A study guide for W. Somerset Maugham's "Of Human Bondage"

By Gale and Cengage

A study guide for W. Somerset Maugham's "Of Human Bondage", excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Novels for Students series. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Novels for Students for all of your research needs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cengage Learning - Gale
• Release date: May 2, 2016
• ISBN: 9781535842235

Book preview

10

Of Human Bondage

William Somerset Maugham

1915

Introduction

W. Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage, published in 1915, is the coming-of-age story of the orphaned Philip Carey. Throughout the novel, Philip seeks freedom, above all else. He feels constrained by many things throughout the course of the story, including religion, morality, desire, love, and the need for money. Always looking ahead, eager for the next phase of his life to begin, Philip travels to Germany and to France before settling once again in England, studying literature, philosophy, art, and finally medicine. He prides himself on his ability to see things as they are, and his striving toward an objective, truthful view of life leads him to harshly judge those people in his life who seem to cling to a more idealistic view of the world and of human nature. This conflict between realism and idealism is one of the main themes of the work. His contact with various men and women during his travels and in his pursuits introduces Philip to a number of philosophical approaches to life, approaches that an always-fascinated Philip studies, appraises, and often discards. Despite the fact that Philip's experiences teach him about the ugliness that exists in the human heart, he nevertheless possesses the desire and capacity to find beauty almost everywhere; in this respect, he retains his own brand of idealism. The work is widely regarded as one of Maugham's masterpieces.

Published in 1915, by Heinemann in London and Doran in New York, Of Human Bondage is available in a more recent edition published by the Modern Library in 1999.

Author Biography

Maugham was born on January 25, 1874, in Paris, France, to Edith and Robert Ormond Maugham. He was their fourth son. Maugham's father was a lawyer for the British Embassy in Paris. In 1882, Maugham's mother died from complications related to tuberculosis and childbirth. Two years later, Maugham's father died of cancer. As there was little money to divide between five sons, the Maugham boys were separated after their father's death. Maugham went to live in Kent, England, with his father's brother Henry and Henry's wife, Sophie. Maugham's Uncle Henry was the vicar of a parish in Whistable. In 1885, Maugham entered the King's School in Canterbury, where he remained for four years. After suffering from pleurisy and recovering from the lung disease in France, Maugham, now sixteen, traveled to Germany in order to attend the University of Heidelberg. There, he met Ellingham Brooks, with whom biographers believe Maugham had the first of numerous homosexual affairs. In 1892, Maugham returned to England and endeavored to become an accountant, a pursuit that he abandoned after a month. Maugham then turned to the study of medicine at St. Thomas's Hospital in London. His first novel, Liza of Lambeth, was published in 1897 and received favorable reviews. The same year, Maugham became fully qualified as a doctor. However, following the success of Liza of Lambeth, Maugham instead pursued a career in writing. For the next several years, Maugham continued to write, publishing a second novel and a play, and traveled to Spain, France, Greece, and Egypt. In 1906, Maugham returned to England. His play Lady Frederick was produced in 1907 and was regarded as a success. Soon, Maugham had other plays all running simultaneously. In 1910, Maugham visited the United States, where he met Syrie Barnardo Wellcome, a woman with whom he later had an affair and whom he eventually married. Maugham proposed marriage to another woman, Sue Jones, in 1913, but was rejected. Following the outbreak of the World War I in 1914, Maugham joined an ambulance unit in France. He met Gerald Haxton, a man who remained by Maugham's side many years, as a secretary, friend, and lover. The following year, Maugham published Of