The Painted Veil

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I know Walters. Those cold and passionate introverted and unforgiving correct people who will do everything right and remain impossible to belong to. If he had been different ... but he wasn't and that is the problem. And eventually, her character grew and her soul was transformed as she found a higher calling in nursing children and admiration for her well-respected if unlovable husband. Pregnant, she told him she didn’t know if it was his or her lover’s but it mattered not, because the husband got written out at this point in a touching deathbed scene. What I learned in the reading of this wonderful short novel is that the film version is much more about the couple's relationship, whereas the book is much more about Kitty's coming of age. Kitty was vain, loved to laugh and play, and found her new husband boring and sometimes disgusting. It wasn't long before she started an affair, fell head over heels in love and believed that she has found the real meaning of love.

You must be very hard to please," returned Kitty, in the bright, chaffing way she could assume so easily. "I suppose he's far and away the most popular man in Hong Kong." Kitty's condescending thoughts toward her lover's wife, Dorothy Townsend, also highlight her shallowness. She considers Dorothy to be old, a poor dresser, dull, and socially insignificant to boot. Kitty notes that Dorothy Townsend's father lives in a small house at Earl's Court, whereas Kitty's family lives in South Kensington. Though the modern reader is unlikely to know the significance of these particular locales, context clues suggest that South Kensington is the more fashionable place to live.

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Dr. Walter Fane is not a fool, but he is a complete fool when it comes to his love of this beautiful bobble of girl who has never had to have a serious thought in her life. Even intelligent people can be blind in the ways of love. He knows Kitty doesn’t love him. He knows why she is desperately marrying him, and yet he must have believed that, given time, he can convince her that he is worth loving. Quando Kitty rientra a Hong Kong dopo la scioccante esperienza di Mei-Tan-Fu e rincontra l’amante lo apostrofa: However, in this second issue (Fig 2), Maugham cleverly adapted these location names and henceforth referred to them as ‘Tching-Yen’, ‘Pleasant Valley’, ‘The Mount’ and ‘Lushan’ respectively. All references to ‘Canton’ (Guangzhou) have also been removed due to its proximity to Hong Kong. Even though Maugham had changed the names to avoid allegations, he later admitted in 1934 that he was indeed inspired by the events witnessed during his voyage to China, which directly led to the creation of this book and raises the question of whether this kind of censorship was necessary at all. Wonderful writing and a good read from Maugham. I had not read him lately so I forgot how good a writer he is. Kitty e Walter Fane nel primo adattamento cinematografico del 1934 hanno il volto di Greta Garbo e Herbert Marshall. Ilregista è Richard Boleslawski. Le riprese, come di consueto all’epoca, sono essenzialmente in teatro di posa, e quindi, scenografie tutte ricostruite in studio.

In Great Britain, where this First English Edition was printed, the main character’s surname was already a point of contention during Nash’s publication in 1924. Several readers had threatened to sue for libel since they shared the last name ‘Lane’ with the protagonists. After settling the lawsuit, Maugham had decided to change the characters’ names to ‘Forr’ during the run of the English serialisation, before finally settling on the name ‘Fane’ in the later First English publication in book form, which was printed in two runs of 4,000 copies each. Walter is shattered and disillusioned when he learns of Kitty's affair. He turns cruel in his disappointment, offering to divorce her only if Townsend agrees to divorce his wife and marry her. Of course, Kitty's faith in Townsend is equally shattered when he coldly brushes her off. Maugham aveva fama di cattivissimo, di cinico, la sua biografa Selina Hastings lo definì “violento come un tumore maligno”: si narra che il ritratto che gli fece il pittore Graham Sutherland lo abbia messo così a disagio da nascondere l’opera, tenerla privata e non mostrarla a nessuno.

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Maugham couldn't have found a more perfect setting for exploring the most disastrous of tragedies to a living marriage. Maugham sets up a plethora of symbols on the after-effects of infidelity to contrast with society's notions of a husband and wife. FROM THE BLURB: Less known than his masterpiece Of Human Bondage, this 1925 Somerset Maugham novel rips at your emotions with its portrayal of an adulterous wife. When the bacteriologist husband of Kitty Fane learns of her infidelity, he forces her to accompany him into the festering center of a Chinese cholera epidemic.The author explained in the foreword that the book was based on a story, rather than characters. While living in Italy and receiving Italian lessons, his tutor, Ersilia, introduced him to the fifth canto of the inferno. La Pia: Ante-Purgatory, Purgatorio 5 Il secondo adattamento cinematografico è del 1957 e ha il titolo di “Il settimo peccato”. Walter è interpretato da Bill Travers e l’azione è spostata al secondo dopoguerra.

