英国文学选读期末论文An Interpretation of the Veil in William Somerest Maughams The Painted Veil1. IntroductionWilliam Somerest Maugham(25 January 1874-16 December 1965) who is a famous British novelist, playwright and short story writer was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest paid author during the 1930s. He wrote many notable novels, including Of Human Bondage (1915), The Moon and Sixpences (1919), Cakes and Ale(1930) and The Razors Edge(1944). His works mainly talks about family, love and the twists in marriage n upper class, and has the sense of satire. The Painted Veil which was written in 1925 by Maugham was one of the popular works. It is story about tolerance and love between husband and wife. Kitty is a beautiful British woman, and Walter Fane is an English middle-class, lackluster bacteriologist. Kitty married with Walter quickly. However, Kitty Accepted Walters proposal not for love, but to rebel against her mother, which means that she is irresponsible to marriage. Kitty born lively and Walters silence often dampened her enthusiasm. And their interests were totally different, so her marriage was not happiness. Kitty met Hongkong assistant Chief Secretary Charley Dowson who had married and had three sons. She was seduced by his appearance, and then she had an affair with him. After Walter knew her disloyalty, he started to revenge her. Walter forced Kitty to go to a remote town with him Mei Tanhu, where a serious cholera epidemic spread crazily. Walter healed the sick, clean up the city, and strained every nerve to let people drink water clean. There, he made him very busy and ignored Kitty. There, they both experienced a lot and gradually understood each other and accepted each other again. However, when they started to live another life, Walter died of a serious cholera.2. An Interpretation of the VeilFrom the beginning to the end, there is no scene that related to veil, but why is the story called The Painted Veil? Whats the meaning of “veil” in the movie?This novel begins with Shelleys poem The Painted Veil: “Lift not the painted veil which those who live call Life: though unreal shapes be pictured there”. By this, we can know Maughams intention of this writing: to lift the veil.This is a quote from Edward Norton: “We often fall in love with the illusions we have of about a person rather than who they really are. That is the painted veil that is in front of our vision of the truth and when those illusions get torn away it can be process of disenchantment and pain.” So, what is the “veil” in the movie? In my opinion, in front of the hero Walter, the heroine kitty wears a veil. She was very beautiful and fascinating. Facing the enigmatic Kitty, Walter had a hasty proposal. After knowing Kittys affair, Walter thought that she was a frivolous and immoral woman. He was cheated by her beautiful appearance. After that he knew that he didnt like the veiled woman. In Kittys opinion, Walter was rather withdrawn, and he usually depressed her. They had no common interests, so she thought their life was dull. Then they experienced the cholera together, which was the process of unveiling. After unveiling, Walter knew that Kitty cared about him, and she was easy-going in the monastery, and she has the gift of music. All in all, she was a good wife. Kitty saw that Walter learn to work with the people not seemingly against them, and he risked his own health to care for the sick and dying. She saw his self-sacrifice and tenderness towards the suffering children. At last, Walter saw Kittys courage and kindness, and Kitty also knew that Walter was not so boring, but kind, responsible and compassionate. The hero and heroine accepted each other again after they experienced collision and the unveiling.There is estrangement between the heroine and her husband, and the estrangement is like a veil which is ambiguous. Therefore, the love between Walter and Kitty is also ambiguous. At first, there was no true love in their marriage. Walter was attracted by Kittys appearance, and Kitty married with Walter not for love, but to rebel against her mother. As a result, after marriage, their life was not happy. We can say that the estrangement was the result of their irresponsibility to their marriage. So their love was ambiguous, and they didnt know what true love is. The relationship between them is intimate and strange. In the maintaining of the marriage, they got along with each other closely but strangely. They did not have a clear understanding about each other, and everything was dim, and they had to go through with guess. The marriage which has no love is unfortunate. Then there was the disloyalty of Kitty and the revenge of Walter. Although at last, their feelings were exposed to each other, they were apart forever. And the story ended with the tragedy.The veil is also the true love. The process of unveiling is also the process of seeking tr