- "One hearing's all my cousin Maude Ivory needs. That child never forgets anything with a tune."
- —Lucy Gray Baird about Maude Ivory's remarkable ability[src]
Maude Ivory Baird was a member of the Covey and the younger cousin of Lucy Gray Baird and Barb Azure Baird.[2] She performed in the Hob with the rest of the Covey and was said to have an amazing singing voice. After her performance, she would step off the stage to accept spare money and other donations from the audience. Maude Ivory made her appearance in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes at no more than eight or nine years old.[1]
Biography[]
Maude Ivory performing at the Hob
Maude Ivory grew up in District 12 with the Covey, performing around the district to make a profit and stay alive. She and the rest of the Covey were so distraught about Lucy Gray being chosen at the reaping that they didn't perform for the entire time she was in the Capitol.[2] Maude Ivory was especially affected; she was fine during the day, but ever since Lucy Gray was taken away, Maude Ivory woke up screaming from nightmares. This continued even after her cousin's return.[3]
During the Covey's first performance after Lucy Gray returned, Maude Ivory wore a pink dress and curtsied before introducing her fellow Covey members behind the microphone. Later, she sang "Oh My Darling, Clementine", inviting audience members to join in on the chorus. When the show ended, Maude Ivory passed around a basket for the audience to make donations, and was delighted when Coriolanus Snow gave her some of Mrs. Plinth's homemade popcorn balls. She pointed Coriolanus out to Lucy Gray, who was joyful that he had arrived.[1]
When Billy Taupe Clade showed up after the performance, Maude Ivory defended Lucy Gray and ordered him to leave. Later, when Coriolanus Snow and Sejanus Plinth visited the Covey at their home, they heard Maude Ivory singing while cracking nuts outdoors in an old dress. She fetched Barb Azure and led the boys to the Meadow to meet Lucy Gray, then headed back to the house with Sejanus and the bread he handed her. However, they encountered Billy Taupe again, and Maude Ivory was irritated that Sejanus hadn't helped her shell nuts.[2] After Billy Taupe left, she took Sejanus out to milk the Covey's goat Shamus, then went inside again to eat once they were done.[3]
The next time the Covey performed in the Hob, Maude Ivory was again gifted popcorn balls by Coriolanus, and she sang him Lucy Gray's ballad because of it.[4] Not long later, Coriolanus and Sejanus went to visit the Covey again, this time accompanying them to the lake. During the walk, Maude Ivory complained of pain caused by the shoes she was wearing, and was carried by the others while she sang and theorized about Lucy Gray's fate in the ballad. When they arrived at the lake, Maude Ivory took Sejanus to pick berries and explained the Covey's unique names to him and Coriolanus. While she napped, Clerk Carmine Clade gifted her a blue feather to put in her hair. She and Tam Amber later went to the Hob to trade berries for new shoes.[5]
During a performance, Maude Ivory had the entire audience caught up in a sing-along when Mayfair and Billy Taupe's murders took place in the shed. She was the one to find the bodies, screaming hysterically and shaken up by the discovery.[6] The next weekend, at Commander Hoff's birthday party in the mess hall at the Peacekeepers' base, Maude Ivory wore a buttercup yellow dress and led the audience in singing a birthday song for the commander.[7]
Personality and traits[]
Maude Ivory was confident, as she was the one who introduced the rest of the Covey at the start of their performances. She was also quite sweet, making her a crowd favorite at the Hob, where she played the drums and sang.[1] She was said to be able to remember anything with a tune after only hearing it once.[8]
Maude Ivory and Barb Azure
Physical description[]
Maude Ivory performing
Maude Ivory was a short, little girl with a wispy frame. During performances, she was seen wearing fancy, colorful dresses and she often curtsied or pirouetted to show thanks. Maude Ivory also had a sweet, squeaky voice.[1]
Etymology[]
Maude is an Old German name meaning "powerful battler", taken from the poem "Maude Clare" by Christina Rossetti. The latter part, Ivory, is the material used for piano keys.[5] Her surname, Baird, is derived from the word "bard", meaning "poet" or a professional singer who tells stories through song. It is also only one letter off from "bird", which the Covey are often compared to in the novel.
Trivia[]
- Since some of the Covey's songs survived into the trilogy through Katniss Everdeen, who learned them from her father, it's been theorized that the Everdeens are descendants of the Covey— probably through Maude Ivory, who shared Katniss's ability to memorize music after a listen or two.[8][9] Francis Lawrence, the director of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes film, supports this theory himself.[10]
- Maude Ivory was "crazy for butter", so much so that Tam Amber fashioned her a butter churn for her birthday.[3] However, her date of birth is never stated.
- She was afraid of snakes.[5]
- In the film, her singing voice was provided by Josie Hope Hall.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 23
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 24
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 25
- ↑ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 26
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 27
- ↑ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 28
- ↑ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 29
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 12
- ↑ Mockingjay, Chapter 9
- ↑ Wang, Jessica (September 20, 2023). Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes director breaks down Hunger Games Easter eggs in new trailer. Entertainment Weekly.