The Painted Veil
Comprehensive Study Guide
Author: W. Somerset Maugham
Prepared for: Advanced Literature Students
Contains Analysis, Themes, Quotes & Exam Prep
Table of Contents
1. About the Author
2. Publication Context
3. Plot Summary
4. Character Analysis
5. Major Themes
6. Symbols and Motifs
7. Narrative Technique
8. Setting
9. Important Quotations
10. Exam-Style Questions
11. Revision Sheet
1. About the Author
William Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) was a British playwright, novelist, and short-story
writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest-paid author
during the 1930s. Born in the British Embassy in Paris, Maugham was orphaned at the age of ten and
raised by a strict uncle in England.
Though qualified as a physician, Maugham abandoned medicine after the success of his first novel,
Liza of Lambeth (1897). His medical background, however, deeply influenced his writing style: clinical,
detached, and observant of human frailty. Maugham traveled extensively throughout the Far East, the
South Seas, and China, gathering material that would inform works like The Painted Veil and The
Moon and Sixpence.
He is often categorized as a realist writer, known for his cynical wit and focus on the complexities of
human nature rather than modernist experimentation.
2. Publication Context
Origins and Title
Published in 1925, The Painted Veil was serialized in Cosmopolitan magazine before appearing in book
form. The title is derived from a sonnet by Percy Bysshe Shelley, which begins:
"Lift not the painted veil which those who live / Call Life..."
This allusion suggests the central theme of the novel: the stripping away of illusions to reveal the
stark, often painful reality beneath.
Legal Controversy
The novel faced legal issues upon publication. Maugham originally named the protagonists "Lane,"
which resulted in a lawsuit from a real couple named Lane in Hong Kong. He changed the name to
"Fane." Additionally, the colonial setting was originally specifically Hong Kong, but due to
complaints, later editions changed the reference to the fictional colony of "Tching-Yen," though
modern editions have restored the original Hong Kong setting.
3. Plot Summary
Phase 1: Adultery in Hong Kong
Kitty Fane is a beautiful but shallow young woman who marries Walter Fane, a bacteriologist she
does not love, simply to beat her younger sister to the altar. In Hong Kong, she begins an affair with
Charles Townsend, the charming but married Assistant Colonial Secretary. Walter discovers the
affair. He offers Kitty a chilling ultimatum: either Charles must agree to divorce his wife and marry
Kitty immediately, or Kitty must accompany Walter to Mei-tan-fu, a remote inland Chinese city
ravaged by a cholera epidemic. Kitty, confident in Charles's love, goes to him, only to be brutally
rejected. Realizing Charles is a hypocrite who values his career above her, she is forced to go with
Walter to what she believes is certain death.
Phase 2: The Journey to Mei-tan-fu
The journey is arduous and silent. Kitty is terrified of Walter, who treats her with icy, formal
politeness but profound contempt. Upon arrival in the plague-stricken city, they stay in a bungalow
near the mission. Walter throws himself into his medical work, trying to stop the epidemic, while
Kitty remains isolated and fearful.
Phase 3: Transformation at the Convent
To escape her isolation, Kitty visits a local convent run by French nuns. She is struck by the nuns'
devotion and their adoration of Walter, whom they view as a hero. She meets Waddington, a cynical
British customs official, who becomes her confidant. Kitty begins working at the convent, caring for
orphans. Through service, she finds a sense of purpose and begins to see her own shallowness. She
realizes she is pregnant but does not know if the father is Walter or Charles. When she tells Walter,
he asks only if the child is his; she honestly replies, "I don't know." Walter accepts this with weary
resignation.
Phase 4: Death and Departure
Walter contracts cholera, likely through a medical experiment on himself. As he dies, he utters the
enigmatic line, "The dog it was that died" (referencing Goldsmith's poem), suggesting that his hatred
killed him rather than the object of his hate. Kitty is devastated but oddly liberated. She returns to
Hong Kong, stays briefly with the Townsends, and is disgusted when Charles tries to seduce her
again, yet she momentarily succumbs, hating herself for her weakness.
Phase 5: Return and Resolution
Kitty returns to England. Her mother dies, and she is left with her father, a lawyer whom the family
has always exploited. Kitty apologizes to her father and asks to accompany him to his new post in the
Bahamas. She vows to raise her daughter to be independent and self-sufficient, breaking the cycle of
dependency and shallowness that defined her own upbringing.
4. Character Analysis
Kitty Fane
Role: Protagonist / Anti-heroine
Trait: Initially vain, shallow, and dependent; evolves into a self-aware, independent woman.
Analysis: Kitty begins as a product of her society—a commodity in the marriage market. Her
spiritual journey is the core of the novel. She does not suddenly love Walter, but she learns to respect
him and, more importantly, learns to see herself clearly. Her "redemption" is not becoming a saint,
but becoming a human being capable of empathy and honest work.
Walter Fane
Role: Kitty’s Husband / Bacteriologist
Trait: Intelligent, socially awkward, intensely moral yet vindictive.
Analysis: Walter is a tragic figure. He loved Kitty knowing she was shallow ("I knew you were silly
and light and vain..."), which creates a complex dynamic. He punishes her by taking her to a cholera
zone, but he punishes himself more. His inability to forgive Kitty leads to his destruction.
Charles Townsend
Role: The Lover / Antagonist
Trait: Charming, successful, superficial, and morally bankrupt.
Analysis: Townsend represents the colonial establishment: polished on the outside but hollow
within. He is the foil to Walter; where Walter has substance but no charm, Charles has charm but no