He was an only child and used to amusing himself. Philip differs from Willie in that he has a club foot, but this touch is simply a substitution for Willies affliction: stuttering. Of Human Bondage. She dies in Philip's arms after asking for a proper funeral. Production Design: John Box
The most apparent theme throughout the novel is bondage to passion. Screenplay: Bryan Forbes
Maugham's mother died when he was eight, and his father's death followed two years later. At the turn of the century, Philip Carey (Paul Henreid) is a meek, clubfooted man attending medical school after failing to make it as an artist Of Human Bondage is the story of a young man's struggle to find the meaning of life in a world that is cruel. Of Human Bondage Summary These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. A magic hazel twig. He struggles at medical school and meets Mildred, who works as a waitress in a tea shop. Also by this time he had experienced considerable success as a playwright and was able to apply to his prose writing some of the techniques he had learned as a dramatist, thereby bringing greater dramatic tension into his fiction. From the first time we see Philip opt for art instead of human connection (books in lieu of parental love), he seems to follow a pattern of choosing idyllic passion over sensible security. After a tedious year of apprenticeship, Philip decides to pursue his long held desire for art and culture by traveling to Paris, France to try his hand as a painter. Despite the fact that Maugham denies this novel being autobiographical, there are significant similarities with the fictional character, Philip Carey, and the author. The last date is today's The novel's key theme is reflected in the title. Cast: Kim Novak (Mildred Rogers), Laurence Harvey (Philip Carey), Robert Morley (Dr.Jacobs), Siobhan McKenna (Nora Nesbitt), Roger Livesey (Thorpe Athelney), Nanette Newman (Sally Athelney), Jack Hedley (Griffiths). Of Human Bondage is one of the most famous and intimate novels of Somerset Maugham, and tells us about the main character's path of life filled with difficult trials. Only Ken Hughes, however, receives the director screen credit for Of Human Bondage despite the contributions of Bryan Forbes and Henry Hathaway. $8.46. But Philip endured everything that fate had in store for him with fortitude, and managed to find his own place in life. Philip goes to Germany where he finishes his studies in the home of a German professor and her husband. The author describes in detail every failure and disappointment that Philip endured, and what impact these struggles by trials and mistakes had on establishing of his own philosophy, which fitted his own nature and helped him to become free from others opinions and ambitions. He returns to his uncle's house in England to study medicine, his late father's field. By what name was Of Human Bondage (1964) officially released in Canada in English? They thought they needed me desperately for such immortal classics as Fashions of 1934, The Big Shakedown, and Jimmy the Gent. Philip invests his money in the stock market, hoping to make back some of the money he has spent on Mildred. Approached differently, the fictional Carey's life story could be labeled as the danger of giving in to passion. Of Human Bondage had originally been filmed at RKO Pictures in 1934, with Davis performing on loan-out from her home studio, Warner Bros. That performance and picture were already legends in the '40s, when Warner's studio head Jack L. Warner decided to try another version of the tale of a young doctor obsessed with a low-class waitress. Places in the Heart . Corrections? Ya bored me stiff; I hated ya! eNotes.com, Inc. After Philip confronts Mildred, she runs off with Griffiths to Paris. thissection. Both Philip and Maugham are orphaned at a young age and sent to live with an uncle at a vicarage. He falls desperately in love with her, and they date regularly, although she does not show him affection. His father, we learn, had also died only a few months before. Letterboxed. Free shipping for many products! The novel delineates the coming of age of Philip Carey, an orphan with a clubfoot. See production, box office & company info, An incredible film of the greatest human tragedy, RKO Studios - 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA. The latter was the last career high point for Hathaway although he did contribute some additional scenes to Airport (1970) for director George Seaton and directed a final Western - Shootout (1971) - before retiring from the film industry in 1975. If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance Philip is temporarily placed as locum with Dr.South, a general practitioner in Dorsetshire. Philip Carey is only five when his mother dies. Costume Design: Beatrice Dawson
He travels to Germany to complete his studies in the home of a professor and his wife. $9.95. By this time he realized that he did his best writing when he wrote about his own experience. A prince. About a year later, Philip runs into Mildred and, feeling sympathy, takes her in again. But Philip preferred his own way, and rejected religion for art studies, even though excelled academically, and later rejected it for accounting, and finally he found himself in medicine. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). It is discovered that she is incurably ill with syphilis. Finally, especially prominent is the theme of love, which usually is the reason of all the troubles. The parallels between the author and Philip Carey in Of Human Bondage begin with both losing their mother and father before the age of ten, and being placed into the care of an uncle. W. Somerset Maugham's novel is the basis for this melodrama about a young medical student who loves a heartless, unfeeling waitress. However, it is interesting to consider what Hathaway might have done with the subject matter, which was far removed from the sort of film he usually directed - Westerns. During this period, Maugham is known to have proofread the manuscript for this classic novel while in Dunkirk. Tag us and include #HowIHusky to be featured! Ownership, power, control, jealousy, self-abasementthese are characteristic of the kind of love that Maugham identifies as bondage.
