Kitty’s+future

The novel “The Painted veil” was written by a famous British author S. Maugham in 1925. In this novel author explores several subjects, very important for British society at the beginning of the twentieth century. They are family, church and colonial politics. But we are going to read The Painted Veil exploring the first aspect of this novel. The painted veil is a novel about relationship between Walter Fane, colonial bacteriologist, and his wife Kitty Garstin entangled in painted veil weaved from prejudices and illusions. When Kitty was 25 she married Walter, not because she loved him, but because she didn’t want to look silly in the eyes of surrounding society, for her younger sister, nineteen-year-old Dorothy, had already been engaged. She realized this in Hong Kong. There she found a lover – Charlie Townsend, a good-looking man who was the Assistant Colonial Secretary. Kitty considered him a person better than her husband in hundred times. But, once, Walter found out their cheating. He menaced Kitty by divorce and public declaration of her cheating. But he won’t do that if Kitty goes with him to Mei-tan-fu, Chinese town infected with cholera. At first Kitty refused to go. She went to Charlie hoping him to protect her, but Townsend refused. He had no need in public declaration of his cheating because it will definitely ruin his career. And so Kitty agreed to go to Mei-tan-fu. There, after meeting with the deputy commissioner Waddington she realized the true nature of Charlie, who was narrow-minded. After visiting the convent, she decided to help humbled nuns in their work. They told Kitty her husband was a very good and prudent men that tried to help everyone he could. Once Kitty realized she was pregnant. She made peace with Walter, but not for too long. Walter died and Kitty with a child under her heart comes back to Hong Kong. There she met Charlie who wanted her come back to him. But Kitty said “no” to all his offers and returned to London after receiving a message from Mr. Garstin: he wrote Kitty’s mother had died. She met her father. Mr. Garstin said he had received an offer to work in Guinea. Kitty asked him to take her with, because there, in Guinea, she wants to educate her daughter in a correct way. This is how “The painted veil” ends. But is this final optimistic? We cannot give an unilateral answer. Yes, Kitty finally realized that the most part of her life she lived behind the painted veil. She wanted to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes. But did Kitty have enough experience and strength in order to educate her child in such a way? I ask this question mainly because not too much time passed since the events in Mei-tan-fu. So how could Kitty consider herself good teacher for her unborn child? I think she must study a lot of things before educating her daughter, because, once, she stood on the edge, ready to turn away from her new path. It was in Hong Kong not long before the final part of the novel. But if Kitty wanted to educate her unborn daughter so, I think she would possibly create a Charlie-Townsend-in-a-skirt ready to do everything in order to make a career or achieve something in her life. But despite all these facts we can call final part of the novel rather optimistic. Kitty had a wish to change her life and life of her child. Now the most important thing for her was not to lose this wish or all things already sacrificed will become meaningless.