tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post5691660455329310689..comments2024-03-05T15:22:45.423+05:30Comments on The Summing Up: Thoughts on Of Human BondageSandhya Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14447589463166718231noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-40040512145169544322020-09-01T18:20:49.303+05:302020-09-01T18:20:49.303+05:30If you wish for to grow your know-how simply keep ...If you wish for to grow your know-how simply keep visiting this web page and be updated with the latest gossip posted here.<a href="https://www.hammondelec.com" rel="nofollow">สล็อตออนไลน์</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-79254292653498465012019-02-24T02:08:41.503+05:302019-02-24T02:08:41.503+05:30I just finished reading it and found it compelling...I just finished reading it and found it compelling throughout and not overly long as has been suggested. The dialogue which now comes across as very dated is perhaps the only weakness.<br /><br />The mysterious complexities of the human heart are laid bare with great care and the forces of debasement and divinity are accorded their places in the great tapestry of our lives.<br /><br />The dire situation of the poor is touched upon almost incidentally, and as a result is almost more disturbing than expressed in 'The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist' which engages social issues of the period head on. The British empire is at its height and people are committing suicide due to hunger, children in rags play in Greenwich park, and fathers are warned there will be an inquest should the healthy new baby, born to a family in dire poverty, die <i>'unexpectedly'</i>.<br /><br />The ending struck me as quite sad, but convincing. Sally's responses to Phillip's advances are exactly the same as those of Mildred's - <i>'I don't mind'</i> or, <i>'If you want to'</i>. <br /><br />Life, it is what it is, not what we expect or demand it to be. Maughan's accomplishment is not be deterred from stating that.<br />Petehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16750700151259904574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-54992005779704392172015-07-08T14:43:16.282+05:302015-07-08T14:43:16.282+05:30Nicholas nails it. Agree with Anonymous's comm...Nicholas nails it. Agree with Anonymous's comments too.<br /><br />Sorry to say, but I found the comments above by Sandhya and Alexander a bit pretentious.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-21928347456834108382015-06-28T03:13:57.658+05:302015-06-28T03:13:57.658+05:30A very astute review. I thought this was a fascina...A very astute review. I thought this was a fascinating book, and I couldn't put it down at the end, but I'm not quite in love with it. <br /><br />My review: http://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2015/06/of-human-bondage-by-w-somerset-maugham.htmlJosephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-86081435122656565252014-10-03T15:40:24.254+05:302014-10-03T15:40:24.254+05:30The relationship between Sally and Philip emerges ...The relationship between Sally and Philip emerges abruptly, which makes the ending somewhat unsatisfying, but it occurs at a stage when both are ready for marriage. Philip, because he has had an extremely rich and turbulent life of the mind and has done a lot of maturation in his thirty years. Sally, because she is a good, honest, no nonsense woman who is ready for marriage at the age of eighteen.<br /><br />I think there's a spark between them. When they are on that holiday in the fields they make love a few times and there's that wonderful scene when Sally scolds Philip with maternal affection. Philip likes her mystery and Sally has long admired Philip. She is probably impressed by his tenderness and warmth with the Athelny brod.<br /><br />The relationship makes sense when you recall the happiness of the Athelnys' marriage. Thorpe Athelny tells Philip that it isn't necessary for a married couple to share intellectual and artistic interests. So I believe that Philip is making a decision similar to Thorpe's: to enjoy marriage for the companionship, the stability, and the children, and to seek intellectual repartee with male friends.Nicholashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17452656387562521590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-31656486810432343152013-02-02T14:13:46.728+05:302013-02-02T14:13:46.728+05:30Thanks for visiting. I agree with your view on the...Thanks for visiting. I agree with your view on the ending and that was a point on which I and Alexander (from the comments above) disagreed. Philip's decision is logical enough, given that he has come to see most of life as meaningless anyway and feels it is upto each one to make a pretty design of it. I don't think Maugham predicts a bleak future for Sally and Philip, even if Maugham never really portrayed a happy marriage in his novels. There is some physical attraction for sure. I dont remember the novel very accurately but if I'm not wrong there is some emphasis on Sally's looks. That implies that there is sexual attraction even if something else is missing. Maugham always thought physical passion is a justifiable reason to marry, but without an emotional and mental compatibility, it would fail (Mrs Craddock).