What Maisie Knew - Essay Example

What Maisie Knew By Henry James What Maisie Knew by Henry James Quotation In the book, “What Maisie knew” written by Henry James, the quote, “Oh my dear, you’ll not find such another pair as your own” (James, 2013) is a statement which was made by Moddle. The quote is available in chapter one of the book. Moddle was the nurse who took care of Maisie. The child had thick legs that she kept on wondering if they were toothpick. Moddle had to tell the child that he can not find another pair like his because people are different.

Moddle made this statement in order to comfort and help her develop a sense of living. Quotation AnalysisModdle was the nurse who took care of the child and had to provide both psychological and materials support. As the child was at the garden she kept on looking on his legs and comparing to other children. Maisie parents (Beale and Ida Farange) had divorced, and the court ruled that each parent will spend six month of the year with the child. When Maisie was with her father, she developed body structure problems.

Moddle was responding to the child’s question about the legs. The child had faced a lot of suffering by having the parents divorced and being exchanged between the two parents. Moddle was taking care of the child and had to protect her from developing psychological problems. Moddle was telling the child that she can not find another pair like her own in order for the child to understand that she is better and unique than other people. Maisie parents also were frivolous and immoral, and they used her to intensify the hatred they had for each other.

The parents made Maisie suffer and it is more difficulty for a parent to inflict suffering to his or her own child. Moddle made this statement also has a parable in which she meant that the character with Maisie parents can not be found elsewhere (James, 2013). Relationship between the Quote and the Rest of the TextThroughout the text book, this quote is significant because there are many circumstances with unique things that can not be found even in the society today. After Maisie’s parents divorced, they went ahead and remarried again without even considering the effect it had to their child.

The two parents cheated to their new spouses which led to Mrs Farange having an affair with Claude. In the end, the child refused to stay with Sir Claude because she concluded that the relationship will come to an end just like her biological parents. As a result, she left and went to stay with her guardian Mrs. Wix. Just as the quote indicates the child realised that she can not find another pair of parents like her biological parents and decided to live with Mrs Wix. In the real world, parents who keep on divorcing can not stay in a marriage and children live on their own.

The novel is a criticism on sexualisation and infatuation towards childhood. The novel also condemns the parents and guardians who abandon their children. The parents who fail or do not want to take care of their children should understand that their families are more important, and they can not find another good pair of family (James, 2013).ReferenceJames H. (2013). What Maisie Knew. New York: Interactive Media.