What Maisie Knew, Chapter 2 summary

What happens

1. Maisie’s parents repeatedly use her to pass accusations between them, while concerned observers offer little help.
2. Maisie recognizes her role in their hatred and stops repeating messages, letting her parents think she is dull.
3. She admires her first governess, Miss Overmore, whose manners and beauty distinguish her from Moddle.
4. Maisie asks Miss Overmore whether she should deliver her mother’s accusation that her father knowingly lies.
5. The governess’s reaction recalls a friendly meeting with Maisie’s father, which she asks Maisie to keep from her mother.
6. Maisie feels closer to Miss Overmore through her father’s suggestion that the governess can help save her.

In this chapter

What to notice

Maisie’s silence conceals growing awareness rather than diminished understanding. Her parents mistake her refusal to serve their hostility for stupidity.

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