Bibliography 16

 1 Introduction

1.1 William Somerset Maugham

William Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) was a British playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest paid author during the 1930s. During the First World War, Maugham served with the Red Cross and in the ambulance corps, before being recruited in 1916 into the British Secret Intelligence Service, for which he worked in Switzerland and Russia before the October Revolution of 1917. During and after the war, he travelled in India and Southeast Asia; all of these experiences were reflected in later short stories and novels. 

Born in a decent family in Paris, Maugham’s father was a lawyer and employed in United Kingdom Embassy in France. After losing both his parents at the age of 10, Maugham was raised by a paternal uncle in United Kingdom who was emotionally cold. Maugham was bullied in Canterbury Royal public school because of stammer and the short skinny body. The lonely and miserable childhood casted darksome shadow on his little innocent heart and led to the sensitive, unsociable and in-turned character. In addition, the childhood experience had huge impact on his world view and literary creation later. Maugham had an one-year study experience in Germany where he was brought into contact with philosophy and the new theater trends which represented by Ibsen. Moreover, the five-year experience of being a doctor made Maugham not only did understand the harsh life condition of the people at the social bottom but also grew the ability of dissecting life and society as using the scalpel. Following this rational line, instead of becoming a lawyer like other men in his family, Maugham eventually trained and qualified as a physician. The initial run of his first novel, Liza of Lambeth (1897), sold out so rapidly that Maugham gave up medicine to write full-time.

1.2 Of Human Bondage

Of Human Bondage is a story about the way Phillip, the main character in this book, got rid of various bondages of life and finally reached the spiritual freedom. Phillip suffered from inborn disease of legs, the loss of both parents, bullied from school, deceiving of lover and other miseries. He was raised by his fusty emotionally cold uncle when he was about ten. As a priest, his uncle influenced him only with religion but not love. The lack of care and love and the suffering led Phillip to become sensitive and reserved. After numerous attempts, experiences and miseries, Phillip gradually got rid of various complicated life bondages which included religion, love, friendship, character, common customs etc. and finally gained the peace of the inner world and the freedom of soul.

Maugham had borrowed the title of his book from Spinoza. Part IV of his Ethics is titled “Of Human Bondage, or the Strength of the Emotions.” (2001:106) In this part, Spinoza discusses people’s inability to control their emotions which, thus, constitute bondage. He also defines good and bad categories basing on the people’s general beliefs, connecting it to their “emotions of pleasure or pain”. He defines perfectness and imperfectness starting out from the desire, in its meaning of particular aims and plans. Philip Carey, the main character of Of Human Bondage, was seeking this very useful end, and became satisfied only after realizing what his aim had been, and having found a person to share this aim with.

2 The Eternity of Life

2.1 The Growth of Phillip

After both parents passed away, Phillip was raised by the parish priest uncle who lived in Blackstable and accepted into the training of clergy of the Royal College of Canterbury. Until then, uncle and his own expectations are to become a pastor. At that time, young Phillip was extremely devoted to Christian. The school set off an upsurge of religion, he was even on a daily basis in accordance with the Bible Fellowship will be required to recite a prayer, where he prayed to God for a wish of being normal again on his own feet. And he usually very stringent standard requirements of their own while praying to God. However, when the hope was broken up, uncle told him the reason was that he was not sincere enough. He felt ripped offfor the first time.