<br /><br />Maugham does not spend too much time on the Philip-Sally relationship for us to guess which way it will go. In the sequence of events in the novel, it seems like a pleasant sort of ending to me, and at this point at least Maugham seems to be advocating a marriage where there is reasonable affection.Sandhya Iyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14447589463166718231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-70665380174812313562013-02-02T12:23:10.646+05:302013-02-02T12:23:10.646+05:30Just finished the novel tonight. Loved reading you...Just finished the novel tonight. Loved reading your blog post and many of the comments. In my mind, this story has neither a happy ending or a sad ending. <br /><br />It's simply an ending. Philip realizes the pursuit of happiness is futile and furthermore meaningless, however living in poverty and misery is not an option either. <br /><br />He has traded love for companionship; passion for stability, chaos for conventionality. He is also entering a loveless marriage but not necessarily an unhappy one. We are left with the sense from both Phillip and Sally that this is the inevitable and logical thing to do. Certainly for the utterly masochistic Philip, the village of Fernley and the inscrutable Sally are a safe harbor after years of humiliation, alienation and rock bottom poverty. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-46717964196607042542013-01-06T10:51:16.564+05:302013-01-06T10:51:16.564+05:30Thank you for you response Mike. Im glad the analy...Thank you for you response Mike. Im glad the analysis made some sense to you. The relationship is bewildering for sure, even if the pattern of unrequited love where the object of desire is quite a worthless person, is a familiar one is all of Maugham's works. It is a theme that Maugham dealt with one way or the other in almost every story he wrote.<br /><br />Maugham always laid a good deal of stress on verisimilitude. He wrote stories that rang true. And in most cases, you can clearly see what the character finds attractive about the person they love. So the passion is justified even if it turns out to be a foolish one. Here in Humna bondage, that aspect is not clear because Mildred is made into a very unattractive character. The most logical conclusion is that Philip finds gratification in a sado masochistic relationship. And seen from that point of view, it makes complete sense.Sandhya Iyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14447589463166718231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-78794883985425214552013-01-05T22:29:18.445+05:302013-01-05T22:29:18.445+05:30Hello Sandhya,
I've just watched the 1934 fil...Hello Sandhya,<br /><br />I've just watched the 1934 film of "Of Human Bondage", a novel I have yet to read, and was deeply affected by it because I too was for 5 years in a very similar situation to Philip.<br /><br />I Googled information about the film and the novel and came across your site. <br /><br />I just wanted to thank you for your brilliant analysis of the psychology of obsessive "love". Absolutely spot on, and it has helped my greatly to understand myself. The true purpose of all literature of course.<br /><br />MikeMikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-54008084291328366172012-08-01T23:54:26.711+05:302012-08-01T23:54:26.711+05:30Hi Sandhya,
I chanced upon your blog because I am ...Hi Sandhya,<br />I chanced upon your blog because I am in the midst of reading Human Bondage and I wanted an explanation for Philip's behaviour. I am getting very frustrated with him especially when he continues to seek humiliation by pursuing Mildred. <br />Your analysis gave me some relief and a better understanding of the reasons for the masochistic relationship that Phillip shares with Mildred.<br /><br />Thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-84139789655159734422010-10-29T23:16:21.065+05:302010-10-29T23:16:21.065+05:30Yes, Mildred is a very extreme case - by far the m...Yes, Mildred is a very extreme case - by far the most extreme in everything of Maugham I've read. But even in Of Human Bondage there are female characters of great charm. I don't mean that cold fish Sally, but Nora (if I don't confuse the names) whom was treated rather abominably by Philip, instead of vice versa.<br /><br />I guess, similar to Maugham quite fascinating empathy with the sex (to use the phrase of Anthony Curtis), what makes your reviews special is the fact that you identify with Maugham's characters, especially the female ones.<br /><br />Wagner's music dramas are daunting task but well worth your time if they capture your imagination. To whet your apetite (hopefully), here is a video the only one (to the best of my belief) world famous Indian performer of Western classical music who does, incidentally, some pretty impressive things with Wagner:<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRuMD0n3utY&p=EEF204EE5BC337EF&playnext=1&index=49Alexanderhttp://www.librarything.com/profile/Waldsteinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-68876055795538853142010-10-29T10:07:59.425+05:302010-10-29T10:07:59.425+05:30Beautifully said! I haven't heard any of Wagne...Beautifully said! I haven't heard any of Wagner's music dramas, but you get me interested now with the analogy.<br /><br />I am finished with Theatre anmd the film it was adapated into - being Julia. Loved both! I'm just in the midst of putting up a piece.<br /><br />I couldn't agree more that Maugham has a deep understanding and compassion for his female characters. Except maybe Of Human Bondage, where I thought Mildred is a particularly pathetic and tragic character (but even in her hard-nosed vulgarity and commoness, she is nothing but a victim of her circumstances and mental confusion, the other two - both Julia Lambert and Kitty are beautiful creatures, but both have different personality problems, which make them selfish and vulgar in their own way.