An Elderly Lady is up to No Good

Maud’s apartment functions as a symbol of her identity, and this is why she is willing to fight so hard to protect it. The apartment is where she has lived all her life. It reminds her of her early years with her family, particularly reminding her of the strongest relationship she had during that time—the one with her beloved father. This aspect of Maud’s identity is reflected in the way she has preserved the apartment like “a time capsule”—particularly her father’s room (108). It is also reflected in the unusual arrangement by which Maud continues to occupy the apartment. She does not pay rent, like an ordinary tenant. The apartment is literally the only remaining asset from her family’s once-great wealth, and Maud has inherited a free lifetime tenancy, just as she has inherited a particular eye color and nose shape.

The events surrounding Charlotte’s death are another clue that the apartment functions as a representation of Maud’s identity. Maud’s relationship with Charlotte was uneasy and burdensome—but as long as Charlotte stayed inside the apartment, Maud felt bound to her. On the only occasion Charlotte stepped outside of the apartment, she ended up falling to her death.