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
During Spring, Maurice decides to see a doctor, an uncharacteristic choice he arrived at after an awful experience on a train. A man sitting across from him made a “lascivious sign.” Maurice responded, the two stood up, the other man smiled, and then Maurice knocked him down, causing blood to stream from his face. The man offered money and apologies as Maurice stood over him. Maurice decides to see a doctor, then, because he has failed to conquer lust. He chooses Dr. Barry to visit because Barry, though a “bully and a tease,” is trustworthy. “I’m an unspeakable of the Oscar Wilde sort,” Maurice says to Dr. Barry during their consultation. Dr. Barry says, “Never let that evil hallucination, that temptation from the devil, occur to you again,” and ends their meeting abruptly.
The roles in Maurice’s interaction with Dickie are reversed when Maurice is propositioned in a way he doesn’t welcome on the train—though, unlike Dickie, Maurice responds with violence. When Maurice consults Dr. Barry to try and find a path forward from what he views as his problems with lust, Dr. Barry responds with homophobia. Notably, Dr. Barry uses the words “evil” and “devil” as he ushers Maurice from his house, showing the influence of Christianity on Dr. Barry’s homophobia.
Themes
