Due to a light workload this week, I was able to consume Maugham’s novella The Painted Veil yesterday afternoon. The story really grabs hold of you. Walter Fane, a bacteriologist in Hong Kong, discovers his wife Kitty’s affair with Charles Townsend. He forces her to accompany him into the heart of a cholera epidemic in the Chinese countryside, where she begins to find new depths to her character. She finds work and self-worth at a convent taking care of orphaned children. She and Walter dance around each other but begin to find a common respect for one another. But then Walter contracts cholera and dies, leaving Kitty with the realization that she has nowhere else to go. She returns to England, after first having a adulterous relapse in Hong Kong, and tries to the attention and love of her father. In the end, she decides to raise her unborn daughter as an independent minded woman, so as not to end up like her.
Kitty’s spiritual journey seems rather trite to modern eyes, but I can’t deny the strength of the story. The characters seem a little thin at times too, but occasionally they surprise you. Overall, I found it a great read.