The Golden Bowl

Maggie Verver is the central character in The Golden Bowl. Over the course of the novel, her attempts to balance her relationship with her father, her marriage to Amerigo, and her friendship with Charlotte reveal her to be a genuine, sincere person. While other characters lie, cheat, or withdraw from their responsibilities, Maggie strives to do whatever she can for the people she loves the most, even when doing so threatens her own happiness. In the early parts of the novel, Maggie is carefree. Though she lost her mother at a young age, she has a very close relationship with her father, and she is in love with her fiancé, Amerigo. She loves both men so much, in fact, that she becomes concerned that she will not be able to provide them with the love and affection she believes that they deserve. The irony of Maggie’s character is that, through her desire to ensure that her loved ones receive adequate attention, she accidentally manufactures the opportunity for her husband’s affair. Maggie tries so hard to please everyone that she creates a circumstance in which her loved ones have the chance to betray her. As Fanny predicts, Maggie then blames herself for their betrayal.