The Maid's Diary

Tricksters are a recurring motif in the novel, especially relating to the theme of False Narratives and Identities. The novel shows Kit posting images of herself surrounded by wealth and luxury, using the handle @foxandcrow as a clue that she is tricking her followers. Both the fox and crow are tricksters in folklore: In her tiny apartment, she feeds a one-legged crow who visits her windowsill. The novel also draws on the motif of the trickster through the Halloween “trick or treat” setting, with its themes of jeopardy and disguise. Kit’s confrontation with the Rittenbergs takes place on this holiday associated with masks and trickery. Kit’s amateur dramatics also support this theme as she is constantly pretending to be other people, using physical disguises as well as acting skills and psychological trickery.

Kit is the main trickster in The Maid’s Diary and the novel’s ending shows that she has also tricked the reader when her multiple personas are revealed after her escape.  As her diary reads, “The trickster is trying to poke a stick at your pretensions, your worldviews, your illusions, your false beliefs, your rigid ‘rules.’” (291). The novel suggests that these words apply to the reader themselves.