How It All Goes Down
Ida and Beale Farange, Maisie's parents, have split up for good. After their divorce, when James's novel opens, the Faranges are left with nothing nice to say to one another. But rather than say nothing at all, they make their only daughter, little Maisie, carry nasty, name-calling messages back and forth as she shuttles between two equally broken homes.
Ida and Beale have been ordered by the court to share custody of Maisie. But the only thing they really end up sharing is the prize for Worst Parents Ever. Small-minded, selfish, and spiteful, Mr. and Mrs. Farange are two of the most despicable people you're likely to encounter in fiction, and it's Maisie's job to save herself from them.
But first, she has to see them for what they are, and this is no easy feat for a child who is still so young and dependent. Maisie also happens to be nothing like her folks. The apple fell far from the tree, thankfully, and she's a real sweetie. She's also curious, quick, and good-natured through and through.
So how does she make it out of harm's way and free herself from her evildoing, good-for-nothing mom and dad? You guessed it: by running away from home. But being such a young'un, she needs help to make this happen. This means she has to find an adult who'll really have what it takes to help her, who'll be willing to look out for her and do what's right.
Several candidates present themselves, and James leaves readers in doubt as to who is the genuine article. Much of the interest in reading Maisie comes from having to puzzle this out with James's protagonist. We know what Maisie knows, and little else, so the suspense mounts during Maisie's search for a rescuer.
Maisie has two governesses, one in each of her parents' houses: the odd but lovable Mrs. Wix and a prettier woman named Miss Overmore. Her loyalties are divided between these ladies, but she also comes to adore the new man in her mother's life, Sir Claude, who is chivalrous, charming, and—all of James's characters agree—a real hottie.
The plot thickens—and the family tree gets complicated—when Miss Overmore becomes Mrs. Beale, marrying Maisie's dad (and for some reason, using his first name as her last, which must be what floats her boat). Sir Claude, for his part, marries her mom.
But this doesn't mean, of course, that Maisie now has two big happy families. Adulterers will be adulterers is what James seems to think. And sure enough—get this—Maisie's two stepparents, Mrs. Beale and Sir Claude, also get together. The exes' new spouses end up with each other, so it's like a marriage merry-go-round.
Sir Claude and Mrs. Beale start seeing each other on the sly and getting to know each other very well, if you know what we mean. James implies this even though Maisie doesn't see it clearly because she's too young to know the ways of the world. Mrs. Wix, though, sees it all and seriously disapproves.
So when Sir Claude hatches a plan to cart Maisie off to France to live happily ever after with him, Mrs. Beale, and Mrs. Wix, the good old governess wants out, and she wants Maisie to have the "moral sense" (XXVI.1) to opt out, too. (In those days, more than today, adultery really was a huge thing, and James expects readers to understand this and to sympathize with Mrs. Wix, even if he keeps showing that she's really pretty wacky.)
As the novel nears its conclusion, Maisie, now in France, hesitates, torn between her stepparents and Mrs. Wix. But, in the end, her conscience is her guide, and—spoiler alert!—she chooses the straight and narrow (if unglamorous) Mrs. Wix. This good governess marvels, in the novel's last words, "at what Maisie knew" (XXXI.154).
The child-heroine has come a long way and finally found safety. She has learned from life. And she now has a whole new life to look forward to.