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Chapter 4
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Growing Up
Adventure, Mystery, and Secrets
Family
Independence, Capability, and Creativity
Art, Beauty, and Wonder
Summary
Analysis
Claudia and Jamie have been hiding for three days now. Laundry is becoming an issue, so on Saturday, when there are no school groups touring the museum, they go to the laundromat after breakfast. Nobody stares at them as they pull dirty socks and underwear out of their pockets. They throw everything into a single load, and by the time the laundry is done, all their clothes look gray. Then Jamie wants to go to Bloomingdale’s and relax in the TV department, but Claudia insists on going to the library to research Michelangelo and the Renaissance instead. They have to walk there, of course.
Hiding out in the museum requires the Kincaids to tackle some housekeeping tasks that might not normally be their responsibility, like laundry. Among throngs of people, though, nobody gives the kids a second glance. Since they don’t have extra money to spare and aren’t very experienced, the chore doesn’t go terribly well. But Claudia’s bigger concern is learning about the Angel statue. For her, running away isn’t just about survival—it’s become focused on a different goal.
Themes
When they finally reach the right library (at the first one, the children’s librarian directs them to a different branch), Claudia is determined to remember everything she reads. She assigns Jamie to look through photographs of Michelangelo’s work while she studies. After realizing that her book is more than 200 pages long with footnotes, she turns to picture books instead. Jamie points out that Michelangelo got his nose broken in a fight, so maybe his fingerprints are on file. He also tells Claudia that a lot of Michelangelo’s works have been lost, including a cupid, but so far he hasn’t read anything about an angel. Claudia feels humbled and therefore irritable, but Jamie feels confident that they can solve the mystery.
Claudia has high expectations for herself when it comes to learning new things and tackling challenges, but here she realizes that solving a mystery sometimes requires a more targeted approach. When she doesn’t find an answer easily, she feels defeated. Clearly, like many aspects of growing up, discovering Angel’s history isn’t going to be a simple matter. But the fact that there are unidentified Michelangelo sculptures out there offers hope that Angel could be one of them.
Themes
On the way back into the museum, Jamie finds an intact Hershey’s almond bar. Claudia warns him that it’s probably filled with marijuana and he’ll become a dope addict, which will bankrupt them, but Jamie eats it anyway. After lunch, they play in Central Park and stock up on snacks. Then they go back to the museum in time to hide in the bathrooms. They’ve gotten used to the routine. But this time, the guard doesn’t check the bathroom at the usual time, and the lights stay on. Jamie starts to panic that Claudia has gotten caught.
It's humorous that Claudia’s biggest concern about the idea of a marijuana-laced Hershey bar is not that Jamie would suffer from an addiction, but that an addiction would be really expensive to maintain. The kids have settled into a routine by now, but that means that when things don’t go as expected, their hiding place might be threatened.
Themes
Eventually, Jamie hears more footsteps than usual, followed by two men’s voices by the sink. The men expect big crowds tomorrow, and they mention the delicate angel statue they’ll have to move tonight. One of them says that he doesn’t think there’ll be as many visitors as they had for the Mona Lisa, since that was “the real McCoy.” But the men leave and turn the lights off before Jamie can hear the rest of their conversation.
Jamie inadvertently overhears some insider conversation. These museum workers seem doubtful that the angel statue is authentic, or at least they’re not certain, unlike when da Vinci’s Renaissance painting the Mona Lisa was exhibited (something that did happen at the Metropolitan, incidentally, in 1963—the first time the painting left its home in Paris’s Louvre).
Themes
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Jamie realizes that they’re moving Angel, and that Claudia would have no way of knowing this. He tries to warn her via telepathy, repeatedly thinking, “STAY PUT.” For some reason, Claudia does just that. Perhaps it’s because “they were meant to make the discovery they made.”
Claudia might accidentally cross paths with the museum workers while they’re transporting Angel, giving away the kids’ presence. Regardless of why she stays put, the statue’s relocation will apparently create an opportunity for the kids in solving the mystery.
Themes
After an extra-long wait, they both emerge from the bathrooms and meet in their sleeping spot. When Jamie arrives, Claudia already knows they’re moving the statue; she saw it, dimly lit, on her way from the bathroom. Jamie thinks they’re lucky they didn’t get caught, while Claudia is annoyed that this has delayed the baths she’s been planning.
Always practical, Claudia is less concerned about the risk they’ve just dodged than about the disruption to her next plans.
Themes
Claudia explains that they’ll bathe in the restaurant fountain. (Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is “furious” that she has to tell Saxonberg about the restaurant and insists that he take her there for lunch soon. She explains that there’s a huge fountain with bronze dolphins in the middle of the restaurant.) They duck under the restaurant’s velvet rope, get undressed, and climb into the fountain. They both enjoy the bath, even though the water is cold. Jamie especially enjoys it because he soon discovers coins on the bottom. The kids scoop up as many coins as they can—totaling $2.87—before getting out.
Mrs. Frankweiler’s complaint to Saxonberg also acquaints readers with the details of the museum’s famous fountain. Claudia’s brainstorm to bathe in the fountain has an unexpected perk: they can supplement their budget by collecting the coins people toss into the fountain for good luck.
Themes
Before going to bed, they visit Angel in the Great Hall. Claudia says they can’t make up their mind about the statue until they’ve examined all the evidence, so they should think about the statue, Michelangelo, and the Italian Renaissance as hard as possible before falling asleep. Instead, Jamie starts thinking about home. He figures they should be homesick and wonders if they’re bad people since they don’t miss their parents. He admits he hasn’t been homesick since they stayed with an aunt while their mom went to the hospital for Kevin’s birth. They figure homesickness is something that only happens if you’re unsure of yourself or not well-trained.
Claudia is single-minded in her commitment to figuring out the truth about Angel’s origins. Realistically, the kids don’t have very much evidence to go on, but even if solving the mystery is unlikely, Claudia clearly feels uniquely drawn to the statue. Though the kids claim they aren’t homesick, it’s possible that they’re not being totally honest with themselves. Or, perhaps more likely, the novelty and excitement of running away has crowded out homesickness.
Themes