<br />I can say I could relate to both Julia and Kitty. They are life and blood characters. I am stunned Maugham could etch his female characters with such incisiveness and depth.sandhyanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-12974449302286865782010-10-26T16:11:01.809+05:302010-10-26T16:11:01.809+05:30Oh, dear, my personal vanity has just swelled enor...Oh, dear, my personal vanity has just swelled enormously! :)<br /><br />Seriously, I don't know how adept I am in literary cricism, but I am really annoyed - tremendously so indeed - by such cheap attempts to capitalise on Maugham's popularity, which still seems to be considerable, like Pico Iyer's volume. May Maugham's books remain in print as they were originally published. Not that there are no nice compilations of his writings, but I have yet to come across one superior to the original volumes.<br /><br />Together with his astonishing evolution of style and his versatility, what I am most fascinated about Maugham is this difference between his books, even the ones in one genre, yet one could hardly mistake them for somebody else's. It's kinda like the music dramas of Wagner (Maugham's favourite composer, you know): each one has a very special sound and mood, often vastly different than all others. This is also the case with Maugham's travel books and there lies the tombstone of Mr Iyer's editorial task. I shudder to think what an impression about Maugham's travel books one might form from this selection only, not to mention about his personality from the four full scale biographies of him. But if one has read the travel books and, say, The Summing Up before, that's quite another story.<br /><br />I have often heard criticisms that Maugham's female characters are not sympathetic enough, Julia Lambert being a case in point. I take issue with such statement. I have always preferred characters which are not so full of virtues and noble qualities; they are much more real and that's why Maugham's characters in general are so powerful and compelling. But the real gem is Mauhgam's attitude (not only) to his female characters: full of compassion and entirely devoid of condemnation, even though by some superficial standards many would call these women immoral, hypocritical, vain, egoistinc and what not.<br /><br />The number of Maugham's captivating female characters is downright astonishing. They are everywhere: novels, short stories, plays; especially plays indeed, since most of them were written with a certain great actress in mind (who usually was all too glad to take the lead part in the new play of Willie). <br /><br />I would even venture to suggest that a pretty good case may be made that Maugham always was more successful in his female characters, though he did create a number of unforgettable males as well. Such a case would be highly ironic considering the huge amount of misogynistic nonsense Maugham is usually subject of - which is most often expressed by people who never bother to read him carefully.<br /><br />Yes, Julia IS Theatre. I suppose this was Maugham's way to present a world he never was intimate with but he did know intimately: a character of a great actress. Much more captivating, and suitable, stratagem than a story, no matter how good it may be.<br /><br />PS Please be anxious to write more about Maugham.Alexanderhttp://www.librarything.com/profile/Waldsteinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-76812594434782073052010-10-26T13:00:32.460+05:302010-10-26T13:00:32.460+05:30With Theatre, I am beginning to understand what yo...With Theatre, I am beginning to understand what you said about each of Maugham's works being so distinct from one another. of course, I see common threads and the readability of his text remains high as always. I loved the way he's etched Julia Lamber's character, and SHE by herself IS the point of the book.sandhyanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-46797416553465940492010-10-26T12:00:09.332+05:302010-10-26T12:00:09.332+05:30Alexander: You are really adept at trashing sub-st...Alexander: You are really adept at trashing sub-standard efforts, esp related to Maugham, aren't you! I really enjoyed your critique, not least because you have used such colourful adjectives - outstanding indolence, deplorable hotchpotch...etc etc<br /><br />And I was realy amused at this one...<br /><br />"Mr Iyer finishes his introduction with the startlingly presumptuous notion of improving Maugham's travel writings by cutting the dull passages from them. Well, such passages in Maugham's travel books there may well be, but if I am allowed to paraphrase (in greatly inferior style of course) his famous words about Proust, I should say that I would rather be bored by Maugham's books as they were originally published than entertained by such mishmash of a selection like Mr Iyer's."<br /><br />Now you know I am so anxious to write anything about Maugham :-)<br /><br />But yes, I was very entertained by your review, as much as I found it reassuring that there is a wealth of literature by Maugham that I will have the delight to discover in the near future. <br /><br />On a more serious note, I think you are truly valuable to the academic world of criticism, in relation to Maugham, because you have such an in depth, incisive knowledge of his works. Which is why you can easily spot the mediocrity and superfluity in someone like Pico Iyer's selections and observations. We need critics like you, who demand certain standards of scholarship, proficiency and intellectual depth from the reviewers.sandhyanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-83621142274904638812010-10-25T21:58:12.316+05:302010-10-25T21:58:12.316+05:30Judging by his totally deplorable introduction to ...Judging by his totally deplorable introduction to a very mediocre, to say the least, selection of Maugham's travel writings, this guy is not my cup of tea at all.