Previous
Hester
Maudie is one of Anna’s friends in the traveling theater troupe. She’s 10 years older than Anna and knows what it’s like to live without much money, which is why she encourages Anna to indulge Walter’s affections. Maudie herself has had relationships with rich older men, so she knows it’s important to seize the opportunity to live a financially comfortable life whenever the chance presents itself. What’s more, she tries to get Anna to see that such opportunities are fleeting, since rich older men eventually lose interest in the young women they so eagerly pursue at first. This is exactly what happened to Maudie with a man named Viv, for whom she ended up developing strong feelings. Maudie’s experience with Viv serves as a cautionary tale of sorts, but Anna doesn’t pay much attention to her friend, ultimately choosing to ignore the likelihood that Walter will one day abandon her.
Maudie Quotes in Voyage in the Dark
The Voyage in the Dark quotes below are all either spoken by Maudie or refer to Maudie. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part One: Chapter 1 Quotes
We paired off. Maudie went on ahead with the tall man. The other looked at me sideways once or twice—very quickly up and down, in that way they have—and then asked where we were going.
‘I was going to this shop to buy a pair of stockings,’ I said.
They all came into the shop with me. I said I wanted two pairs—lisle thread with clocks up the sides—and took a long time choosing them. The man I had been walking with offered to pay for them and I let him.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
When Anna first encounters Walter, he glances at her “very quickly up and down.” She immediately recognizes what kind of glance this is, identifying it as a sort of assessment—one in which Walter takes stock of her, objectifying her and clearly deciding whether or not he thinks she’s pretty enough to spend money on. Needless to say, this is a sexist and unkind thing to do, but Anna brushes it off. When she says that Walter looks at her “in that way they have,” she implies that she’s quite accustomed to men who ogle her as if her looks are Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas
‘She’s always cold,’ Maudie said. ‘She can’t help it. She was born in a hot place. She was born in the West Indies or somewhere, weren’t you, kid? The girls call her the Hottentot. Isn’t it a shame?”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
When Maudie and Anna bring Walter and his friend back to their boardinghouse, Maudie tells them that Anna is “always cold” because she was born in a warm climate. As she explains that Anna was born in the West Indies, she adds the words “or somewhere,” revealing that she doesn’t actually know much about Anna’s upbringing or family roots. To the contrary, she can’t be bothered to speak accurately about Anna’s background, acting as if the only thing that matters is that she’s not from England. To that end, Maudie notes that everyone in their theater troupe calls Anna “the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignis
Part One: Chapter 4 Quotes
‘Only, don’t get soppy about him,’ she said. ‘That’s fatal. The thing with men is to get everything you can out of them and not care a damn. You ask any girl in London—or any girl in the whole world if it comes to that—who really knows, and she’ll tell you the same thing.’ ‘I’ve heard all that a million times,’ I said. ‘I’m sick of hearing it.’ ‘Oh, I needn’t talk,’ Maudie said, ‘the fool I made myself over Viv! Though it was a bit different with me, you understand. We were going to be married!’
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Anna spends the day with Maudie after not seeing her for a little while. Maudie is impressed by her new haircut and her nice boardinghouse, and she realizes that Anna is receiving money from Walter. This development doesn’t surprise Maudie—instead, she offers Anna advice about dating wealthy older men, ultimately warning her about getting too hung up on Walter. When she says that Anna shouldn’t “get soppy about him,” she means that she shouldn’t become too emotionally attached, which would be a “fatal” mistake. Instead of forging a genuine connection with Walter, Maudie implies, Anna should approach the relationship in Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Re
Part Three: Chapter 3 Quotes
She was sure she could get him to marry her if she could smarten herself up a bit.
She said, ‘Isn’t it awful losing a chance like that because you haven’t got a little money? Because it is a chance. Sometimes you’re sure, aren’t you? But I’m so damned shabby and, you know, when you’re shabby you can’t do anything, you don’t believe in yourself. And he notices clothes—he notices things like that. Fred, his name is. He said to me the other day, “If there’s anything I notice about a girl it’s her legs and her shoes.” Well, my legs are all right, but look at my shoes. He’s always saying things like that and it makes me feel awful. He’s a bit strait-laced but that doesn’t stop them from being particular. Viv was like that, too. Isn’t it rotten when a thing like that falls through just because you haven’t got a little cash? Oh God, I wish it could happen. I want it so to happen.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Shortly before finding out that she’s pregnant, Anna runs into Maudie, who tells her that she’s in a new relationship with a wealthy older man. She claims that everything is going well, that he’s a great partner, and that she might even be able to get him to marry her—if, that is, she had a little bit of money to make herself look more stylish. The fact that her new partner cares so much about looks is somewhat concerning, since it suggests that he’s interested in superficial matters instead of focusing on Maudie’s personality. This is a potential sign that Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum vol
Get the entire Voyage in the Dark LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Maudie Character Timeline in Voyage in the Dark
The timeline below shows where the character Maudie appears in Voyage in the Dark. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part One: Chapter 1
...a chorus girl looks exactly the same. She and one of the other chorus girls, Maudie, rent a room in Southsea from a landlady who initially doesn’t want to give them...
(full context)
Maudie is 28. Anna thinks she’s very knowledgeable about the world, noting that she’s had all...
(full context)
While walking on the street one day, Maudie notices two men trailing behind her and Anna. They stop and talk to the men,...
(full context)
Maudie invites the men to their rooms. The tall one is hesitant to take her up...
(full context)
Once inside the room, Maudie tries to make conversation, but the tall man, whose name is Mr. Jones, is very...
(full context)
...refills Anna’s glass, he touches her hand and remarks how cold and clammy it feels. Maudie jumps in and explains that Anna is always cold because she was born in a...
(full context)
Maudie tries to get the two men to talk about what they do for work, but...
(full context)
After the men leave, Maudie talks about how rude they were. Anna agrees, saying she didn’t like them, but Maudie...
(full context)
Anna tunes Maudie out and thinks about her home in the West Indies, comparing it to England. She...
(full context)
Anna gets in touch with Walter when she reaches London. Maudie and Laurie—who does Anna’s makeup—tell her what to say to him in her letter, insisting...
(full context)
Part One: Chapter 4
...to fall on a Sunday in January. She doesn’t spend it completely alone, though, since Maudie comes to visit. She compliments Anna’s appearance, since Anna recently changed her hair style. Maudie...
(full context)
The best advice Maudie can give Anna is that she shouldn’t get too attached to Walter. Doing so would...
(full context)
Maudie urges Anna to demand more from Walter. If he’s rich, he should be paying for...
(full context)
Anna might not come back as a chorus girl when the new season starts. Maudie wants to know what she’ll tell her stepmother, Hester, if she decides to quit the...
(full context)
Part Three: Chapter 3
...her 15 quid, and then she never sees him again. She does, however, run into Maudie, who tells her that she’s been seeing a successful man who likes her quite a...
(full context)
