What is The Painted Veil book about?

What is The Painted Veil book about?

Set in England and Hong Kong in the 1920s, The Painted Veil is the story of the beautiful, but love-starved Kitty Fane. When her husband discovers her adulterous affair, he forces her to accompany him to the heart of a cholera epidemic.

What is the meaning of The Painted Veil?

In the novel the veil is painted, which means that it is not an innocent veil the characters are wearing. Maugham used this concept to show how all of society and the people living in it are tainted. The only characters’ in the novel that wear white, literally speaking, are the nuns.

What is The Painted Veil metaphor for?

Here, the “painted veil” serves as a grim metaphor for life. More specifically, the speaker equates the veil with what people like to call life. In this sense, the speaker asserts that what we believe to be pure reality is actually nothing more than a covering that masks what really lies beneath.

Which is Somerset Maugham’s best novel What does it depict?

Human Bondage
Maugham’s masterpiece is generally agreed to be Of Human Bondage, a semi-autobiographical novel that deals with the life of the main character Philip Carey, who, like Maugham, was orphaned and brought up by his pious uncle.

Where does The Painted Veil take place?

This is a love story set in the 1920s that tells the story of a young English couple, Walter Fane (Edward Norton), a middle class doctor and Kitty (Naomi Watts), an upper-class woman, who get married for the wrong reasons and relocate to Shanghai, where she falls in love with someone else.

How does the book The Painted Veil end?

The man married Kitty with hopes that one she would love him back. In the end, Kitty learned how to love Walter, but cholera took him away.

Whose child is it in The Painted Veil?

asked who Charlie was, Kitty replied: “no one important”. That says a lot. Therefore, these tiny details points towards the following: Walter was indeed the father of the child.

What year is The Painted Veil set in?

1920s
This is a love story set in the 1920s that tells the story of a young English couple, Walter Fane (Edward Norton), a middle class doctor and Kitty (Naomi Watts), an upper-class woman, who get married for the wrong reasons and relocate to Shanghai, where she falls in love with someone else.

Does The Painted Veil have a happy ending?

While the novel provides more insights on Kitty’s inescapability from her past mistakes and repeated sinning against her will, the movie ends in a redeemed Kitty living a life of repentance and atonement following the death of her beloved husband.

Where was the movie The Painted Veil filmed?

Guangxi
Most of the film was shot in Guangxi. Director John Curran said, “We wanted this movie to be distinctly Chinese.

What kind of writer was Somerset Maugham?

novelist
Somerset Maugham, in full William Somerset Maugham, (born Jan. 25, 1874, Paris, France—died Dec. 16, 1965, Nice), English novelist, playwright, and short-story writer whose work is characterized by a clear unadorned style, cosmopolitan settings, and a shrewd understanding of human nature.

Was Somerset Maugham married?

Syrie Maughamm. 1917–1929
William Somerset Maugham/Spouse

Why did Somerset Maugham write the Painted Veil?

The Painted Veil is a beautifully written affirmation of the human capacity to grow, to change, and to forgive. W. Somerset Maugham was one of the twentieth century’s most popular novelists as well as a celebrated playwright, critic, and short story writer.

Who is the author of the Painted Veil?

The Painted Veil is a 1925 novel by British author W. Somerset Maugham.

Where does the title lift not the Painted Veil come from?

The title is a reference to Percy Bysshe Shelley ‘s 1824 sonnet, which begins “Lift not the painted veil which those who live / Call Life”. The novel was first published in serialised form in five issues of Cosmopolitan (November 1924 – March 1925). Beginning in May 1925, it was serialised in the United Kingdom in eight parts in Nash’s Magazine .

Who is Somerset Maugham?

W. Somerset Maugham was one of the twentieth century’s most popular novelists as well as a celebrated playwright, critic, and short story writer. He was born in Paris but grew up in England and served as a secret agent for the British during World War I.