Summary
Chapter 13
Sir Claude continues to take Maisie on outings—those specifically mentioned at the beginning of this chapter are the National Gallery and a cafe on Baker Street. As they visit sites together, Sir Claude and Maisie have candid, mature conversations about the nature of Sir Claude's relationships with Ida and Mrs. Beale. When Maisie asks Sir Claude if he has seen Mrs. Beale in person since their first meeting, Sir Claude says that they haven't met in person but they have exchanged letters. He then cuts off the conversation by teasing Maisie about the number of buns she's eaten during tea time.
When Maisie tells Mrs. Wix later about how Sir Claude has not seen Mrs. Beale in person, Mrs. Wix says that he actually has seen the woman, meaning he lied to Maisie. When Maisie asks how she knows this, Mrs. Wix says that she herself has gone to see Mrs. Beale and found out directly. Mrs. Wix reports that not only has he seen Mrs. Beale, "He has seen her repeatedly" (76). Maisie and Mrs. Wix are both so disturbed by the idea that Sir Claude has lied, having idolized him until this point, that they weep together.
The next day, when Sir Claude takes Maisie out, instead of going to town he takes her to a house: her father and Mrs. Beale's new house. Maisie asks if he's brought her here for her to live with her father again, and Sir Claude says that isn't for him to decide. Maisie is conflicted as to whether she would want to stay at her father's house; she does miss Mrs. Beale and feels it has been "a hundred years since she had seen [her]" (78), but she also doesn't want to leave Sir Claude for such a long time. She brings up Mrs. Wix's plan for Sir Claude, Maisie, and herself to live together, and Sir Claude says it isn't possible. However, he promises to visit her often if she does move to her father's house. As the chapter ends, Maisie suddenly realizes that she hasn't thought about what will happen to Mrs. Wix if she stays with her father and Mrs. Beale, but Sir Claude only teases, "Ah you should have thought of that sooner!" (79).
Chapter 14
Mrs. Beale greets Maisie with hugs and praise, and Maisie interestingly notes that her stepmother is acting "in the very manner of her mother" (79). Maisie notes anew how beautiful Mrs. Beale is, especially now that she is a bit older. Early in the conversation, Mrs. Beale reveals that Sir Claude has indeed been visiting her. Sir Claude is chagrined at his lie coming out, saying that he told it "to protect [Mrs. Beale's] reputation" (80), but Maisie informs him that she already knew the truth from Mrs. Wix. Maisie tells Sir Claude that she was not bothered by his lie but that Mrs. Wix was. Mrs. Beale, Maisie, and Sir Claude discuss Sir Claude visiting often while Maisie is living at her father's house. Maisie tells Mrs. Beale about how Mrs. Wix has said she is saving Sir Claude by being his duty and his life, and Mrs. Beale says that she wants to do the same. The two adults commiserate about their spouses.
Abruptly, it is decided that Maisie will stay at the house and live with her father for a while and Sir Claude will send her luggage the next day. Sir Claude compliments Maisie on her beauty, and Mrs. Beale explains that he means beauty of character. Maisie compliments both adults back, saying they look beautiful together. Maisie begs Sir Claude to come back the next day, thinking that it is actually more fun to be with Sir Claude and Mrs. Beale than Sir Claude and Mrs. Wix. She does regret that she won't get to say goodbye to Mrs. Wix, but Sir Claude says he will deal with Mrs. Wix and Ida. Mrs. Beale suggests that Maisie should start taking classes "at institutions—on subjects" (85), including French literature and history. When Maisie seems frightened at the prospect, Sir Claude and Mrs. Beale say that they'll attend the lessons as well. The chapter ends with Maisie fretting again about Mrs. Wix but having her fear and guilt assuaged once again by Sir Claude's promise to "square her" (85).
