Maisie Dobbs Character Analysis

In Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear almost every character has some kind of wound, either physical or mental. Two character that have such wounds are James Compton and Billy Beale. Both of which have an obvious scar from war and mental scars that are also somewhat apparent. The mental scar is more obvious on James while the physical scar is more obvious on Billy. Although James have both kinds of scarring his mental one stands out the most. Before the war he was a jovial and eccentric young man. However, after the devastation of world war one he becomes depressed and reclusive. As stated by his servant Mrs. Crawford, ” Master James will eat in his rooms, with his misery for company” (Winspear 206). He eats dinner in his room away from his family which was not typical of him in prewar times. He is not anything like he used to he does not go out and have fun like he used to. Earlier in the text it explains how he moved to canada and was a …show more content…
Even when he came back she thought she would be relieved, but it only brought a new onslaught of stress for her. She had practically lost her son even though he was back with her in physical appearance he was not mentally. Winspear shows how almost every character that is major and minor suffers from the war to put an emphasis on the lasting effects of the war even after it is over. Even when people come back after it is over are only more distraught over the information they receive when they get home. Such as James who finds out about the girl he loved before the war was killed in a factory while making grenade switches for the military. This information further pushed him along his path of depression and was a part of the mental scarring he received indirectly from the war. It also goes to show even the people not involved in the conflict itself were still injured or even killed. It goes to show the terrors of war escapes no one even the people who are not directly involved in