The symbolic meaning of the title "Painted Veil"

                                                                                            Essay

                              The symbolic meaning of the title The Painted Veil by William Somerset Maugham

The Painted Veil is a novel by British author W. Somerset Maugham, which was written in 1925. It reflected the vices and the virtues of that time, but which remain relevant to this day. People make the same mistakes for centuries, but virtues haven`t changed too. In this work we can see the love, betrayal, kindness, contempt, nobility, hatred and honor- something that does not change over the centuries, the eternal concepts that accompany people at all times. William Somerset Maugham shows us a wonderful world - he exposes the human vices, but opens the other side of life and we can see something what we call morality or righteousness- that is the Beauty, the true human Beauty with a capital letter.

The name of the novel - The Painted Veil has a certain sense. In the epigraph W.S. Maugham pointed out the name of one of the sonnets British poet Percy Bysshe Shelley: «… the painted veil which those who live call Life» (p.3). It is proposed that readers know this sonnet and know that it begins with the next words: «Lift not the painted veil which those who live call life». I think Maugham put in the name following meaning: deceptive beauty of the life that lies on the surface is the veil, but there is a real life which full of suffering and vices under it. This metaphor runs through the whole novel from the beginning to the end. We can see plenty examples of this. Mrs. Garstin persistently covered herself with painted veil, she tried to impress on the upper society, arranging cheap official receptions and pose them as a luxurious parties  : «She wrapped sparkling Moselle in a napkin and thought her guests took it for champagne» (p. 18). She disguised her stinginess and poverty by tinsel splendour. Charlie and Dorothy Townsend loving and parents - this is the image that is seen by the surrounding people, but their troubles hiding behind the curtain. Even nuns in the novel are not perfect. They are supposed to be innocent and saint-like, but maybe Maugham wants to say that just because they are working for God does not mean that they are innocent. Indeed Waddington questions their true nature. He says that he tried to make them leave, for their own safety, but they would not, because they all want to die as martyrs. (p.98) So does Walter. He seems to be the symbol of morality and intellectuals, but also as in the case of nuns it is not the case. Having arrived to Mei-tan-fu he pursues his own ends: "After all this isn't his job, is it? He's a bacteriologist. There was no call for him to come here. He doesn't give me the impression that he's moved by compassion for all these dying Chinamen». (p.117)

I think it is metaphoric that the action of the novel takes place in China. The East has always been a symbol of something mysterious and enigmatic. East in the novel is associated with the secrets of the characters. Throughout the novel we find people covered up by this false but beautiful veil, and if you peep over it you can see the real life is full of suffering and vices.

Now I want to consider another one my point of view on the name of the novel, because I think it can be interpreted differently.

    At the beginning of the novel, Kitty Fane was vain: She used her looks and charm (not her compassion for others or kindness) to attract suitors. Although she thought herself "prettier than ever," she married Walter for convenience, not for love and because of these she was unfaithful with her husband.

     But after her moving to Chine her life stars to change. Kitty's newfound friends helped over it. When Kitty first met Waddington in China, he had no knowledge of her love for Charlie Townsend and therefore gave her his frank opinion: Charlie was foolish, selfish, and deceptive. This allowed Kitty to "lift the veil" and see how others viewed Charlie. Waddington was not hesitant to speak his mind; he told Kitty, "I don't think for a moment that you're in love with your husband."(p.116) Waddington helped kitty find the Tao, he removed the veil from her eyes and gave correct answers to all her questions without pretense. In her mind, the solution was to find peace. According to Shelley's poem ("Lift not the painted veil which those who live"), hope is under the veil. Kitty had a hope for peace and therefore had lifted the veil with the help of Waddington. Without him would she have known she wanted peace? Perhaps, but much later, if then. Without Waddington, Kitty would have remained as she was before lifting the veil called Life.

      The nuns at the convent continuously praised Walter: He was kind; he was good. Kitty marveled at ths: "She alone had been blind to his merit." Kitty had not seen Walter as a good man until she befriended the French nuns. These women helped Kitty to see past Walter's manner, his dress, his outward appearance, and into his heart, and, in turn, into her own. Would Kitty have come to think of and have compassion for Walter if it had not been for the nuns? Mother Superior ans Sister Joseph helped Kitty life the veil and see that Kitty despised Walter because he loved her. Without them she would not have found her path to peace. Mother Superior once said to Kitty. "You know, my dear child, that one cannot find peace in work or in pleasure, in the world or in a convent, but only in one's soul." Peace comes from a rested soul, one absent of distress, regret, troubles, or worry burdening it. With these words, Mother Superior changed Kitty Fane's life. Kitty lifted to veil and saw where to find peace. What is a life without peace? What is a life without a content heart and soul? Kitty's friends helped her lift the veil by being honest about her, themselves, and life. As Oscar Wilde once said, "Friends stab you in the front."