How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #13
"And for your keeping in with them?" Beale roared again; it was as if his spirits rose and rose. "Do you realise, pray, that in saying that you're a monster?"
She turned it over. "A monster?"
"They've made one of you. Upon my honour it's quite awful. It shows the kind of people they are. Don't you understand," Beale pursued, "that when they've made you as horrid as they can—as horrid as themselves—they'll just simply chuck you?" (XIX.35)
This exchange is brutal. Beale is being a real jerk to his daughter. He's also showing how much he believes that children can be molded into monsters. Maisie's daddy clearly believes that action can make kiddos into creeps, but inaction (his mode of parenting) has no ill effects.
Quote #14
Still they didn't separate; they stood smoking together under the stars. Then at last Sir Claude produced it. "I'm free—I'm free."
She looked up at him; it was the very spot on which a couple of hours before she had looked up at her mother. "You're free—you're free."(XXI.35)
One of the attributes of little kids is that they have a tendency to repeat what they hear adults say … which can lead to some embarrassing/hilarious moments. Maisie may not understand the nuances of what she's repeating, but she'll repeat it anyhow.
Quote #15
"Well," said Mrs. Wix, "nobody, you know, is free to commit a crime."
"A crime!" The word had come out in a way that made the child sound it again. (XXV.12)
This quote shows not only that little kids love to repeat phrases they hear from adults, but why they love it so much. Even though kids have limited vocabularies, they get a thrill out of the way words are uttered. They might not understand vocab, but they understand intonation.