Was Somerset Maugham a spy? W. Somerset Maugham, the writer of The Painted Veil, was a member of Britain Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). He was recruited by an intelligence officer after his first novel had just been published. The officer suggested that Maugham’s knowledge of the German language and his reputation as a writer would be a perfect cover for his spying activities for the English. It had been a long time since I read one of the classics. When I saw 'The Painted Veil' on sale at Audible.com, I thought it would be a nice change of pace. I wasn't wrong. This book proved to be far better than I expected. There is still some interesting character development in Kitty, but I am not as enamored of this book as I used to be. It is much messier than I remember, and all the colonialist, xenophobic stuff is off-putting. Garstin, a pretty upper-middle class debutante, squanders her early youth amusing herself by living a social high life, during which her domineering mother attempts to arrange a "brilliant match" for her. By age 25, Kitty has flirted with and declined marriage proposals from dozens of prospective husbands. Her mother, convinced that her eldest daughter has "missed her market", urges Kitty to settle for the rather “odd” Walter Fane, a bacteriologist and physician, who declares his love for Kitty. In a panic that her much younger, and less attractive sister Doris will upstage her by marrying first, Kitty consents to Walter's ardent marriage proposition with the words, "I suppose so". Shortly before Doris's much grander wedding, Kitty and Walter depart as newlyweds to his post in Hong Kong.Writing was Maugham’s true vocation. For ten years before his first success, he almost literally starved while pouring out novels and plays. His innate empathy and ability to get strangers to reveal intimate stories suggest that he had many qualities that would have made him a first class general practitioner or psychiatrist. As it was his training was not wasted as there are medical themes running through many of his stories. The Painted Veilis a fine example.

Kitty discovers that she is pregnant and suspects that Charlie Townsend is the father. When Walter confronts her on the matter, she answers his inquiry by stating "I don’t know". She cannot bring herself to deceive her husband again. Kitty has undergone a profound personal transformation. Soon after, Walter falls ill in the epidemic, possibly through experimenting upon himself to find a cure for cholera, and Kitty, at his deathbed, hears his last words. When Walter confronted her, he gave her an ultimatum. Either to go with him to Meitan-fu, a cholera region where an epidemic broke out, the worst one in fifty years, or he files for a divorce. The condition was that Charles Townsend, her lover should confirm in writing that he would divorce his wife and marry Kitty, with Charles's wife confirming in writing that she will divorce Charles. If Walter's conditions were not met, Kitty would have to accompany him on his journey to avoid a scandal. Walter: 'I’m afraid you’ve thought me a bigger fool than I am.’ She did not quite know what to say. She was undecided whether indignantly to assert her innocence or to break out into angry reproaches. He seemed to read her thoughts... I have to say that Walter had a special place in my heart. I love stories with darker themes and am drawn to anti-heroes. There was something so sinister and calculating about Walter that really drew me to him. Kitty was right to be afraid of her husband, even as she knew that he loved her. Walter was kind of a scary guy.

I know this is harsh, but I've heard such good things about The Painted Veil, and I felt like it didn't deliver. The book might be a classic, but the film seems highly overrated to me. I'm afraid your mother is dead," her father said on her return. "And I've never much cared for you, just as you've never much cared for me. I'm off to the West Indies, so you're rather on your own." Of course it was Walter, Kitty’s husband. In the aftermath of her affair, Kitty is forced to choose between divorcing Walter or following him into the midst of a cholera epidemic. He believes he can be helpful as a bacteriologist and physician, but he also wants to punish both Kitty and himself. Though Kitty’s character shows flashes of modern feminism, her initial impressions of Chinese people are racist. She improves, but her initial commentary dates the book. She and Walter live in Mei-tan-fu while he studies the disease and she volunteers at a nearby convent.