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Chapter 11
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in What Maisie Knew, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Innocence and Corruption
Money and Society
Hypocrisy
Perspective and Understanding
Summary
Analysis
Maisie senses that she is due to return to her father soon. Ida comments irritably on how long it has been, and Mrs. Wix is noticeably afraid. Mrs. Wix requests to go with Maisie, and Ida attacks her for being on Sir Claude’s side. Sir Claude reassures Maisie and Mrs. Wix that he will protect them from Ida’s moods, and Mrs. Wix, in a burst of emotion, asks Sir Claude to leave the house with them. Sir Claude says that he would like to, but he is unable to abandon Ida. Mrs. Wix retorts that Ida won’t waste time before abandoning him and declares that she wants to save Sir Claude too, from Ida or worse. She urges him to leave the pleasure of society behind and focus on caring for Maisie.
Ida is not only jealous of Sir Claude because he receives Maisie’s affection, but she is also jealous of Maisie for receiving Sir Claude’s. This jealousy is why she looks forward to Maisie being sent back to Beale’s. Mrs. Wix’s fears are due to the fact that, without Maisie around, she and Sir Claude will be Ida’s only targets to attack, and Ida might even go so far as to fire Mrs. Wix. Sir Claude’s noble behavior is deeply moving to Mrs. Wix, prompting her to speak her mind and tell him he is too good for his surroundings and should extract himself from the corruption of modern society.
Active
Themes
Sir Claude gently waves Mrs. Wix’s speech away, but he promises to Maisie never to abandon her. In the following days, Sir Claude prevents Ida from sending Maisie away and busies himself taking Maisie on excursions. Mrs. Wix is left at home alone, subject to Ida’s abuse. Ida continues to rage against Beale for not taking responsibility for Maisie, especially financially, even though Sir Claude is paying for Maisie’s things more and more. Soon, however, Ida begins to leave the house more and more, leading Mrs. Wix to believe that she is testing the water before abandoning Sir Claude permanently.
