Of Human Bondage

By W. Somerset Maugham

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In a word: modernist

In a sentence: club-footed youth lives to discover the meaning of it

Synopsis: Phillip blunders through life on a series of whims. Upon himself he brings ecstatic joy and devastating sorrow, and at each turn ponders the reason ‘why.’

Reactions: “The impotence of man to govern or restrain the emotions I call bondage, for a man who is under their control is not his own master, but is mastered by fortune.” -Spinoza: ‘Of Human Bondage’ in Ethics. Phillip is such a man.

Sometimes he ascribes the term ‘weakness’ to his bondage, sometimes he is overtaken by ‘joy’ or ‘beauty.’ Only one thing is certain though, which is Phillip’s supremely human slavery to whims and daydreams.

I found this book delightful. It began quite Dickensian: a clubfooted orphan alone in the world but for a morally superior uncle and thoroughly repressed aunt. But as Phillip grew, Of Human Bondage quickly became much more introspective than its Victorian roots. Phillip in his own right provides a wonderful main character to follow. He is delightfully optimistic, naïve, and often foolish in a way that makes the reader smile. Smart, but not condescending since he’s often rather hard on himself for his deformity. He comes off balanced and likeable: a rare combination for a protagonist.

The reader joins Phillip through his childhood as he hunts persistently for the higher purpose of it all. He attempts all the avenues which man claim hold these truths: religion, academic learning, art, travel, love, and even poverty. He even attempts for many years, in his light-hearted way, to discover it in a bit of Persian rug. On this investigative Odyssey, he experiences all manner of human conditions from birth to illness to death and everything in between. It was wonderful to read the reactions to these things from the eyes of a character who is contemplative and well-read. Then every once in a while, Maugham will shake things up by adding a splash of a different character’s perspective to situations which have clearly gone over Phillip’s little boy head.

It was also fantastic to read this book while traveling Europe. When one thinks of travel novels Of Human Bondage probably wouldn`t immediately come to mind, but I beg you to dismiss this initial reaction for your own sake. This novel is absolutely bursting with the most delicious imagery of Europe. Phillip is a great appreciator of beauty and through his eyes one can feel the chill breeze on the Thames at sunrise, see it glitter, and the city awaken in color. Or, my personal favorite, bathe in the Spanish sun which paints whole cities orange, juxtaposed with their quiet religious mystery and the gloomy eyes of an El Greco.

Read if: you wish to live, learn, or ponder from your armchair.