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
When they wake up in a hotel, Alec moves closer to Maurice. Happiness overtakes Maurice. Maurice says they have to make plans, lest things happen the way they did at Penge. Alec says, “Don’t talk to me about Penge,” and explains the indignities he suffered as a servant. You won’t believe how people talk to servants, he tells Maurice. He also says he is planning to leave in three days and that they won’t be able to meet again. Maurice says Alec should stay in England. He says that they’re in love, so he should stay. Maurice says they’ll live together, and he’ll quit his job. Alec says it would ruin both of them. When Alec leaves Maurice alone in the hotel room, Maurice’s eyes begin to sting. Love has failed, he thinks.
Penge reappears in this passage not just as a symbol of homophobia but also of the injustice of the class system in England. Alec’s explanation of his experiences as a servant directly challenge Maurice's class prejudices. Maurice then attempts to convince Alec to follow the example that Maurice has learned from his Sunnington dream. Maurice is in love, he thinks, and for that love to be true love, both people involved must be willing to sacrifice everything for one another. Alec, though, isn’t ready to commit to that kind of sacrifice, and Maurice thinks that, once again, love has failed.
Themes
