Letters (Motif)
In What Maisie Knew, letters represent relationships. Because of the distant and at times toxic relationships between characters in the books, communication by letter is often the only form of communication possible. These forms of communication leave room for secrecy and obstruction of communication, major tensions in the novel. For example, when Maisie is removed from the care of Mrs. Wix, the older woman tries to send her letters regularly, but Mrs. Beale prevents Maisie from getting any of these letters. This demonstrates that Mrs. Beale is jealous of Maisie's relationship with Mrs. Wix, and that she thinks she can weaken the relationship by obstructing communication. Another example of letters and telegrams symbolizing relationships is Sir Claude and Mrs. Beale secretly sending letters at various times and then lying to others about them. They are able to continue their relationship and keep it a secret due to the nature of these kinds of communication.
Carriages and Other Types of Transportation (Motif)
Wealth and social status are very important themes in What Maisie Knew. One symbol James repeatedly uses to communicate information about characters' relative wealth is carriages and other types of ground transportation. Many kinds of transportation are mentioned in the novel including hansoms, broughams, tains, boats, and cabs. Maisie makes an explicit link between the type of transportation and the wealth it signifies when her father picks her up, thinking "The brougham was a token of harmony, of the fine conditions papa would this time offer: he had usually come for her in a hansom, with a four-wheeler behind for the boxes...Papa's carriage was, now that he had one, still more private, somehow, than mamma's" (27). This quote shows that in James's writing, the type of transportation characters use, even down to the type of carriage, carries information about their current financial and social standing.
Electric Light (Symbol)
Another object used to symbolize wealth is the electric light outside of the Countess's house. This object would be very rare at a private residence in the late 19th century, since it was only invented in 1879 and took many years after that to become commercially widespread. Indeed, Maisie does not even know what she is looking at well enough to name it, only perceiving "the vividness, the almost blinding whiteness of the light" (110). Not only does the electric light show that the Countess is rich, but it also shows that she has an innovative, contemporary style, in contrast with many of the other women in Maisie's life.
Games (Motif)
The concept of games is used many times throughout the book in reference to Ida and Beale's competition to wound or inconvenience one another through Maisie. In fact, the word "game" can be found more than 20 times in the text, almost always with reference to Maisie's parents' attempts to take or give away custody of Maisie. Even beyond the use of the word, Maisie is often compared to an object in a game, such as in the metaphor, "She was the little feathered shuttlecock they could fiercely keep flying between them" (18). This quote, and the continued references to games, show how little control and personhood Maisie has in her life due to her parents' impulsive and immature natures.
These references to metaphorical games also ironically call attention to how little Maisie gets to play real games, as a normal child would. She spends little time with other children, and much of the time spent with her governesses is spent hearing gossip and stories that are too mature for a child of her age. Perhaps the only game the reader witnesses Maisie playing is the imaginative role-playing she does with her doll Lisette, which is analyzed as a symbol of particular importance below.
Lisette (Symbol)
Lisette is Maisie's doll which is used to parallel and symbolize Maisie herself. Maisie acts toward Lisette the way that her mother acts toward her, mimicking her mother's secretive and emotionally abusive ways of leaving her child for long periods and then speaking harshly to her upon returning. This shows the dysfunctional dynamics of Maisie's early childhood in a microcosm and demonstrates the effect of this treatment on Maisie's psyche. Whether Maisie has come to see this as the way mothers are supposed to act or merely thinks that by replicating the behavior she can come to understand it, her treatment of Lisette calls attention to the way parents can pass down behavior and traits to their children.