Chapter 15
One day, Sir Claude comes to Maisie's father's house specifically to take her out with him. It is revealed that Maisie has been living at her father's for several weeks, and Sir Claude has not been visiting much at all. Maisie has also not been attending lessons, because her father doesn't have the money. Sir Claude takes Maisie to the park for a walk, and Maisie almost immediately stops being mad at him for not visiting more. Suddenly, Maisie and Sir Claude see Maisie's mother far off in the park walking with a man. Sir Claude tells Maisie that her mother was supposed to be playing billiards in Brussels, but she must have lied. Maisie guesses that it could be Mr. Perriam or Lord Eric, but as they get closer Sir Claude says he thinks it is someone called the Count. Sir Claude guesses that Ida will take attention off of her own behavior by getting mad at him for something. Indeed, when they are close enough, Ida starts to yell at Sir Claude for being with Maisie. She sends Maisie off with the man she is with, who she calls the Captain, so that she can talk to Sir Claude alone, but Maisie won't go at first. However, when Sir Claude and Ida begin to fight more aggressively, Maisie runs off toward the stranger.
Chapter 16
Instead of being scared or shy, Maisie takes to the Captain immediately. They share their shock over Sir Claude having called Ida "a damned old brute" (92), and the Captain tells Maisie that he thinks Ida is "an angel" (93). The Captain tells Maisie that her mother talks about her a lot, and Maisie is so flustered by his charming nature that she starts to ramble about all the other men her mother has been romantically involved with. The Captain again says that Ida is very fond of Maisie, and he goes on to say that she has suffered greatly in her sacrifices for her daughter. Maisie asks the Captain whether he loves Ida, and when he says that he does, Maisie sobs, begging him to say it again, perhaps because she has never met someone who seems to be truly in love with her mother. The Captain suggests that she come back to live with her mother, saying she won't be living with Sir Claude anymore and that he will be there "some day" (97).
Maisie sees that Sir Claude and her mother have stopped fighting, and Sir Claude is approaching Maisie and the Captain while casually lighting a cigarette. Maisie tells the Captain that Sir Claude won't care about her mother's affairs, but Ida sends the Captain off because she doesn't want the two men to interact. Before the Captain leaves, Maisie passionately tells him to not love her mother "only for just a little...like all the others...Do it always!" (98).
The Captain leaves and Sir Claude reaches Maisie. He looks stranger than she has ever seen him, seeming disgusted and cold. He asks who the Captain is and what they have been doing, and Maisie chooses to play dumb, a tactic she has usually used on her biological parents but not Sir Claude. This angers him so much that he calls her "the perfection of a dunce" (99), and he puts her in a cab to go home by herself. She feels joyful for successfully hiding her knowledge, as she used to when hiding things her father said from her mother.
Chapter 17
Sir Claude again doesn't visit Maisie's father's house for a while, but Mrs. Beale admits to Maisie when asked that she does continue to see Sir Claude alone. Maisie still does not seem to understand the nature of their relationship as an extramarital affair, but she is pleased that Mrs. Beale is able to bring her notes from Sir Claude every day or two when she sees him. A new phase of Maisie's life begins in which she starts to attend lessons more frequently and forgets almost entirely about Mrs. Wix. Sir Claude does not attend the lessons along with Maisie and Mrs. Beale as promised, though Mrs. Beale says that he will some day, causing Maisie to always hope he will be there.
One day, Mrs. Beale announces out of the blue that she and Maisie are going to go to an event at Earl's Court in the evening. She says that there is a chance Sir Claude will be there, and both of them seem to have their hopes up. Mrs. Beale admits to Maisie that she and Sir Claude haven't been spending time together with Maisie because Sir Claude doesn't want to get her "mixed up" (105), though she refuses to elaborate further on what this means. This causes Maisie some confusion, but she settles on telling Mrs. Beale that they should assure Sir Claude that neither of them minds her being mixed up.
Chapter 18
The Exhibition at Earl's Court is not as great as Mrs. Beale and Maisie had hoped. Because of their lack of money, they have to have only a small meal beforehand, and they can't actually see a lot of the sideshows because they cost money. They look around but see Sir Claude nowhere, causing them even more frustration. Suddenly, Mrs. Beale sees Beale, Maisie's father. Maisie immediately assumes that he lied to Mrs. Beale about where he would be, like her mother lied to Sir Claude the day they ran into her in the park. Beale is with a woman who Mrs. Beale says must be Mrs. Cuddon.
