"His debt was by this arrangement remitted to him and the little girl disposed of in a manner worthy of the judgment-seat of Solomon. She was divided in two and the portions tossed impartially to the disputants."
This quote, which appears in the chapter titled "What Maisie Knew" that comes before the story proper begins in Chapter 1, gives the judge's verdict as to how Maisie will be cared for. The quote contains an allusion to King Solomon, a wise king who appears in the Old Testament. In the story that is referenced, King Solomon was able to settle a dispute in which two women claimed to be the mother of a baby by threatening to cut the baby in half. The dark humor of James's reference comes from the fact that in the story of King Solomon, the baby did not actually need to be cut in half to discover who the true parent was. In Maisie's case, since neither of her biological parents care about her very much, she is indeed, at least metaphorically, cut in half. This use of violent imagery to describe Maisie's living situation recurs throughout the book, beginning with this quote, and the flippant description, "the portions tossed impartially to the disputants" (11) is emblematic of James's understated style.
"They felt indeed more married than ever, inasmuch as what marriage had mainly suggested to them was the unbroken opportunity to quarrel."
One of the integral questions James raises in What Maisie Knew is: what is marriage? James depicts the marriages of Beale to Ida, Ida to Sir Claude, and Beale to Miss Overmore, as well as hinting at the future marriage of Sir Claude and Miss Overmore. None of these marriages are happy ones, and most seem marked by fear, financial concerns, a social pressure. In this quote, James raises the question of what constitutes marriage by stating that immediately after being declared legally not married, Beale and Ida ironically felt "more married than ever" (13). This is because marriage was to them more of a social and emotional construct than a legal one, and they still feel linked by the same social forces and emotional hang-ups as they were before being divorced. Ida and Beale's confusion about their relationship to one another is passed down to Maisie, who struggles to understand her parents' relationship and her place in their dysfunctional family.
"By the time she had grown sharper, as the gentlemen who had criticised her calves used to say, she found in her mind a collection of images and echoes to which meanings were attachable—images and echoes kept for her in the childish dusk, the dim closet, the high drawers, like games she wasn't big enough to play. The great strain meanwhile was that of carrying by the right end the things her father said about her mother—things mostly indeed that Moddle, on a glimpse of them, as if they had been complicated toys or difficult books, took out of her hands and put away in the closet. A wonderful assortment of objects of this kind she was to discover there later, all tumbled up too with the things, shuffled into the same receptacle, that her mother had said about her father."
What Maisie Knew can be read as James's critique of parents who put their desires before the needs of their children, as well as a legal system that allows them to do so. Through Maisie's stories, he demonstrates the long-lasting effect of early childhood experiences on later life outcomes. In this quote, Maisie gives a vivid account of witnessing things that she can't yet understand, things she knows are not meant for children ("games she wasn't big enough to play"). The way that Maisie puts these experiences "away in the closet" symbolizes incorporating them into her subconscious, where they will either remain for the rest of her life or be brought up into conscious memories when she is old enough to understand and process them. Furthermore, the reference to games in this quote fits into a motif of games that contributes to the ironically light, innocent tone of the novel.
"What Maisie felt was that she had been, with passion and anguish, a mother, and that this was something Miss Overmore was not, something (strangely, confusingly) that mamma was even less."
Just as What Maisie Knew raises questions about what constitutes marriage, it also prompts the question of what constitutes motherhood. Maisie, with her typical keen awareness and foresight, feels from her first days under the care of Mrs. Wix that she is a mother while Miss Overmore and Ida are not. This foreshadows the fact that Mrs. Wix will, at the climax of the book, be chosen as Maisie's long-term caregiver. Maisie's observation also provides important characterization of both Ida and Miss Overmore, since Maisie is probably the character who can best compare Ida and Miss Overmore's aptitude for motherhood. The quote is ironic because one would think Maisie would see Ida, her biological mother, as the most motherly of all three women. Her thought shows that motherhood is more than a biological relation; it requires a certain attitude of maturity and nurturing.
"There were, for instance, days when, after prolonged absence, Lisette watched her take off her things, tried hard to discover where she had been. Well, she discovered a little, but never discovered all. There was an occasion when, on her being particularly indiscreet, Maisie replied to her—and precisely about the motive of a disappearance—as she, Maisie, had once been replied to by Mrs. Farange: 'Find out for yourself!' She mimicked her mother's sharpness, but she was rather ashamed afterwards, though as to whether of the sharpness or of the mimicry was not quite clear."
This quote is important because it directly shows the effects that Maisie's emotionally abusive parents have on the young girl's psyche. Maisie has clearly internalized that the role of a parent, specifically a mother, is to keep secrets and lash out at one's children. What is more, Maisie has come to replicate this behavior. Maisie could be doing this because she idolizes her mother, and thus seeks to mimic the behavior to be more like her mother. However, it seems more likely from Maisie's reaction—"she was rather ashamed afterwards"—that she is trying to understand the thoughts and feelings that lie behind her mother's behavior. This section of the story stands out because Maisie rarely acts in such an aggressive manner, perhaps because there are few times that Maisie has the power or control in a relationship.
