365,000 works of art.) They’ll take turns picking a gallery to explore each day. Jamie finds the idea of learning outrageous, so he chooses the Italian Renaissance, hoping the gallery’s size will change Claudia’s mind.
Automats were a popular fast-food option in New York City in the first half of the 20th century. They were basically cafeterias filled with a precursor to vending machines: workers behind the scenes cooked food and refilled the machines, and diners inserted coins to purchase the cheap hot meals displayed behind the glass. Claudia is an ambitious kid and doesn’t want their time in the museum to go to waste. Her eagerness to learn sets up the book’s central mystery.
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Jamie’s choice surprises Claudia, but she thinks she understands it—she took an art appreciation class last year, and the Renaissance seemed to have a lot to do with naked women. She’d thought Jamie was too young to be interested. He actually is—he just chose this gallery hoping Claudia would get bored. In any case, they head to the Hall of the Italian Renaissance as soon as they return to the museum. They find at least 1,000 people waiting in line. Figuring crowds aren’t unusual in New York City, they get in line, too.
Humorously, Claudia assumes that Jamie’s interest in the Renaissance has an unwholesome motivation, whereas he really just wants to get out of structured learning. As Jamie hoped, Claudia gets more than she was expecting when they arrive at the Renaissance exhibit—there seems to be something major going on.
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Eventually, they see a Times photographer on the edge of the crowd and realize something unusual is happening. Jamie is eager to get his picture taken, but Claudia shoves him forward, knowing that if they wind up photographed in The New York Times, somebody in Greenwich will find out and tell their parents. By this time, they’ve reached the front of the line. They see a graceful statue of an angel with folded arms. Claudia thinks it’s the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen.
Claudia is more invested in staying hidden than Jamie is. Jamie is much more impulsive than his sister and is mainly motivated by adventure. But the angel statue throws a bigger hitch in their plans than Jamie does: it’s already been established that Claudia appreciates art in general, but this statue seems to leave a remarkable impression on her.
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As they exit the hall, Claudia can’t stop thinking about the angel. She wants to buy tomorrow’s New York Times so she can find out what’s so special about this exhibit. Still mad about Claudia shoving him, Jamie argues about spending a dime on the newspaper. Finally, they detour to the Egyptian wing since the Italian Renaissance hall was too crowded for today’s lesson. They find a sixth grade class doing a tour, and they join the group, listening to the guide’s interesting talk about mummies and tombs. When the guide asks for any questions, Jamie is the only one to speak up. The guide assumes he’s part of the class, the teacher assumes he’s been planted there to stir up discussion, and the students don’t care. Claudia is so mad that she wishes she could embalm Jamie on the spot.
The angel statue is fixed in Claudia’s mind, signaling that it will be a big part of the plot from this point on. For the time being, the kids try to get the most out of their stay in the museum. Jamie continues to act impulsively, which infuriates cautious Claudia. Humorously, though, Jamie’s behavior doesn’t have the effect that Claudia fears—everyone else assumes he has a reason to be there and to speak up, suggesting that part of getting away with a plan like this is simply acting confident.
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Quotes
The next morning, they don’t have to buy a copy of the New York Times; instead, they steal an abandoned copy from the museum. Claudia reads it while they eat breakfast. She finds the article about the exhibit in the second section (Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler tells Saxonberg that she has filed an original in one of her many cabinets). The article says that a record crowd of 100,000 people came to see the 24-inch “Angel” statue, one of the museum’s newest acquisitions. Apparently, the statue might be an early work of Michelangelo. The museum bought it at auction for just $225, an incredible bargain. It’s from the collection of Manhattan collector Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, who says she bought it from a dealer in Bologna, Italy, before World War II. Mrs. Frankweiler started selling off her collection a few years ago. The article explains that she’s a widow with no children who now lives on a Connecticut estate and keeps to herself.
At this point in the story, Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler’s role becomes clearer: she’s a wealthy art collector and Angel’s previous owner. Angel’s significance also comes into focus. If Michelangelo really did carve Angel, then presumably it would be worth a lot more money. Yet the statue sold very cheaply, which raises questions about its origins and authenticity. The inclusion of these details suggests that the mystery surrounding Angel will be significant as the book progresses. Mrs. Frankweiler also mentions her collection of filing cabinets, another detail that will be significant later.
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If Claudia hadn’t skipped over the paper’s first section, she would have noticed a small article reporting that two children of Mr. and Mrs. Steven C. Kincaid, Sr., of Greenwich, Connecticut, have been missing since Wednesday. The article describes what the children were wearing (nylon ski jackets, like most kids in the U.S.) and notes that police in several towns have been alerted.
So far, the Kincaid kids haven’t worried too much about what’s happening at home, presumably because there’s too much happening here. However, the existence of the article about the missing kids (and Mrs. Frankweiler’s comments, which bring an outside perspective into the narrative) remind readers that the kids’ running away has affected other people.
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Claudia, fascinated by the mystery, reads the article twice. Jamie isn’t impressed by the museum’s bargain, but Claudia explains that if this statue is really by Michelangelo, it would be worth $2,250,000 instead of $225. She suddenly has an idea. Instead of trying to learn the contents of the entire museum, she wants to focus on the angel statue instead. Claudia, blushing, asks Jamie if he thinks the statue resembles anyone in their family, but he thinks she’s being ridiculous. He suggests that they examine the statue for fingerprints, and though Claudia doubts it will work, she agrees this is a good first step.
Claudia feels incredibly drawn to the angel statue. Her comments to Jamie suggest that she even thinks the angel resembles her. At this point, it’s not clear why she cares so much about the statue. While the mystery of its origins is interesting, Claudia seems to have additional reasons for wanting to learn about it. She seems to identify with the statue personally, for reasons that aren’t yet clear.
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That day, there’s an even bigger crowd waiting to see “Angel.” (Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is surprised that the newspaper article couldn’t get even Saxonberg to visit the museum. He seems to be completely unaware of the “magic” of Michelangelo.) Because of the crowd, the children can’t get close enough to look for fingerprints on the statue, so they decide to visit it after the museum is closed. Claudia is determined to solve the statue’s mystery; she feels that the statue, in turn, will somehow do something important for her.
Mrs. Frankweiler’s annoyed (or teasing) comment to Saxonberg makes an important point: that art can inspire a sense of wonder that goes beyond just logic. People like Mrs. Frankweiler, and apparently Claudia, seem to be especially sensitive to this “magic.” Claudia seems unable to explain what Angel means to her—only that the statue feels significant to her life in some way.
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After that, the kids search for a school group to tag along with for lunch. They’ve become good at getting near a group without ever being part of it. (Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler notes that some people never master this skill, and some people do it too well.)
Blending in with a school group is one way the kids can fend for themselves in the museum. Mrs. Frankweiler suggests that this is also a kind of life skill—knowing how to avoid getting completely swallowed up by a crowd while also avoiding being too distant from others.
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