<br /><br />I think the subject of Theatre hardly allows for such emotional density as The Painted Veil or The Moon and Six Pence, let alone Of Human Bondage. At any rate, I guess this was not Maugham's aim. I am looking forward to your purely woman's point of view.Alexandernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-34822635525009541942010-10-25T18:40:06.908+05:302010-10-25T18:40:06.908+05:30LOl Alexander. I am not related to Pico Iyer, but ...LOl Alexander. I am not related to Pico Iyer, but yes I know quite a few people who enjoy his writing.<br /><br />BTW, I am reading Theatre and enjoying it a great deal. But I don't quite find it having the emotional density of a Painted Veil or The Moon and Sex Pence. I'm liking it for what it is though, and can really relate to the central character in very many ways.sandhyanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-19368354531207916182010-10-20T15:18:07.333+05:302010-10-20T15:18:07.333+05:30Sandhya,
I hope you have no personal relationship...Sandhya,<br /><br />I hope you have no personal relationship with one Pico Iyer, the 'editor' of 'The Skeptical Romancer':<br /><br />http://www.librarything.com/work/9185766<br /><br />For I am about to write a truly withering review of his 'editorial' work in this volume.Alexanderhttp://www.librarything.com/profile/Waldsteinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-91971725542037195122010-09-22T11:42:17.622+05:302010-09-22T11:42:17.622+05:30Yes, the decision to marry Sally is impulsive, but...Yes, the decision to marry Sally is impulsive, but it's possible that he had already come to that emotional stage where he didn't see much point in life anyway, and he was quite ready to make his small pretty design of marriage and children.<br /><br />The way I saw it, Philip's attraction for Sally is physical. He keeps mentioning her strong body very often. Now, once the physical passion dies down, Phlip could very well start to feel miserable in the marriage. That much I can deduce out of it.sandhyanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-5240125237559250292010-09-21T13:53:29.459+05:302010-09-21T13:53:29.459+05:30As a matter of fact, Sandhya dear, believe me or n...As a matter of fact, Sandhya dear, believe me or not, that's exactly what I did. <br /><br />The first two times I read Of Human Bondage I did so in Bulgarian - and both times I was disappointed by the endind, closing the book with something like 'Damn you, Willie, it's much too happy an ending!' The third time, which was quite some time afterwards, I read the novel in English and I was suddenly struck that the ending is far from happy. Only later, much later, did I learn the details about Maugham's disastrous marriage, illegitimate daughter or his only proposal that was turned down earlier. At the time when I read Of Human Bondage in English I knew only that Maugham was once married, had a daughter and was later divorced. But, then again, this may have had its influence on me without I even realised it.<br /><br />Anyway, I am all for NOT putting too much of writer's life in his books. That's why the biographies of Maugham I read did so little, if anything, to improve my appreciation of him. There are those people for whom such knowledge is essential; I see their point but cannot share it. I am honestly appalled when people start searching about the real persons behind the characters, and this is especially often the case with Of Human Bondage. But let me give the word to Evelyn Waugh who said some really perceptive about this odious habit of the public in his review of Maugham's Cakes and Ale:<br /><br />'If only the public could be dissuaded from these recurrent, impertinent attributions! They are an intolerable nuisance and, occasionally, even a danger to authors. No one, not even the novelist himself, can follow the process by which personal experience is transformed into impersonal, artistic creation. People should realise that the eager 'Oh, Mr Maugham, it is so exciting to meet you; now you will be able to tell me who all your characters REALLY are,' is not only embarrassing but insulting.'<br /><br />Now, I firmly disagree with Mr Waugh that the artistic creation is impersonal; I think it is quite the opposite. But his point is well worth considering and amusingly expressed. Maugham himself has written tons of pages about the creation of fictional characters from living models, but it seems nobody bothers to read these pages.