Quickly, Beale approaches Mrs. Beale and Maisie and takes Maisie with him into a carriage, leaving Mrs. Beale and the other woman behind. He doesn't speak, but he trembles and hugs her to him. When the carriage stops, it is not at Beale's house but rather a fancy house with an electric light (an expensive rarity at the time). They go inside, and Beale tells Maisie it is the house of an "American Countess." Maisie is very impressed by the Countess's riches, and she is happy when Beale says that the Countess should join them shortly. Beale speaks harshly about his wife, Mrs. Beale, when she is brought up, but Maisie is happy to be receiving such unusual attention from her father. Beale continues to show Maisie the lavish items in the Countess's living room and treats Maisie affectionately, even playing with her hair as she sits on his lap. Maisie insightfully thinks that her father does not actually know her but wants her to play along as if they are close.
Analysis
Sir Claude's character begins to be tarnished in this section due to his repeated lying to Maisie. While Sir Claude might have originally been seen by the reader as one of the book's protagonists, James makes sure to give all of his adult characters, including Sir Claude, negative qualities. The reader is forced to feel as Maisie does: that the world of adults is full of deceit and instability. While Sir Claude eventually tells Maisie that he lied to her to protect her from getting "mixed up" (105), it seems likely that he didn't tell more for the sake of his own guilt and his fear of Ida.
Maisie and Sir Claude's relationship is also negatively affected in this section by Maisie using her performative stupidity on him for the first time. At the age of six or seven, Maisie taught herself to appear stupid when her parents Ida and Beale asked her to repeat rude messages to one another. This act contrasts Maisie with a normally developing child, who would not have to pretend not to understand but rather would be truly innocent. Maisie not using her performance of stupidity with Sir Claude until this point in the book showed that she trusted him to see her for herself rather than as a pawn to get information. This makes her choice to pretend to be stupid when he asks her about her conversation with the Captain an important turning point in their relationship.
Maisie's interaction with the Captain in Chapter 16 shows that Maisie still loves and wants the best for her mother after all the trauma she has experienced. She believes that the Captain truly loves her mother, and she begs him to not love her mother "only for just a little...like all the others" (98). Maisie seems to do this completely selflessly, which shows great maturity, but she also seems naively to not understand her mother's nature. When Ida reveals that she is no longer with the Captain later in the book, Maisie strangely seems more upset than when Ida has separated from Beale or Sir Claude. Perhaps Maisie puts so much faith in the relationship between the Captain and Ida because through the Captain's adoring eyes, Maisie herself was able to love and forgive her mother.
Besides containing Maisie's longest interaction with her father in the course of the novel, Chapter 18 stands out for the many symbols of wealth, to which James continually draws the reader's attention. Of particular importance is the symbol of the electric light outside the Countess's house. Electricity would have been very rare at a private residence in the late 19th century; it was invented in 1879 and took decades to become commercially widespread. This is supported by how Maisie describes seeing the lightbulb, noting, "the vividness, the almost blinding whiteness of the light" (110). This shows that she does in unfamiliar with the object. The electric lightbulb is used to show how rich the Countess is, as well as to show her contemporary style, in contrast with many of the other women in Maisie's life.
It is important to note that wealth and social status were not one and the same in late 19th century England. Ida and Beale Farange are undoubtedly part of the upper class, attending upscale social gatherings and interacting with people of wealth and import. However, this section makes it clear that both characters struggle financially. Ida's lack of money is shown primarily through Mrs. Wix, a lower-class and poorly-educated woman, being Maisie's governess. Maisie notes earlier in the book that Mrs. Wix is not always paid and that when Ida and Sir Claude travel together, she and Mrs. Wix must scrape together odd meals from whatever is left in the house. Maisie is similarly limited while at her father's house, a fact which is most obvious at the beginning of Chapter 18. James writes that, "[Maisie and Mrs. Beale] had partaken together at home of the light vague meal—Maisie's name for it was a 'jam-supper' — to which they were reduced when Mr. Farange sought his pleasure abroad" (106-107). Then, while at the Exhibition, they can not see any of the sideshows because of a "paucity of sixpences" (107), a quite small sum of money. This is contrasted when later in the chapter Maisie goes to the Countess's house and sees how the truly rich live.
