Voyage in the Dark

by

Jean Rhys

Maudie Character Analysis

Maudie is one of Anna’s friends in the traveling theater troupe. She’s 10 years older than Anna and knows what it’s like to live without much money, which is why she encourages Anna to indulge Walter’s affections. Maudie herself has had relationships with rich older men, so she knows it’s important to seize the opportunity to live a financially comfortable life whenever the chance presents itself. What’s more, she tries to get Anna to see that such opportunities are fleeting, since rich older men eventually lose interest in the young women they so eagerly pursue at first. This is exactly what happened to Maudie with a man named Viv, for whom she ended up developing strong feelings. Maudie’s experience with Viv serves as a cautionary tale of sorts, but Anna doesn’t pay much attention to her friend, ultimately choosing to ignore the likelihood that Walter will one day abandon her.

Maudie Quotes in Voyage in the Dark

The Voyage in the Dark quotes below are all either spoken by Maudie or refer to Maudie. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Homesickness, Memory, and Belonging Theme Icon
).
Part One: Chapter 1 Quotes

We paired off. Maudie went on ahead with the tall man. The other looked at me sideways once or twice—very quickly up and down, in that way they have—and then asked where we were going.

‘I was going to this shop to buy a pair of stockings,’ I said.

They all came into the shop with me. I said I wanted two pairs—lisle thread with clocks up the sides—and took a long time choosing them. The man I had been walking with offered to pay for them and I let him.

Related Characters: Anna Morgan (speaker), Walter Jeffries, Maudie
Page Number: 7
Explanation and Analysis:

‘She’s always cold,’ Maudie said. ‘She can’t help it. She was born in a hot place. She was born in the West Indies or somewhere, weren’t you, kid? The girls call her the Hottentot. Isn’t it a shame?”

Related Characters: Maudie (speaker), Anna Morgan, Walter Jeffries
Page Number: 9
Explanation and Analysis:
Part One: Chapter 4 Quotes

‘Only, don’t get soppy about him,’ she said. ‘That’s fatal. The thing with men is to get everything you can out of them and not care a damn. You ask any girl in London—or any girl in the whole world if it comes to that—who really knows, and she’ll tell you the same thing.’ ‘I’ve heard all that a million times,’ I said. ‘I’m sick of hearing it.’ ‘Oh, I needn’t talk,’ Maudie said, ‘the fool I made myself over Viv! Though it was a bit different with me, you understand. We were going to be married!’

Related Characters: Anna Morgan (speaker), Maudie (speaker), Walter Jeffries, Viv
Page Number: 42
Explanation and Analysis:
Part Three: Chapter 3 Quotes

She was sure she could get him to marry her if she could smarten herself up a bit.

She said, ‘Isn’t it awful losing a chance like that because you haven’t got a little money? Because it is a chance. Sometimes you’re sure, aren’t you? But I’m so damned shabby and, you know, when you’re shabby you can’t do anything, you don’t believe in yourself. And he notices clothes—he notices things like that. Fred, his name is. He said to me the other day, “If there’s anything I notice about a girl it’s her legs and her shoes.” Well, my legs are all right, but look at my shoes. He’s always saying things like that and it makes me feel awful. He’s a bit strait-laced but that doesn’t stop them from being particular. Viv was like that, too. Isn’t it rotten when a thing like that falls through just because you haven’t got a little cash? Oh God, I wish it could happen. I want it so to happen.”

Related Characters: Maudie (speaker), Anna Morgan, Walter Jeffries, Viv
Page Number: 162
Explanation and Analysis:
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Voyage in the Dark PDF

Maudie Quotes in Voyage in the Dark

The Voyage in the Dark quotes below are all either spoken by Maudie or refer to Maudie. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Homesickness, Memory, and Belonging Theme Icon
).
Part One: Chapter 1 Quotes

We paired off. Maudie went on ahead with the tall man. The other looked at me sideways once or twice—very quickly up and down, in that way they have—and then asked where we were going.

‘I was going to this shop to buy a pair of stockings,’ I said.

They all came into the shop with me. I said I wanted two pairs—lisle thread with clocks up the sides—and took a long time choosing them. The man I had been walking with offered to pay for them and I let him.

Related Characters: Anna Morgan (speaker), Walter Jeffries, Maudie
Page Number: 7
Explanation and Analysis:

‘She’s always cold,’ Maudie said. ‘She can’t help it. She was born in a hot place. She was born in the West Indies or somewhere, weren’t you, kid? The girls call her the Hottentot. Isn’t it a shame?”

Related Characters: Maudie (speaker), Anna Morgan, Walter Jeffries
Page Number: 9
Explanation and Analysis:
Part One: Chapter 4 Quotes

‘Only, don’t get soppy about him,’ she said. ‘That’s fatal. The thing with men is to get everything you can out of them and not care a damn. You ask any girl in London—or any girl in the whole world if it comes to that—who really knows, and she’ll tell you the same thing.’ ‘I’ve heard all that a million times,’ I said. ‘I’m sick of hearing it.’ ‘Oh, I needn’t talk,’ Maudie said, ‘the fool I made myself over Viv! Though it was a bit different with me, you understand. We were going to be married!’

Related Characters: Anna Morgan (speaker), Maudie (speaker), Walter Jeffries, Viv
Page Number: 42
Explanation and Analysis:
Part Three: Chapter 3 Quotes

She was sure she could get him to marry her if she could smarten herself up a bit.

She said, ‘Isn’t it awful losing a chance like that because you haven’t got a little money? Because it is a chance. Sometimes you’re sure, aren’t you? But I’m so damned shabby and, you know, when you’re shabby you can’t do anything, you don’t believe in yourself. And he notices clothes—he notices things like that. Fred, his name is. He said to me the other day, “If there’s anything I notice about a girl it’s her legs and her shoes.” Well, my legs are all right, but look at my shoes. He’s always saying things like that and it makes me feel awful. He’s a bit strait-laced but that doesn’t stop them from being particular. Viv was like that, too. Isn’t it rotten when a thing like that falls through just because you haven’t got a little cash? Oh God, I wish it could happen. I want it so to happen.”

Related Characters: Maudie (speaker), Anna Morgan, Walter Jeffries, Viv
Page Number: 162
Explanation and Analysis: