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Chapter 30
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 is unsure how much time passes on their walk, but wishes it could last—and defer her decision—forever. She wonders how, now that Sir Claude and Mrs. Beale are “free,” their situation can feel so restrictive, and despairs of being able to make a choice. Sir Claude doesn’t rush Maisie and instead patiently walks with her. When he checks his watch, it is only to say that it is time for them to get the Paris newspapers at the train station, not to go back to the hotel. At the station Maisie, looking at a train, asks him where it is going, and he replies that he’s going to Paris. Maisie expresses her desire to go, and he asks her if she really wants to. She says yes, and a porter tells Sir Claud that the train leaves in two minutes.
Maisie has never before been in a position to make an important decision for her own life, let alone the lives of the three people she cares about most: Sir Claude, Mrs. Beale, and Mrs. Wix. She feels trapped between personal desires—theirs and her own—and social rules. The train to Paris, is for Maisie, one last chance to escape this difficult decision. Maybe, by getting on the train with Sir Claude, she can escape having to choose and face the consequences.
Active
Themes
The porter tells Maisie and Sir Claude they have just enough time to buy tickets. Maisie excitedly declares that she wants to go but, as the porter waits for Sir Claude to pay, Sir Claude turns to Maisie and asks if she has made her decision. Maisie is unable to reply and watches as the train departs. She then tells Sir Claude she has decided: she will part with Mrs. Wix if Sir Claude will part with Mrs. Beale. Sir Claude is surprised—and afraid, Maisie notices. Maisie and Sir Claude slowly wander back to the hotel, where in the lobby Maisie notices Mrs. Wix’s things packed and ready to go. Mrs. Wix thinks Maisie has abandoned her, Sir Claude says.
Sir Claude interprets Maisie’s desire to take the train to Paris as her choosing him and Mrs. Beale over Mrs. Wix. That is not Maisie’s intention, even if she does desire that escape. As she wrestles with that realization, they miss their chance to board the train. Maisie makes Sir Claude a counteroffer that reflects what she really wanted: to be with him only, free of Mrs. Beale’s self-interest and Mrs. Wix’s moralism. Sir Claude is unsure what to make of this bold move on Maisie’s part, which puts him back in the uncomfortable position of having to make a choice that will upset people he cares about.
Active
Themes
Maisie says she must see Mrs. Wix to say goodbye, and Sir Claude says he feels the same way about Mrs. Beale. Maisie then suggests that they both leave the hotel and wait until both Mrs. Wix and Mrs. Beale have left them, but Sir Claude says in despair that Mrs. Beale will never give him up. They enter the salon and find Mrs. Beale, who explains that she had an argument with Mrs. Wix before the latter decided to leave. Mrs. Wix, Mrs. Beale continues, expressed her disgust at Maisie’s lack of “moral sense” and gave her up. But Mrs. Wix interrupts Mrs. Beale to declare she has not abandoned Maisie. Mrs. Wix wants to offer Maisie one last chance: to come with her, and to leave both Sir Claude and Mrs. Beale.
Active
Themes
Maisie turns to Sir Claude and asks if he will come with her and Mrs. Wix. Mrs. Beale, horrified, asks Maisie if she is asking Sir Claude to abandon her. Sir Claude angrily tells Mrs. Beale not to talk to Maisie like that. Mrs. Beale tells Maisie to go to her room, but Mrs. Wix stops her and commands her attention, asking Maisie if she really has lost her “moral sense.” Maisie says she feels like she has lost everything. Sir Claude tells Mrs. Wix about his proposal that Maisie abandon her governess and tells Maisie to tell Mrs. Wix what her decision was. Mrs. Wix says Maisie must have refused, but Mrs. Beale says Maisie must have accepted. Sir Claude then explains that Maisie counteroffered, telling him to give up Mrs. Beale in exchange for her giving up Mrs. Wix, and describes Maisie’s choice as “exquisite.”
Active
Themes
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Mrs. Beale is horrified by Maisie’s decision and asks her if she really means that. When Mrs. Wix tries to shame Mrs. Beale for involving Maisie in her affair Mrs. Beale scream at Mrs. Wix to leave. Sir Claude gently agrees that Mrs. Wix should go. Mrs. Wix again refuses to leave without Maisie, prompting Mrs. Beale to try and grab Maisie. Sir Claude stops her, however, and takes hold of Maisie. Maisie asks Mrs. Beale if she will give up Sir Claude, and her stepmother angrily calls her a hypocrite. Mrs. Beale asks Sir Claude if he is taking Maisie’s side against her. He replies that he is only protecting Maisie’s freedom to choose herself. Sir Claude promises Mrs. Beale he will not give her up but insists that she let Maisie and Mrs. Wix go. They say their goodbyes, and Maisie and Mrs. Wix leave together for England.
