# CXVI explained — Of Human Bondage

> Chapter companion for Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham.

## What happens

Philip completes his final examinations and qualifies as a doctor, feeling a sense of satisfaction and readiness to begin life. He takes a locum position with Doctor South, a crusty old physician in Farnley, Dorsetshire. Philip adapts to the work, enjoys the independence, and gradually wins over the initially hostile Doctor South with his good humor and quiet confidence.

## Themes in this chapter

### Freedom and Determinism

Philip feels he is finally beginning life after qualifying, reflecting on how poverty constrained him and how money provides freedom and proper perspective.

### Isolation and Belonging

Philip lives a solitary life, seeing only the Athelnys, and deliberately avoids old friends like Lawson, yet he is not lonely and finds contentment in his work.

### Suffering and Disillusionment

Philip reflects on Mildred with a painful mix of fear and curiosity, and his past experiences of poverty and loss have shaped his current pragmatic outlook.

## Character check-ins

### Philip Carey

Philip qualifies as a doctor, takes a locum position with Doctor South, and reflects on his past friendships and his feelings about money and independence.

### Doctor South

Doctor South is a crusty, blunt old physician who initially tests Philip but gradually comes to appreciate his good humor and competence.

### Frederick Lawson

Philip sees Lawson in Piccadilly but avoids him, feeling their friendship has run its course.

### Norah Nesbit

Philip thinks fondly of Norah, remembering her as a good and brave soul, though he has lost touch with her.

### Mildred Rogers

Philip occasionally wanders streets where he might see Mildred, experiencing a mix of fear, curiosity, and painful emotion.

### Thorpe Athelny

Philip visits the Athelnys to share his good news about qualifying as a doctor.

## Key lines

> He knew that the lack made a man petty, mean, grasping; it distorted his character and caused him to view the world from a vulgar angle; when you had to consider every penny, money became of grotesque importance: you needed a competency to rate it at its proper value.

Philip believed that poverty warps a person's character, making them small and grasping, and that only financial security allows one to see money in its true perspective.

_Philip reflects on the corrupting influence of poverty and the importance of having enough money to maintain integrity._

> He was occupied with the forming of a pattern out of the manifold chaos of life, and the materials with which he worked seemed to make preoccupation with pigments and words very trivial.

Philip was focused on creating meaning from life's chaos, and compared to that, art and literature seemed unimportant.

_Philip's shift in priorities from art to the practical shaping of his own life._

> Now I'm really going to begin life, he thought.

Philip felt that with his medical qualification, his real life was finally starting.

_A moment of personal triumph and anticipation for the future._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/of_human_bondage_se/chapters/cxvi
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/of_human_bondage_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/of_human_bondage_se/chapters