nd Amerigo. It begins with several long paragraphs in which Maggie's mental process of turning over every alternative course of action regarding her suspicions is laid out in a series of convoluted reflections that lunge toward and pull back from the subject in the manner of a person trying to make up her mind, and constantly producing alternate possibilities.
But this is suddenly broken into by the switch to Maggie's blunt question, addressed to Fanny at a later date, "What awfulness, in heaven's name, is there between them? What do you believe, what do you know?" (399). It is quickly inserted that Maggie ignores the evidence of Fanny's turning pale at the question. But she does deduce that Fanny had been expecting the question. This is followed by an extraordinary list of Maggie's suspicions and actions that mounts in intensity to the conclusion that she had placed Amerigo and Charlotte in a position which would "put it into her own power to describe them exactly as they were" (399-400). In the ensuing conversation--which is unusually blunt for these characters--there is, however, a great deal of circling around the essential point of the behavior in question, in order to get at the nature of Maggie's perception. This might seem to be beside the point. But it is not. What is important at this juncture in the novel is that the evolution of Maggie's increased ability to perceive the motivations of others be demonstrated. The reader does not need any additional information on the facts of the case thus far and the two women are far less interested in facts than in what has become of Maggie. Fanny is fascinated to see her predictions about Maggie's great reserves of character coming true and this amplifies the discussion of her character and her capabilities. Since it is Maggie's will, intelligence, and sense of self-interest that will become the decisive factors in the "Princess" volume of the novel it is their evolution ...