52 pages • 1 hour read
Alexandra AndrewsWho Is Maud Dixon?
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Cultural Context: Contemporary Anxieties Around Success
Who is Maud Dixon? highlights the stresses of contemporary life regarding success and fame, specifically in the publishing world. Andrews suggests that much of the stress and competitiveness of contemporary life is exacerbated by social media. With the surge of social media, comparisons between lifestyles, job opportunities, family life, and personal success become more prevalent. Although healthy competition can be a positive motivator for some, the novel suggests that competition can also become an unhealthy obsession under certain circumstances.
Andrews suggests that an unhealthy amount of comparison can lead to poor mental health, which Andrews highlights through Florence’s inner turmoil about her insecurities. Florence feels insecure around people who seem to have their careers in the publishing market figured out. She feels pressured to reinvent herself to become successful in her own right. Her keen interest in Maud Dixon, who is a successful novelist, contrasts with her sense of inadequacy and failure as she struggles to publish her own work. This constant cycle creates a level of unhealthy competition in Florence that breeds more anxieties around comparison and achievement.
The ultra-competitive world that Andrews portrays in the novel thus reveals the dangers of constantly comparing oneself to other people, especially in professional settings, and how this can take a toll on an individual’s physical and mental health.
Geographical Context: New York City and Morocco
Andrews uses the settings of New York City and Morocco to emphasize the atmospheric tension surrounding Florence’s shifting identity and the mystery of Helen. The novel starts in New York City, where Florence becomes disenchanted with the highly-competitive publishing world. Since New York City has a reputation for being a center for innovation and ambition, Andrews uses this setting to highlight the societal pressures that Florence faces. To Florence, New York City represents opportunities that she feels are constantly out of her reach.
As the setting shifts to Morocco, Andrews uses this new setting to introduce the suspense and mystery surrounding Helen’s disappearance and Florence’s decision to take her identity. Since Morocco does not have an extradition treaty with the US, Helen picks the location specifically to murder Florence and take her identity. However, Morocco also emphasizes an important shift in Florence’s transformation: It enables her to turn into another version of Helen because she feels free from the constraints of New York City society. Rather than feeling judged by social elites, Florence enjoys Morocco because it feels like a place filled with new opportunities for her. Morocco provides Florence with the chance of shedding her old identity, even if it comes at the cost of murder.
Andrews uses both settings to highlight the tension and suspense in the novel while contrasting the differences between the two locations, creating a sense of uncertainty as soon as the novel shifts from New York City to Morocco.
