Dec 19, 2009

Of Human Bondage | Social Concerns

Maugham regarded himself as a storyteller rather than a social analyst or critic, and thus his attitudes toward society are more indirectly than explicitly expressed. Of Human Bondage is primarily an existentialist novel concerned with the development of character and the molding of an individual life. The protagonist Philip Carey grows from boyhood to young adulthood, suffering from his overly emotional nature and losing his illusions. As a ward of his uncle, the Vicar of Blackstable, he perceives conventional village life as restrictive and the people as intolerant, snobbish,...