Of Human Bondage

Of Human Bondage is a 1915 novel written by the British author W. Somerset Maugham. The novel follows the maturation of a young man named Philip Carey as he grows up in England at the very end of the 19th century. The novel incorporates elements of both realism and modernism and has been interpreted as having some autobiographical inspiration drawn from Maugham’s own life. By describing events from Philip’s life, Maugham develops themes related to social class, loneliness, and the search for purpose and meaning in one’s life.

This guide uses the 1999 Modern Library Classics edition.

Content Warning: The source text contains discussions of stillbirth, suicide, alcoholism, sex work, and discrimination based on a disability.

Plot Summary

Philip Carey is orphaned as a young boy and goes to live with his paternal uncle and aunt in the rural village of Blackstable, England. Philip’s uncle, Mr. Carey, works as a minister, and Philip grows up in a reserved, aloof, and highly religious home. He often feels lonely and isolated. Philip attends a boarding school, where he struggles to make friends; many of the other boys mock him because he has clubfoot (a physical disability that causes him to walk with a limp). Since he is often lonely, Philip becomes very bookish and studious. He does very well at school and plans to eventually study at Oxford University and become a minister like his uncle.

As a teenager, Philip begins to feel bored, stifled, and unsure about his future career path. He convinces his aunt and uncle to let him go abroad and study in Germany. Philip spends a year in Heidelberg, during which he is exposed to intellectual and bohemian ideas including atheism. He makes some friends, including a man named Hayward who will remain his lifelong friend.

Philip eventually returns to England; he is now certain he cannot train to become a minister and begins training to become a chartered accountant. However, after a year working as an accounting clerk in a dreary office in London, Philip hates this career path. He decides he wants to go to Paris to study art and departs despite the objections of his aunt and uncle. His aunt gives him money since Philip does not yet have access to the modest inheritance he received from his parents.

Philip enjoys leading a bohemian student life in Paris, becoming good friends with some of his fellow students. He does often wonder whether he actually has any artistic talent. This question becomes more pressing as Philip watches the struggles of an art student named Fanny Price. Fanny is not a good artist but refuses to give up her dreams, despite falling into severe poverty. Eventually, Fanny dies by suicide. Philip fears that he may also be facing a life of poverty and failure if he tries to pursue a career as an artist; when his aunt dies, he goes back to England, deciding to stay there permanently and to train as a doctor.

Philip moves to London and begins his medical training. Shortly afterward, he meets a woman named Mildred Rogers and quickly falls in love with her. Mildred works as a waitress and is not well-educated; she can be rude and materialistic and never seems to like Philip very much. Nonetheless, he becomes obsessed with her, spending a lot of his money on presents and outings and falling behind in his studies. Philip’s heart is broken when Mildred abruptly jilts him in order to be with another man.

Philip eventually recovers and is on a more positive path when Mildred turns up a few months later. She explains to Philip that she is pregnant and impoverished, as her other lover has abandoned her. Philip takes care of Mildred, providing for her financially during her pregnancy and hoping that he and Mildred will eventually become lovers. However, Mildred abandons him a second time, having an affair with Philip’s close friend, Griffiths, instead. Philip returns to his medical training: He is talented in his field, and he becomes good friends with a former patient named Thorpe Athelny. Philip enjoys spending time with Athelny and his loving family.

By chance, Philip runs into Mildred again: She is now engaging in sex work in order to sustain herself and her child. Philip arranges to have Mildred and the baby come and live with him and provides for them financially even though he has very little money himself. Philip is now repulsed by the idea of having a romantic relationship with Mildred, which annoys and frustrates her. She repeatedly tries to seduce him, and after he rejects her multiple times, she leaves abruptly after destroying all of his possessions. A short time later, Philip loses money after attempting to invest in stocks, and he is now so impoverished that he has to drop out of his medical training. Philip becomes homeless and considers taking his own life; he is saved when Athelny insists that Philip come and stay with his family.

Philip gets a job working in a shop, which he detests. He fixates on his uncle’s death, hoping to get an inheritance. Philip has to wait for more than two years, during which time he again encounters Mildred. She is suffering from syphilis but refuses to stop engaging in sex work. Eventually, Philip’s uncle dies, and he receives a modest inheritance. Philip returns to his medical training, dreaming of traveling and living abroad once he is qualified as a doctor. Philip progresses well and eventually completes his training. Shortly after he does, he begins a sexual relationship with Sally Athelny, the eldest daughter of his friend Thorpe. Sally tells Philip that she thinks she may be pregnant, and Philip resolves that he will give up his dreams, marry her, and settle down. He arranges to take a job as a doctor in a small town.

Before Philip can propose, Sally tells him that she is not pregnant; however, Philip has an epiphany and realizes that he wants to marry her regardless. He proposes to Sally, she agrees, and the novel ends with them looking forward to a happy domestic life together.