1、YU N N AN NORM AL. U Z I V E 民 S IT Y英國文學選讀期末論文An Interpretation of the Veil in William Somerest Maugham ThePainted &il1. IntroductionWilliam Somerest Maugham(25 January 1874-16 December 1965) who is a famous British novelist, playwright and short story writer was among the most popular writers of h

2、is era and reputedly the highest paid author duri ng the 1930s. He wrote many no table no vels, in cludi ng Of Huma n Bon dage (1915), The Moon and Sixpences(1919), Cakes and Ale(1930) and The Razors Edge(1944). His works mainly talks about family, love and the twists in marriage n upper class, and

3、has the sense of satire.The Painted Veilwhich was written in 1925 by Maugham was one of the popular works. It is story about toleranee and love between husband and wife. Kitty is a beautiful British woman, and Walter Fane is an English middle-class, lackluster bacteriologist. Kitty married with Walt

4、er quickly. However, Kitty Accepted Walter s proposal not for love, but to rebel against her mother, which means that she is irresponsible to marriage. Kitty born lively and Walters silenee often dampened her enthusiasm. And their interests were totally different, so her marriage was not happ in ess

5、. Kitty met Hongkong assista nt Chief Secretary Charley Dows on who had married and had three sons. She was seduced by his appeara nee, and the n she had an affair with him. After Walter knew her disloyalty, he started to revenge her. Walter forced Kitty to go to a remote tow n with him Mei Tan hu,

6、where a serious cholera epidemic spread crazily. Walter healed the sick, clea n up the city, and strai ned every n erve to let people drink water clea n. There, he made him very busy and ignored Kitty. There, they both experie need a lot and gradually un derstood each other and accepted each other a

7、gain. However, when they started to live another life, Walter died of a serious cholera.2. An Interpretation of the VeilFrom the begi nning to the end, there is no sce ne that related to veil, but why is the story called The Painted Vei? Whats the meaning of veil” in the movie?This no vel begi ns wi

8、th Shelley?spoem The Pain ted Veil: Lift not the pain ted veil which those who live call Life: though un real shapes be pictured there ”.By this, we can know Maughams inten ti on of this writ ing: to lift the veil.This is a quote from Edward Norton: “We often fall in love with the illusions we have

9、of about a pers on rather tha n who they really are. That is the ,pa in ted veil? that is in front of our visio n of the truth and whe n those illusi ons get torn away it can be process of dise nchantie nt and pain. ”So, what is the veil” in the movie? In my opinion, in front of the hero Walter, the

10、 heroine kitty wears a veil. She was very beautiful and fascinating. Facing the enigmatic Kitty, Walter had a hasty proposal. After knowing Kittys affair, Walter thought that she was a frivolous and immoral woman. He was cheated by her beautiful appeara nce.After that he knew that he did nt like the

11、 veiled woma n. In Kitty ?5 opin io n, Walter was rather withdraw n, and he usually depressed her. They had no com mon in terests, so she thought their life was dull. The n they experie need the cholera together, which was the process of unveiling. After unveiling, Walter knew that Kitty cared about

12、 him, and she was easy-go ing in the mon astery, and she has the gift of music. All in all, she was a good wife. Kitty saw that Walter lear n to work with the people not seem in gly aga inst them, and he risked his own health to care for the sick and dying. She saw his self-sacrifice and tendernesst

13、owards the suffering children. At last, Walter saw Kitty ?s courage and kindness, and Kitty also knew that Walter was not so boring, but kind, responsible and compassionate.The hero and heroine accepted each other again after they experienced collision and the unveiling.There is estrangement between

14、 the heroine and her husband, and the estrangement is like a veil which is ambiguous. Therefore, the love between Walter and Kitty is also ambiguous. At first, there was no true love in their marriage. Walter was attracted by Kitty?s appearance, and Kitty married with Walter not for love, but to reb

15、el against her mother. As a result, after marriage, their life was not happy. We can say that the estrangement was the result of their irresponsibility to their marriage. So their love was ambiguous, and they didn ?t know what true love is. The relationship between them is intimate and strange. In t

16、he maintaining of the marriage, they got along with each other closely but strangely. They did not have a clear understanding about each other, and everything was dim, and they had to go through with guess. The marriage which has no love is unfortunate. Then there was the disloyalty of Kitty and the

17、 revenge of Walter. Although at last, their feelings were exposed to each other, they were apart forever. And the story ended with the tragedy.The veil is also the true love. The process of unveiling is also the process of seeking true love. At first, both Kitty and Walter did not know the true love

18、, and they both did not know how to love. Kitty ?s love was irresponsible, selfish, indifferent and heartless, for she accepted Walter s proposal, not for love, but to rebel against her mother. After her marriage, she engaged in a sordid affair with a married British diplomat named Charles Townsend,

19、 which was immorality, disloyalty and irresponsibility to herself and her marriage. As for Walter, he just loved Kitty ?s appearance, for he saw her, he had a haste proposal to her, and he even had no other understanding about her, except her appearance.This is also irresponsibility. After knowing h

20、er affair, he started to revenge her, and this is not love. However, what is true love? How to love? In my opinion, I think love includes duty, tolerant, sacrifice, understanding, confidence and loyalty. Just as people said: “When love and duty merges into one, grace is within you”, so love and resp

21、onsibility can not be separated.After Walter and Kitty experienced a lot, and after collisions, they finally knew how to love, and they found the true love. So, we can say that they lift the veils, or they found the true love. Just as the poster said:“The true love is unveiled only once in a lifetim

22、e ”, and after the lover died, it will not be unveiled again. Therefore, after Walter died, Kitty was equanimous when they met Charley again.3. ConclusionThough there is no description about the veil in The Painted Veil, the veil plays an important role in revealing the main thrust: Love and marriag

23、e are not the real painted veils, and after unveiling, there will be a road that leads to the serenity.The veil can be the exterior that misleads each other, so that the hero and the heroine can not have a better understanding about each other, which leads to the subsequent tragedy. The veil is also the true love. And the process of unveiling is also the process of pursuing true love. They also understood what the true love is and how to love with the un