Q's Reviews > The Painted Veil

I went through a period in my late 30s early 40’s where I read a lot of Somerset Maugham. I found him a very good storyteller then. He had his own unique style of writing. The Painted Veil was one of my favorites along with Razors Edge and Of Human Bondage. All 3 are about the human condition and quest for self realization. These 3 were written during different periods of Maugham’s 40 year writing career. All 3 are period pieces. All about social and economic status and change. Human Bondage is said to beMaugham’s most autobiographical, though I believe they all are about his own search. He had a lot of insight into the “human dilemma.”


The Painted Veil was published in 1925 when Imperialist China still existed and westerners still had access to the country (pre Mao and the cultural revolution). Britain’s Colonial realm was still pretty strong and it had citizens living in China too. Maugham was British and traveled a lot in his life and had been to China.

The main character Kitty Fane is British, a caucasian who isn’t raised with any direction in society. She turns down all the marriage proposals she is offered when young, and now at 21 with the probing of her mother, marries for wrong reasons and goes off with her husband, a bacteriologist, to China. They live in the country versus a major city. A difficult cultural shift for Kitty. She had an affair. Doesn’t like her husband. Then comes a cholera epidemic. And her husband is helping to end it as the nuns at the orphanage try to save children. This is where Kitty begins to open her eyes as find what’s important to her.

This was also the theme in Razor’s Edge set in Manhattan society at the end of WWII; published in 1944. It had a different social class after the impact of the 1930’ depression and the WWll. The main character is lost after what he saw in the war. The major character is lost and takes himself elsewhere. He isn’t interested in what was before. Human Bondage published in 1915 was set in Britain and France and was about a young man finding his way after the trauma of losing his mom and disappointments in love. It’s more of a saga and the quest isn’t overtly known to him, like Kitty’s until it’s unveiled. What was painted in their vision wasn’t real.

The title Painted Veil comes from the poet Shelly’s sonnet which begins

"Lift not the painted veil which those who live / Call Life".