Thoughts on: Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham

On a recommendation of a good friend of mine, I have recently taken up (and completed) the book Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham.

Maugham is a very distinct literary figure.  His career was prolific, and to this day he is remarkably widely read.  He lived off the royalties of his works well into his twilight years.  Several of his works, including Of Human Bondage, have been made into major motion pictures.  Yet, Maugham was not particularly progressive.  Neither is his style amazingly interesting.  He lived in the same era as Virginia Woolf but his prose possesses none of the revolutionary ideals of his time.   Instead, Maugham is a simple storyteller.  He takes a simple concept and simply creates a world around it, guiding the reader through by the hand.  His voice is clear and even, his style direct, and his settings are built from the world he knows.  He travelled all over the world, away from his native England, at a time when the world seemed larger than it does now, thus several of his stories

Of Human Bondage is a buildingsroman (woo hoo, I thought I'd never have leave to use that word in "real life") that is semiautobiographical.  Our protagonist is Philip Carey, son of wealthy parents who died when he was very young.  Now orphaned, Philip moves in with his Uncle, the Vicar of Blackstable, and his wife.  With a club foot, and a social awkwardness about him, Philip's formative years were a nightmare.  As a schoolboy in England, he was constantly pestered for his disability and for his shy nature. 

Philip leaves school to go to Germany.  Then, after feeling the wanderlust again, he returns to England, only to leave promptly for Paris, to study painting.  What follows is a story of ups and downs, with a suprisingly large focus on the exact amount of money that Philip has, and the style of life he can lead and the freedom he can savour with any level of fortune. Philip also has the strange trait of disliking people right off the bat.  Only after conversation and forced acquaintance does Philip forge relationships with people.  Maugham had a wife, but also a lifelong male partner.  One theory is that his descriptive first impressions, followed by immediate distrust may be an autobiographical description of his budding homosexuality, and his inability (in the context of 1900s England) to express himself or feel comfortable in his surroundings. 

The whole story is good, but where it excels (and is rightly remembered for) is its love story.  Philip has several female acquaintances throughout the novel but the most compelling and well developed relationship is with the anemic, scrawny but oddly tantalizing Mildred.  He immediately loves her, but is also repelled by her.  She is just terrible to him.  Like, REALLY terrible.  But he keeps on taking her back, taking her back.  She has another man's kid, and he just takes in the kid too.  A lot of his unhappiness is tied up with her.  But the relationship spans many years, off and on.  Philip's love for Mildred shows an odd preponsity for enjoying pain.  In the beginning, Philip gives Mildred the benefit of the doubt, but as their relationship continues, he knows exactly what kind of person she is.  He has no illusions about her stupidity, her sluttiness and her poverty.  It really is a unique love story, and it is told in Maughams unervingly straightforward voice, which shows subtlety that may otherwise have been lost in the telling. 

It was pretty good, and very theraputic to read.  But, it was sad, bleak and unremarkable in many ways.  Not much spice, but amazing ingredients that are well seasoned.  At just over 700 pages, it was a remarkably quick read.  The host of characters are believable and vibrant.  What is more, the autobiographical aspects of the book give great insight into how such a prolific author becomes the way that he is.  I'm sure that Philip Carey's fears often mirror Maugham's.  He fears is seeming mediocrity, his wanderlust, and his loneliness. 

I... shouldn't... have.  But I bought another Maugham novel, The Painted Veil.  I'm have the feeling that I could pick up the Maugham habit, in the same way that I read Jane Austen.  There is a safety in his voice that make his stories appealing and comfortable. And, it made me want to drink lots of tea.

Ta for now,

ET