Maisie Learned

What Maisie Knew, by Henry James, is a novel written in 1897 about a little girl whose parents divorce, and Maisie is then repeatedly used by both parents in power plays. Neither parent cherishes or nourishes her emotionally as parents should. The thing that ultimately saves Maisie's childhood is her nanny, Mrs. Fix. Maisie is a perceptive observer of the behavior of the adults around her, and she is given quite a show to see. She spends six months of each year with each parent, accompanied by her nanny.

From the very first page we can see that Maisie has been used as a pawn even in the divorce agreement: her father has been given custody of her but has to repay the child support money her mother put up. She only gets to spend six months with her mother because her father cannot repay the money, and...
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