Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Maurice, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love and Sacrifice
Sexual Orientation, Homophobia, and Self-Acceptance
Masculinity and Patriarchy
Religion
Class
Summary
Analysis
Maurice wakes up thinking that all will be resolved soon. But that false sense of happiness dissolves quickly, and he behaves as any man would who, after two years of happiness, is betrayed by his wife. He gets into a fight with Ada, falsely accusing her of having done something to make Clive leave. Over time, his career progresses, but he begins to wonder what the use of money is, instead spending his time eating and playing games. He begins contemplating suicide, beginning to compare methods and means. He would have gone through with it, but the illness and then the death of his grandfather ushers in a new state of mind. Clive continues to write letters, offering to help, but each letter also contains the line that it would be better if they didn’t meet again just yet.
After he and Clive breakup, Maurice becomes disillusioned not just with romance, but with life. The source of meaning in his life—love—has been stripped from him, and without that meaning, he cannot find a reason to live. His career, which once conferred on him status, power, and money, seems equally meaningless. In the face of despair, ending his life seems like one of the most feasible options.
Themes
