Maud Martha

Russell is Maud’s first boyfriend. He is smoothly flirtatious and described as a sexy flourish. The chapter ends abruptly with Maud blinking in the wake of Russell’s smile.

Maud’s next boyfriend is David McKemster. Maud believes David belongs to the academic sphere, but David recognizes that his white, privileged classmates are far more comfortable and confident in this world than he’ll ever be. He desires material objects that “make up a good background” (46): a good dog (not a mongrel), a well-furnished apartment, a bookcase filled with nicely bound books, and good art. David wants to surround himself with the things that filled the bookshelves and conversations of his classmates in their formative years. He struggles to catch up to the social and general education he feels he missed out on because of his racial and socioeconomic background.

Maud is 18 years old and dreams of visiting New York City. She looks at New York as a symbol of “what she felt like life ought to be” (50). Maud imagines New York as a place that’s polished, shining, and poised. At 18, Maud has everything in the world to anticipate dreamily.