Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- How does Maisie manage to pull through? Where do her inner resources come from if, from the start, she's "a ready vessel for bitterness, a deep little porcelain cup in which" adults mix "biting acids" (Preface.6)?
- What does James's novel have to say about beauty?
- Is beauty a good, bad, or mixed thing for James?
- Does What Maisie Knew encourage readers to recognize different kinds of beauty?
- Does nature or nurture matter more in What Maisie Knew? What leads you to your conclusion?
- What's so bad about Maisie's stepparents?
- Why does James (like Maisie herself) side with Mrs. Wix in the end, rather than letting his protagonist stay with Mrs. Beale and Sir Claude?
- What does Maisie teach about Victorian ideas concerning morality?
- Who, if anyone, is the worst individual in What Maisie Knew?
- Why does James not give readers a clue as to what happens to Maisie after the novel ends?
- Can you imagine Maisie's life after Maisie's last page?