The Netflix original drama Maid, about a young mother struggling to provide for her daughter, has quickly become a fan favorite. Let’s find out Who Is Maid Based On?
She leaves her abusive partner (played by Nick Robinson of A Teacher) and obtains a job as a maid (thus the title), but she still struggles to make ends meet.
Many viewers likely relate to the show since they, too, maybe having difficulty making ends meet, especially in light of the recent uptick in the number of people in the United Kingdom turning to food banks for assistance. Given that this difficulty is shared by other parts of the world, Maid feels especially timely.
In that way, Maid is firmly based on the tough reality of modern life, but viewers are also wondering whether Alex’s precise story is authentic or a work of fiction.
Who Is Maid Based On?
The sad truth is that Stephanie Land’s life—which serves as inspiration for the show—was actually the subject of a renowned memoir published in 2019 under the title Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive.
The land was born into a middle-class family, but after suffering from PTSD and being a single mother, she was forced to live below the poverty line.
The Netflix series Maid depicts many of the hardships detailed in Land’s memoirs, including as her dependency on welfare programs, an abusive relationship, financial difficulties, and her and her daughter’s stay in a homeless shelter.
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How Does Maid Compare To Stephanie Land Book?
The Netflix program features a more varied group of characters, a point that Land was adamant that its new creators take into account. While chatting with Vox, Land stated:
My last two calls were to John Wells and Margot Robbie. Up until that time, a lot of people really wanted to do a straight adaptation of the novel. And the thought of that was repulsive to me. Mainly because it’s a story about a white person and because of the privileges that person enjoys.
You can’t get away from your experience when writing a book, and I was all by myself. Nothing happened, and I didn’t interact with anyone. The line from the movie trailer salesman that kept running through my head was, “One white woman plunged into poverty — and how she got herself out.”
John Wells and Margot Robbie suggested adding fiction to the situation, along with a varied cast and a realistic setting. That’s why I decided to tag along with them; it’s something I really enjoy doing.
Which Parts Of Maid Were Changed For Television?
The new Netflix adaptation of Land’s memoir stays true to its source material in many respects. Land’s character this time around goes by the name Alex, and her ex-boyfriend Nick Robinson (as Sean) instead of Jaime.
Maddy is the name she gave to her fictitious offspring, who is based on Story (Rylea Nevaeh Whittet). Maddy does not spend her formative years in a halfway house as Story did but rather in a subsidized apartment.
All of Land’s family members and their connections have been altered for the screen. Land and Story stay with his father for a while throughout the book, and they seldom ever see Land’s expat mother. Andie MacDowell, who plays Qualley’s real mother, Paula, is a steady but erratic presence in the lives of her daughter and granddaughter in the show. Paula is Alex.
In addition, the venue shifted. In her memoir, Land describes her time spent in the Skagit Valley area of Washington and in the little town of Port Townsend, a population of less than 10,000. Although Alex is shown to reside in Washington state’s Port Hampstead and clean homes on the state’s Fisher Island, the show’s actual filming locations are British Columbia, Canada.
Alex, based on Stephanie Land, is played by Margaret Qualley.
Can We Assume That Netflix’s Show Is Mostly True?
Maid on Netflix isn’t a direct adaptation of the book, but it stays faithful to Land’s description of life on the edge of destitution.
In a recent Instagram post, Land said, “Throughout this whole process of handing my tale to the hands of strangers, I had to force myself to trust they’ll do it justice. It’s true. By far. That’s because they showed genuine curiosity and applied what they learned to gain empathy for people in precarious living situations.
I feel like John, Molly, and Erin are like family to me and Story because they have taken the time to get to know us.
How Does The Book Conclude?
Throughout Maid, Land balances being a mother with her cleaning job and her schoolwork. The story concludes with Land’s acceptance to and enrollment in the University of Montana in Missoula, where she earns a BA in English. The final image presented to readers by Land is a dramatic and moving one: she and Story hiking up a Montana peak toward their new home.
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