The Moon and Sixpence (Maugham)
Short summary
London, early 20th century. A young writer met Charles Strickland, a seemingly ordinary stockbroker living a conventional life with his wife and children.
Suddenly, Strickland abandoned his family and fled to Paris. The narrator traveled there to persuade him to return, but discovered Strickland had left not for another woman, but to pursue painting—an irresistible compulsion despite having no prior experience.
In Paris, Strickland lived in poverty, utterly indifferent to comfort or human relationships. A kind-hearted painter, Dirk Stroeve, admired Strickland's genius and nursed him through a severe illness. Tragically, Strickland seduced Stroeve's wife, Blanche, who abandoned her devoted husband. When Strickland tired of her, Blanche killed herself.
Strickland eventually sailed to Tahiti, where he found the primitive beauty he sought. He married a native woman, Ata, who cared for him devotedly. Living in isolation, he painted obsessively, creating his greatest masterpieces on the walls of his house.
Strickland contracted leprosy and went blind, yet continued painting by touch. After his death, Ata fulfilled his final wish and burned the house with all his murals inside.
He had achieved what he wanted. His life was complete. He had made a world and saw that it was good. Then, in pride and contempt, he destroyed it.
Years later, Strickland's surviving paintings became immensely valuable, and he was recognized posthumously as a genius. The narrator returned to London and visited Strickland's widow, who had reinvented herself as a successful businesswoman, carefully cultivating a respectable image of her past.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The conventional Stricklands: A respectable London family
A young writer began his career in London's literary society, attending tea parties and gatherings where he met various authors and their admirers. At one such event hosted by a woman named Rose Waterford, he encountered Mrs. Strickland, a pleasant woman who enjoyed the company of literary figures.
Mrs. Strickland invited him to lunch, where he met other writers and learned about her family. She spoke affectionately of her husband, a stockbroker, warning the narrator that he might find him dull since he had no interest in literature. She had two children, Robert and a daughter, both of whom resembled her more than their father.
The narrator eventually attended a dinner party at the Stricklands' home, where he met Charles Strickland for the first time. The evening proved dull, with respectable but uninteresting guests. Strickland himself appeared utterly commonplace—a stockbroker of about forty with no distinguishing features or engaging qualities. He seemed indifferent to the literary conversation and socially awkward, leaving the narrator with an impression of complete ordinariness.
As the season ended, the narrator encountered Mrs. Strickland and her charming children in the park, where they shared ices. He observed their seemingly perfect family life, noting its conventional happiness, though he himself harbored a desire for a more dangerous and unpredictable existence.
Abandonment and pursuit: The narrators mission to Paris
The narrator learned from Rose Waterford that Charles Strickland had abandoned his wife for another woman and fled to Paris. He visited Mrs. Strickland, finding her distraught and her brother-in-law, Colonel MacAndrew, enraged. Mrs. Strickland confirmed the desertion, revealing that her husband had left with minimal explanation and almost no money, leaving her and the children in a desperate situation.
Mrs. Strickland asked the narrator to travel to Paris and convince her husband to return home. She provided details of their marriage and Charles's cold letter, appealing to the narrator's sympathy to mediate the difficult situation. Despite his doubts about her motives, the narrator agreed and traveled to Paris.
He located Strickland in a shabby hotel, far from the luxurious address Mrs. Strickland had described. Strickland, untidy but at ease, greeted him calmly, confirming he was alone, and invited the narrator for a drink and dinner, seemingly unfazed by his wife's envoy.
During their meeting, the narrator confronted Strickland on behalf of his wife. Strickland showed utter callousness toward his family, revealing he had left not for another woman but because of an irresistible urge to paint. Despite being forty years old with no prior artistic experience, he dismissed all societal and familial obligations.
I tell you I’ve got to paint. I can’t help myself. When a man falls into the water it doesn’t matter how he swims, well or badly: he’s got to get out or else he’ll drown.
The narrator returned to London and informed Mrs. Strickland and her relatives that her husband would not return. Initially, they were astonished and dismissed his artistic ambition, believing a woman must be involved. When the narrator revealed Charles was alone, Mrs. Strickland expressed profound anger, stating she could have forgiven an affair but not his abandonment for an artistic ideal, declaring her hatred and refusal to forgive him.