<br /><br />Excluding Maugham's personality is much more difficult, though by no means impossible of course. Dr Saunders (The Narrow Corner) has many obvious similarities with his author and Maugham all but said that Ashenden was an autoportrait, but I don't really see how this makes the characters any less, or more, compelling than they are. The same is true about Of Human Bondage, I should say. Whether Philip is or is not Maugham's alter ego hardly makes any difference, he still seems to me perfectly doomed in this marriage of his, no matter whether Maugham ever thought so or not.Alexandernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-9564396163792778632010-09-21T11:50:58.928+05:302010-09-21T11:50:58.928+05:30Alexander: All that you say is very persuasive. Bu...Alexander: All that you say is very persuasive. But is it possible to really make sense of this ending in any true sense without bringing in Maugham's personality and life into the picture?sandhyanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-19510428834241516882010-09-20T21:40:15.425+05:302010-09-20T21:40:15.425+05:30When I think about the ending I always about the f...When I think about the ending I always about the final conversation:<br /><br />"I was going to ask you to marry me," he said.<br />"I thought p'raps you might, but I shouldn't have liked to stand in your way."<br />"You wouldn't have done that."<br />"How about your travels, Spain and all that?"<br />"How d'you know I want to travel?"<br />"I ought to know something about it. I've heard you and Dad talk about it till you were blue in the face."<br />"I don't care a damn about all that." He paused for an instant and then spoke in a low, hoarse whisper. "I don't want to leave you! I can't leave you."<br />She did not answer. He could not tell what she thought.<br />"I wonder if you'll marry me, Sally."<br />She did not move and there was no flicker of emotion on her face, but she did not look at him when she answered.<br />"If you like."<br />"Don't you want to?"<br />"Oh, of course I'd like to have a house of my own, and it's about time I was settling down."<br />He smiled a little. He knew her pretty well by now, and her manner did not surprise him.<br />"But don't you want to marry ME?"<br />"There's no one else I would marry."<br />"Then that settles it."<br />"Mother and Dad will be surprised, won't they?"<br />"I'm so happy."<br />"I want my lunch," she said.<br />"Dear!"<br />================================<br /><br />Now, what's that?! He's happy, she wants her lunch. She marries him because he is better than nobody; because it's nice to have a house. Well, they marriage may well be happy, if loveless. In this scene Sally seems to me like Mildred No. 2. And Philip - Philip gives away his travels because he is terribly smitten with that girl and, God knows why, he has imagined marriage is the greatest thing there is. If I try to extend the novel further, I cannot but see Philip dismayed by the coldness and dullness of Sally. Neither his masochistic craving will be satisfied any more, for she is NOT Mildred after all, nor any other, probably much greater, craving for affection and warm. For my part, he would have been much happier travelling through Spain or through the South Seas as as ship physician. His decision to leave all that was sudden, impulsive; it has anything to do passion and absolutely nothing to do with reason. Later, when he had time to reflect on it, he will bitterly regret it.<br /><br />This probably has nothing to do with Maugham and his thoughts while he was writing this endind - he himself agreed with his critics that it is by far the weakest part of the book. But for me, as I imagine Philip's it is a chilling end. It is deeply affecting too, for I can see crystal clear Philip's complete misery in this marriage.Alexandernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-32022458527381207442010-09-20T19:21:28.249+05:302010-09-20T19:21:28.249+05:30I understand what you say about not judging a nove...I understand what you say about not judging a novel based on what the author's intentions are, and to rather discover and feel it for what it is. Which is why, within the fictional scope and logic of the novel, I though Philip's decision to marry is one of 'emotional maturity' . There is no irony to suggest otherwise. But of course, I know it didn't quite end up happiily and given a chance, Maugham would have written it quite differently.sandhyanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-75158974553810231882010-09-20T18:52:37.391+05:302010-09-20T18:52:37.391+05:30The ending - I will admit -left me a little cold -...The ending - I will admit -left me a little cold - but that was more because I am aware of Maugham's views on marriage and his own personal life.<br /><br />From a fictional point of view, certainly, the ending is a slightly contrived one - given that even the novel and its view on relationships -esp marital - is heavily ironical. You could be very right that there was a certain wish-fulfillment in Maugham's chosen ending, and I'm afraid I don't see any irony or subtle hint of a doomed fate there. I wish there was - given Maugham's acutely sardonic view of life and relationships. It ends on a tad too 'flat' note.sandhyanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956626159470439381.post-41150367740722204192010-09-20T18:43:55.916+05:302010-09-20T18:43:55.916+05:30Wonderful points Alexander.
Yes, in Philip'...Wonderful points Alexander. <br /><br /><br />Yes, in Philip's obsession for Mildred, there is vanity than love - that is clear. Can it be possible that the idea that a vulgar waitress won't reciprocate to his advances triggers the obsession? <br /><br />Also, the way I see it, the fact that Mildred is silly, commonplace and affected, allows Philip to feed his own flagging self-esteem whenever he sees the state she is in. There is a desire to make her love him, and at the same time he chooses to despise her. Vanity again!<br /><br />Maugham's whole theory of love to me seems to be one of vanity - where the purpose is to possess the ungettable.sandhyanoreply@blogger.com