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Chapter 18
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
As Beale awkwardly smokes a cigarette Maisie wishes she had the capacity to make peace between the adults in her life. She would be willing to sacrifice everything—except Sir Claude and Mrs. Beale—to do so. Beale breaks the silence by telling Maisie that he is leaving for America. He will be traveling with the Countess, on the pretext of supervising her business interests, and he wants to know if Maisie would like to join them. Maisie is surprised by his offer and says she will go anywhere he asks. He points out that that is a polite way of declining. As Beale insists that he won’t push her to accept his offer, Maisie realizes he wants her to say no: he is asking Maisie to absolve him of his responsibility for her without him appearing to abandon her.
Maisie’s desire for harmony in her family life is tragic, as the adults around her are too selfish to want or appreciate the sacrifices she would be willing to make, if such a sacrifice were possible at all. Beale’s journey to America is likely a means for him to live off the Countess to an even greater degree, and to leave his family responsibilities behind. Part of Maisie’s growth is her developing her own ability to lie, as her equivocating answer to Beale’s question reveals. Still, Maisie’s emotional intuition continues to exceed her knowledge of society, and she is able to grasp that Beale doesn’t want her to come with him without knowing why.
Active
Themes
Beale realizes that Maisie has come to an arrangement with the other couple, Mrs. Beale and Sir Claude. He criticizes their behavior, but Maisie retorts that they love her. They love her, Beale responds, because she is the perfect cover for their affair. None of that will matter soon, however, as Beale explains that he isn’t planning to return from America and Maisie will never see him again. They are interrupted by the arrival of the Countess, who is strikingly ugly up close. The Countess is excited to meet Maisie, but her enthusiasm is dampened when Beale explains that Maisie won’t join them in America. The Countess offers instead to take Maisie to Spa, but Maisie is unable to hide her revulsion toward the Countess and asks to be sent home. Maisie realizes she doesn’t have money for a cab, so the offended Countess gives her some and angrily sends her away.
Active
Themes
