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Chapter 5
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
When Claudia and Jamie wake up the next morning, a Sunday, they both notice that it feels distinctly like a Sunday, and they wonder if they should go to church. They decide to go to the room with the medieval stained glass to say the Lord’s Prayer. Jamie also reminds Claudia to say she’s sorry for stealing the newspaper earlier that week. That makes it “officially Sunday.”
Even though they’re living on their own in a museum, the kids still find ways to approximate important parts of their normal routine—like a makeshift church service in the medieval room. And Claudia’s apology suggests that even when circumstances aren’t normal, that doesn’t justify actions like stealing.
Themes
Then they go to study Angel again. Jamie teases Claudia for wishing she could hug the statue; he says Mrs. Frankweiler must have hugged it every morning. Just then, they hear a guard coming down the steps, and they scoot behind the walkie-talkie booth just in time. The guard pauses in front of Angel before moving on to the Egyptian room. The kids wait breathlessly for 10 minutes, then creep back to the statue.
Even when they think they’re alone in the museum, Claudia and Jamie aren’t totally safe—in theory, they could be discovered at any moment. The adventure requires them to think on their feet, even when their focus—Claudia’s in particular—has shifted from mere survival in the museum to studying the statue.
Themes
Claudia notices that the velvet underneath the statue has been changed—it’s no longer blue but gold. Claudia notices rings on the velvet, which make her think a beer can must have rested there. But Jamie points out that a beer can would have crushed the velvet down, while this velvet appears to be “crushed up.” Claudia picks on Jamie’s grammar, but Jamie argues that the crushed-up section must be from the part of the statue where the marble is chipped away. In that spot, there’s also a “W” visible.
Claudia’s careful attention to detail is already well-established, and here, it helps her and Jamie identify a critical clue about the statue. When she realizes that there’s a different-colored velvet under the statue, the kids soon notice a curious marking. Even sibling squabbles, which they naturally fall into at tense moments, can’t distract them from this discovery completely.
Themes
Wide-eyed, Claudia tells Jamie that’s not a W, but an M. Then Jamie remembers seeing the same symbol on one of the books he looked at in the library. Claudia is mad that he didn’t take the trouble to read about the symbol, but Jamie argues that at least they have an important clue now. Maybe nobody has even looked at the bottom of the statue.
The impression of the “M” on the velvet seems to have something to do with Michelangelo. It does seem unlikely, however, that (per Jamie’s optimistic remark) nobody would ever have looked at the bottom of the statue—art historians have probably studied every inch before.
Themes
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It’s time to hide again, so they squat under the platform. Claudia isn’t thinking about their close calls with guards—she figures they won’t matter in the end. “The end” has something to do with “Michelangelo, Angel, history, and herself.” Somehow, Angel holds a clue to her running away, but she doesn’t know what it is. For some reason, Angel has become more important to her than running away from home or staying safely hidden here at the museum.
It’s already clear that Claudia cares more about the statue’s mystery than she does about simply running away. She’s now beginning to recognize that fact for herself. She doesn’t know why, but she feels a deep, personal connection to the statue and its history that she can’t articulate logically.
Themes
A crowd has formed outside the museum. Morris the security guard was supposed to remove the statue’s pedestal and drape, but instead he has to help with the sidewalk traffic. By the time he comes inside and moves the platform, Claudia and Jamie have moved on to the museum bookstore, looking for books about Michelangelo.
Morris is a friend of Mrs. Frankweiler’s chauffeur Sheldon, which explains why his perspective gets included here. Presumably, if Morris hadn’t been called to help with the unusually large crowds, the kids might have gotten caught hiding in the exhibit.
Themes
In the bookstore, they find the book with Michelangelo’s mark on the cover. It’s his stonemason’s mark, and it’s the same as the mark they noticed on the crushed-up velvet. Triumphant, they go to lunch and discuss what to do with their information. They can’t tell the Metropolitan what they’ve found out without revealing that they’ve been living in the museum. Claudia suggests that they write a letter telling the museum to look at the statue’s base for a clue. They’ll rent a P.O. Box at Grand Central Station and tell the museum to write back to them there. If the museum asks for help, Claudia and Jamie will reveal themselves “as heroes.”
As the kids have already suspected, the impression of the “M” on the velvet under the statue does signify “Michelangelo.” However, it’s possible that they’re jumping to conclusions by assuming that the mark is necessarily Michelangelo’s—or that the museum isn’t already well aware of the mark’s presence. These oversights are realistic for a pair of excited kids, though. As far as the Kincaids are concerned, they’ve made a groundbreaking discovery that they’re obligated to share with the world. The only question is how.
Themes
Jamie suggests that they go home instead of waiting here for a response, but Claudia’s voice gets high-pitched as she insists they can’t leave without knowing the truth about Angel. She doesn’t want to return home to “the same old thing.” She’s sure that finding out about Angel will be a life-changing difference in their lives, and she won’t be the same again. Jamie relents, even though he thinks that running away, even with its “complications,” is getting dull.
Jamie is less keen on their adventure at this point than Claudia is. Running away has lost its novelty and excitement, so he’s ready to return home. But for Claudia, going home would mean giving up on the Angel mystery. Clearly, staying at the museum is no longer about proving a point to her parents. Even though she can’t explain how, the whole adventure increasingly has to do with her own character and growing up.
Themes
They go to the Olivetti place on Fifth Avenue, since Claudia saw a typewriter outside that anyone can use. There’s already a piece of paper in the typewriter, with a sentence typed on it: “Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party.” Claudia doesn’t know that’s a common sentence used for typing practice, and she decides it will add appropriate mystery to their message. So underneath the sentence, she writes a typo-filled letter to “Museum Head” suggesting that they look for Michelangelo’s stonemason’s mark on the bottom of the statue. If they need help, they can write to the P.O. Box. She signs the letter “Friends of the Museum.”
The Olivetti company manufactured typewriters throughout most of the 20th century. Showing her resourcefulness, Claudia thinks of the store’s model typewriter as a good way to create an anonymous, professional-looking letter to send to the museum. Humorously, of course, the misuse of the typing drill sentence and the many typing errors offset the professionalism somewhat. Overall, though, it’s a creative way for the kids to move their investigation forward.
Themes
