The Painted Veil


'Spiritual Awakening' is what defines W. Somerset Maugham's The Painted Veil

Kitty Garstin, the main character who squanders the prime time of her youth by flirting around with men, is urged by her domineering mother to marry Walter Fane, a serious, laconic bacteriologist lest she become an old maid. After getting married, she moves to Hong Kong with him, but quickly finds him a great bore. She has an affair with Charles Townsend, a handsome man who is the assistant colonial secretary in Hong Kong. One day, Walter tells Kitty that he knows everything about her infidelity and threatens to divorce her on the grounds of adultery, which she fears. Walter Will only let her go if she can get Charles to divorce his wife and marry her instantly. If she fails, she has to join him on a trip to cure the sick in a cholera-ravaged area in China. Kitty goes to Charles' office and asks him to marry her. To her dismay, Charles refuses to divorce his wife, insisting that it will ruin his reputation. With a parting shot that Charles is cowardly and contemptible, she returns to Walter's home and embarks on the trip to China. 

In China, Walter's selflessness in curing the sick jerks Kitty awake to the stark reality that she has been wrong about him. To make herself useful, Kitty voluntarily helps out in a convent, looking after orphans. The mother superior likes to share her life stories with her, constantly reminding her of the need to have a strong faith in God and to appreciate those she loves and cares. She gradually finds herself loving Walter and the bacteriologist begins to see her in a different light. Before long, she finds herself pregnant with Charles' baby, and she becomes more guilt-stricken. Walter continues to work hard in finding a cure for cholera but succumbs to it one day. Broken-hearted, Kitty returns to Hong Kong and Charles' wife welcomes her to stay with them. Unable to find an excuse to decline her offer, Kitty stays in their house and falls for Charles' seduction one afternoon. Loathing herself, She severs her ties with him and returns to England, finding her father a widower after the death of her mother. Kitty moves to a Carribean island with him, where she looks after him and raises her child to be a better person than she is.

The novel shows the transformation of Kitty from a vain woman, to a strong-spirited life warrior through the vivid portrayal of her inner struggles. Her decision to join Walter on the trip to China embodies the end of one's illusion and the start of a self-discovery process.   The Inner conflict she frequently experiences can be translated as an introspective period one has to endure in order to atone for the faults he or she has done before. Her eventual decision to start a new life with her father is a victory one achieves after a full cathartic release.

The novel is written in simple yet beautiful language. I can easily relate to the main character, who speaks to me through a highly evocative prose.

Comments

suituapui said…
Not a fan but no choice, had to teach about Thomas Wilson in LitCom those days before I retired.
February 1, 2015 at 7:06 PM
sintaicharles said…
madam chang Yi introduced me the book.
February 1, 2015 at 7:56 PM
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