Elizabeth is Missing

Maud is at Elizabeth’s funeral, but she doesn’t understand what’s happening or who the other people are. Helen brings her a piece of fruitcake and tells her, “At least you got to say goodbye” (300). When Maud says that she wasn’t there to catch the bouquet, Helen tells her it was a funeral, not a wedding. Maud asks where she is, and Helen explains that she’s at Peter’s house.

When Katy appears, Maud throws the currants from the fruitcake at her and asks if the girl is her daughter. Helen explains that the girl is Maud’s granddaughter. Katy adds that, at 82, Maud is too old to be her mother, but Maud doesn’t believe she’s that old.

Maud tells them that Elizabeth is missing. She thinks that Elizabeth came to her house to pick up currants which she fed to the mad woman. She thinks the mad woman was a bird who frightened Sukey, so Sukey and Douglas dug a tunnel to America. She wonders if they took Elizabeth with them.

The novel ends as Maud tries to explain her jumbled thoughts to Helen and Peter. She thinks, “I can see they won’t listen, won’t take me seriously. So I must do something. I must, because Elizabeth is missing” (301).