Paris life: Dirk Stroeve and encounters with Strickland
Mrs. Strickland skillfully managed her husband's abandonment by cultivating sympathy through a fabricated story of his elopement with a French dancer. She adapted quickly to her new circumstances, learning shorthand and typewriting, while friends assisted her in finding work. The narrator, seeking change from his stagnant London life, prepared to move to Paris.
In Paris, the narrator settled and visited his old friend, Dirk Stroeve, a terribly untalented but financially successful painter with an idealized view of art and life. Despite his buffoonish nature and being exploited by others, Stroeve possessed a generous spirit and an unexpectedly profound appreciation for art.
The narrator visited Dirk Stroeve and his wife in Paris. Stroeve enthusiastically welcomed him and they discussed Charles Strickland, whom Stroeve, despite a past rude encounter, praised as a genius. Stroeve offered to introduce the narrator to Strickland and his works. Later, the narrator and Stroeve found Strickland playing chess in a café. Strickland, gaunt and disheveled, barely acknowledged them and initially denied knowing the narrator.
The Stroeve tragedy: Blanches passion and death
The narrator dined with Strickland, observing his brutal sarcasm and indifference. Strickland secured a painting commission, then mercilessly mocked Dirk Stroeve, whose sincere emotions often appeared ridiculous. The narrator, however, fondly recalled Stroeve's charming household and his devoted love for his wife.
Dirk Stroeve, feeling sentimental for Christmas, attempted to reconcile with Strickland after a quarrel. Upon learning Strickland was gravely ill and isolated, they embarked on a desperate search for his address, eventually finding him feverish and neglected in a squalid attic. Stroeve, overcome with guilt and concern, rushed to care for the ailing painter.
Dirk desperately attempted to convince his wife, Blanche, to allow the gravely ill Strickland to stay in their home. Blanche vehemently refused, citing a deep-seated fear and hatred for Strickland. After a heated argument and a profound emotional breakdown, Blanche shockingly relented, agreeing to care for Strickland, though still visibly terrified.
Strickland, severely ill, was moved to Stroeve's studio and nursed back to health by Dirk, who showed immense patience and care, and surprisingly, Blanche, who despite her previous hatred, became a devoted nurse. The narrator observed a strange, intense interaction between Blanche and the recovering Strickland, noting his primitive, enigmatic nature.
The narrator encountered a disconsolate Stroeve at the Louvre, who revealed that Strickland had taken over his studio and forcibly ejected him. Stroeve arrived at the narrator's apartment in distress, revealing his wife, Blanche, had left him for Strickland. Despite the narrator's initial disbelief, Stroeve recounted Blanche's cold departure and her unwavering declaration of love for Strickland.
Stroeve's desperate pleas and a physical altercation with Strickland failed to sway her. Ultimately, Stroeve, accepting defeat, left his home to Blanche and Strickland, giving them his money. Though abandoned by his wife, Stroeve expressed unwavering love and a desire to take her back, admitting to knowing about the affair for weeks but remaining in denial.
The narrator reflected on Blanche Stroeve's attraction to Strickland, viewing it as raw physical desire rather than love. He observed her tending to the sick Strickland, describing a charged intimacy. Stroeve desperately tried to win her back, but his undignified pleas only earned him a slap and her cold indifference.
During a hot Parisian summer, Dirk Stroeve burst in, hoarsely declaring Blanche had killed herself. After a chaotic exchange, Stroeve clarified Blanche was hospitalized after ingesting oxalic acid following a quarrel with Strickland. They visited the hospital, where a detached doctor confirmed Blanche was critical. Blanche refused to see anyone, and it was revealed her vocal cords were burned.
Stroeve endured a dreadful week visiting his dying wife in the hospital, who eventually succumbed to her injuries. Following Blanche Stroeve's burial, the narrator and Dirk Stroeve returned in a carriage. Stroeve, in exaggerated mourning, announced his departure for Holland. On his final visit home, he discovered Strickland's nude portrait of Blanche. Overcome by rage and grief, he attempted to destroy it but stopped, recognizing its artistic brilliance.