Philip advises Mildred to give up that life but she declines and exits the plot with her fate unknown. We left the theater in absolute silence. His daydreams about her distract him from his studies, and he fails his medical examinations. Maugham brings a lot of issues in his novel concerning every single aspect of human lives. You can help us out by revising, improving and updating Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham a semi-autobiographical, coming-of-age story that follows the life of Philip Carey, a club-foot orphan who is sent to live with his Aunt Louisa and Uncle William Carey at a vicarage. After his uncle William dies, Philip inherits enough money to allow him to finish his medical studies and he finally becomes a licensed doctor. $6.88. She grows increasingly fond of Philip, while he in return becomes increasingly tired of her unpleasant humors. Philip feels he is a good artist, but he will never be able to make a living at it. Philip Carey has a club foot, making him the subject of cruelty at school and ridicule in the adult world. Updates? The kind of love based on these qualities produces pain, shrinking of one's heart, a lack of freedom and happiness. Dr. South is an old, cantankerous physician whose wife is dead and whose daughter is estranged.
Philip had even some doubts about these studies, but he never got out of this path. Philip is expected to be practical and to become self-supporting. His writing became more renowned with age and practice, making him one of the highest paid authors in the 1930's. With one last act of passion, Philip experiences a pregnancy scare with Althelny's daughter, Sally. The young Maugham stuttered badly, particularly after the death of his parents, and suffered from this problem throughout his life. It was a long way before Philip came up with such a conclusion, and the experience of a love for a selfish and vulgar woman, called Mildred, was the last point of his attempts to become free. He thought Leslie Howard's portrayal "excels any performance he has given before the camera. The author, Somerset Maugham, was a successful and influential writer in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, known for his straight-forward, clear storytelling ability. She is suffering symptoms of syphilis from her work as a prostitute. Despite his aristocratic upbringing, Philip suffers from a terrible inferiority complex due to a club foot. She returns to prostitution; her baby dies; and she is admitted to the hospital where Philip works. Philip takes her in, imposing upon himself one of the bondages referred to in the books title.
2009 eNotes.com 18 Apr. Spinoza, and Somerset Maugham, believed that the source of much human suffering was the inability to control emotions and underlying passions. Fanny is not a great artist, but Philip does not have the heart to tell her. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by volunteers. [4], Screenwriter Wilson Mizner brought a copy of the Maugham novel to Davis, who was in the midst of filming her 20,000 Years in Sing Sing. Philip works at this job until his uncle dies, leaving him enough money so he can afford to return to medical school. When Philip finally makes a friend, this boy crushes his heart when he turns from him and then tells everyone that he was only kind to Philip because of his deformity. One of the last is Philips clubfoot, which prevented him to become a military man or a sportsman. For Philip it was very difficult to believe in the religion he was studying, as his experience of repression in his uncles vicarage and in school he was attending, where he often was treated with cruelty, came into contradictions with the concepts and ideals of religion. W. Somerset Maugham's novel is the basis for this melodrama about a young medical student who loves a heartless, unfeeling waitress. Philip allows this treatment to warp his personality, making him introspective and solitary. In Paris, Philip makes a great many friends. A free person, says Spinoza, is able to think rationally: but when one is dominated by emotion, rational thought is impossible, and one becomes a slave to the (unthinking) passions. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. He needs the pattern that such a marriage will provide, just as Maugham apparently sought a similar pattern in his abortive marriage to Syrie Wellcome. A young man finds himself attracted to a cold and unfeeling waitress who may ultimately destroy them both. Kim Novak was always regarded as a big box office star, but her work in review demands a more intelligent appraisal of her varied work from "Picnic" thru "Vertigo" to "Middle Of the Night," "Strangers When We Meet" this film and another film bashed when it debuted "Kiss Me Stupid". Rebecca Raden holds both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in English. Of Human Bondage. He has an affair with her, but it ends when Mildred runs off with someone else. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. [4], For the film adaptations of this novel, see. Of Human Bondage (1964) - (Original Trailer), Jan Maugham wrote an article for Life magazine titled "Painting I Have Liked". Mildred Rogers: You cad, you dirty swine! His colleagues there resent him, believing he is a "gentleman". Before Philip can visit her again, she dies in a hospital charity ward. But as his boat-train leaves the station, he looks up to find Sally standing over him. A desperate escape from danger. When he puts this guarantee to the test by praying as fervently as he can that his club foot will be made whole, his prayers are not answered. Get your free tote bag when you sign up for our emails! Philip enjoys his studies but is distracted from them when he falls in love with an unpleasant waitress. The meaning of life always has been a question of all the times, and it might never be answered, but it must not become a reason not to try. Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. This is the story of Selena, who will take charge of her own destiny, and learn that her magic is not to be feared but celebrated. She has over 30 years of teaching experience. 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