"No, nothing else that was most beautiful ever belonging to her could kindle that particular joy—not Mrs. Beale at that very moment, not papa when he was gay, nor mamma when she was dressed, nor Lisette when she was new."
Even though Maisie doesn't end up living with Sir Claude at the end of the story, in this quote and in many other moments in the text, Maisie shows that her deepest love is for Sir Claude. To some readers, the fact that she feels such joy in this moment shows that her love for Sir Claude is only a superficial closeness. Others might think this moment is evidence of a connection so deep that it could be experienced immediately, like love at first sight.
Maisie's lack of reference to Mrs. Wix in this moment is also notable. Maisie brings up three strong examples of things that bring her joy—her mother, her father, and her doll—so that she can stress how seeing Sir Claude tops them all. However, at the end of the story, Maisie does not choose to live with the person who brings her the most fleeting joy, but the person who can provide long-term stability.
"Besides, there are no family-women—hanged if there are! None of them want any children—hanged if they do!"
This quote has implications both for the story and for understanding the larger social criticisms the book is launching. Explicitly, the fact that Sir Claude is the speaker of this quote shows that Maisie's mother never wanted Maisie, or at least changed her mind after having her child. Maisie is present when Sir Claude proclaims this, and because of her maturity, the reader can assume that she understands Sir Claude's meaning. This quote is then added to the many things Maisie hears that inform her self-worth and notions of her place in her family and the world.
Implicitly, James is also weighing in on a social trend. Sir Claude's statement and exasperated tone with regard to Ida and other women's desires reflects that women in the late 19th century were becoming more independent and less family-oriented. Ida herself is both a very feminine character, as in her dealings with men, and a masculine character, as shown mostly through her independence and her skill at billiards. Through the character of Sir Claude, James demonstrates a typical male opinion of women attempting to expand their role in society.
"If it had become now, for that matter, a question of sides, there was at least a certain amount of evidence as to where they all were. Maisie of course, in such a delicate position, was on nobody's; but Sir Claude had all the air of being on hers. If, therefore, Mrs. Wix was on Sir Claude's, her ladyship on Mr. Perriam's and Mr. Perriam presumably on her ladyship's, this left only Mrs. Beale and Mr. Farange to account for. Mrs. Beale clearly was, like Sir Claude, on Maisie's, and papa, it was to be supposed, on Mrs. Beale's. Here indeed was a slight ambiguity, as papa's being on Mrs. Beale's didn't somehow seem to place him quite on his daughter's."
This quote demonstrates how mature Maisie has had to become in her attempts to understand her family. Her parents' quarrels have forced her to see life as a game or battle with sides, and because of the number of people involved, knowing who is allied to whom is not such a simple task. Furthermore, Maisie's complex equations are so messy because most of the relationships in the book are dysfunctional and unstable. Maisie's conclusion seems to be that Mrs. Wix, Sir Claude, and Mrs. Beale (Miss Overton) are on her side, which foreshadows their escape to France together towards the end of the book. Ironically, Maisie seems the surest that Sir Claude and Mrs. Beale are on her side, only placing Mrs. Wix on her side because of her allyship with Sir Claude; however, when the three adults are pitted against one another in a final battle for custody of Maisie, it is Mrs. Wix who wins.
"For the wretched homeless child."
Though Mrs. Wix tries to treat Maisie normally, and at times even as a friend rather than a student, this quote shows Mrs. Wix's true thoughts about Maisie. Mrs. Wix's diction is of particular import to understanding this quote. She sees Maisie as "wretched" because she has been tainted, in Mrs. Wix's eyes, by her parents' decisions and the immoral behavior of all the adults around her. Furthermore, Mrs. Wix's use of the word "homeless" is ironic because Maisie has not one but two homes, both upscale dwellings to match her parents' upper class social status, and yet has nowhere she truly belongs.
Finally, this quote is important because Mrs. Wix's language is specifically chosen to pull at Sir Claude's heart strings. This means that Maisie is once again being objectified to forward an adult's desires—in this case, Mrs. Wix's desire to have Sir Claude run away with her and Maisie. While Mrs. Wix pretends to make the situation all about Maisie by using such emotionally charged language, she herself wants to be employed and supported by Sir Claude because of her financial concerns and her love of him.
"Fear, unfortunately, is a very big thing, and there's a great variety of kinds."
Fear is a theme in What Maisie Knew, and it is most strongly manifested in the character of Sir Claude. Over the course of the novel, it becomes clear that Sir Claude is quite ruled by fear—of Ida, of Miss Overton, and of the judgment of society at large. In this quote, Sir Claude educates Maisie about fear. Maisie responds lightly that she thinks she has all of the kinds of fear, showing the impact of her early childhood experiences on her emotions as well as the emotional intelligence she has cultivated as a coping mechanism.