A woman can forgive a man for the harm he does her, but she can never forgive him for the sacrifices he makes on her account.
Stricklands art, philosophy, and departure for the South Seas
The narrator encountered Charles Strickland after a month, immediately feeling repulsion. Strickland followed him home, making himself comfortable. The narrator confronted him about his callous treatment of Dirk and Blanche Stroeve, questioning his lack of remorse for Blanche's death. Strickland, dismissive of love and human connection, justified his actions with cold cynicism and a fierce dedication to his art.
Each one of us is alone in the world. He is shut in a tower of brass, and can communicate with his fellows only by signs, and the signs have no common value, so that their sense is vague and uncertain.
The narrator viewed Strickland's art, initially finding it crude and disappointing, yet sensing a powerful, unanalyzable message. He interpreted Strickland's work as a tormented effort to express the soul of the universe. The narrator reflected on the incomplete portrayal of Charles Strickland, detailing his distant and pragmatic nature, his struggles kept private, and his complex, detached relationship with Blanche Stroeve. Strickland departed for Marseilles soon after.
Tahiti: Reconstructing Stricklands final years and masterpiece
The narrator detailed Charles Strickland's transformative artistic experience in Tahiti, the setting for his most famous works. He recounted his own overwhelming initial impressions of the island's unique beauty, contrasting it with prior locations and describing the mystical approach to Tahiti and the vibrant, sensual atmosphere of Papeete harbor.
The narrator met various people who had known Strickland. A local trader recounted hiring starving Strickland as an overseer and later receiving a peculiar painting as repayment for a loan. Years later, the trader's brother in Paris revealed the painting's immense value, selling it for thirty thousand francs, much to the trader's astonishment.
The narrator met Tiaré Johnson, proprietress of a Papeete hotel, who regretted not buying Strickland's unframed paintings at auction. Tiaré was a large, kind, hospitable woman, a great cook, and a fount of wisdom on love. She recounted her interactions with Strickland, who felt an immediate, profound sense of belonging upon arriving in Tahiti.
Tiaré recounted how she arranged for Strickland to marry Ata, a young native girl living with her. Despite Strickland having a wife in England, Tiaré orchestrated their union. Strickland eventually agreed, and they celebrated with a lively wedding dinner before moving to Ata's property.
Strickland spent three happy years in a secluded tropical bungalow with Ata, painting, reading, and living off the land. Their simple life, sustained by local produce and occasional trade, evolved with the birth of their baby, and the arrival of an old woman, her granddaughter, and a mysterious youth, forming an unconventional household.
Dr. Coutras recounted his visit to Strickland, who was diagnosed with leprosy. Despite initial reluctance, the doctor delivered the grim news. Ata steadfastly refused to leave him, demonstrating unwavering loyalty. Years later, Coutras revisited a desolate plantation, where Strickland, increasingly isolated and disfigured, was found painting the walls of his house, cared for only by Ata.
Years after the previous encounter, Dr. Coutras received a summons that Strickland was dying. He journeyed to Ata's remote house, finding it unkempt and silent. Inside, he discovered the deceased Strickland and the walls covered in astonishing, disturbing paintings, before learning Strickland had been blind for a year.
It was the work of a man who had delved into the hidden depths of nature and had discovered secrets which were beautiful and fearful too. It was the work of a man who knew things which it is unholy for men to know.
The narrator and Dr. Coutras discussed Strickland's destroyed masterpieces—murals depicting primal scenes and human forms, which Dr. Coutras found deeply disturbing yet profound. Strickland, having gone blind, ordered his wife Ata to burn them after his death.
Epilogue: Mrs. Strickland and the cultivated legacy
The narrator left Tahiti, feeling melancholy, and returned to London. He visited Mrs. Strickland to discuss her late husband, Charles. He observed Mrs. Strickland's carefully curated image of her past, before meeting her children, Robert and Mrs. Ronaldson. The narrator recounted Strickland's death, and the family reflected on his life with a veneer of piety, maintaining their respectable facade while the true story of Charles Strickland's artistic genius and tragic life remained largely unknown to them.