Of Human Bondage · Chapter
C explained
Philip, having lost his inheritance, is now destitute and desperate.
What happens
Philip, having lost his inheritance, is now destitute and desperate. He tries to find work as a salesman in a drapery store but is rejected due to lack of experience. He borrows money from Lawson, spends his days in parks and libraries, and dreads the prospect of sleeping in a cheap lodging-house. He contemplates asking Athelny for help but hesitates, fearing rejection.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Disillusionment
Philip endures hunger, humiliation, and the crushing weight of poverty, losing faith in his fellow men.
Class and Social Mobility
Philip's middle-class prejudices make the prospect of shop work feel degrading, highlighting the rigid class boundaries of the era.
Isolation and Belonging
Philip feels utterly alone, avoiding former acquaintances and dreading the judgment of those who might help him.
Characters to notice
- Philip Carey
Destitute and desperate, Philip searches for work and struggles with hunger and humiliation.
- Frederick Lawson
Lends Philip half a sovereign, though he himself has little money.
- Thorpe Athelny
Philip considers asking him for help but delays out of fear of rejection.
- William Carey
Philip thinks of his uncle's eventual death as his only hope for an inheritance.
- Mr. Gibbons
The buyer at the drapery store who interviews and rejects Philip.
Key passages
“The only thing I can do is to hang on somehow till he dies.”
Philip feels his only hope is to endure until his uncle dies and leaves him an inheritance.
Philip's grim calculation about his uncle's death reflects his desperation.
“He had a curious little sinking of the heart, for with his middle-class prejudices it seemed dreadful to go into a shop; but he shrugged his shoulders, after all what did it matter?”
Philip's class background makes the idea of working in a shop feel shameful, but he forces himself to accept it.
Highlights the social stigma attached to retail work for someone of Philip's upbringing.
“He did not know what people did when they had no money.”
Philip is completely at a loss about how to survive without any funds.
Shows Philip's naivety and the extremity of his situation.