Of Human Bondage · Chapter
LXXVIII explained
Philip waits in agony for Mildred's return, but she never comes back.
What happens
Philip waits in agony for Mildred's return, but she never comes back. He receives a letter from Griffiths apologizing for running off with Mildred, and when he goes to her lodgings, he finds she has taken her things and left. Overcome with grief and self-disgust, he flees London for the comfort of his uncle's vicarage at Blackstable.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Disillusionment
Philip endures profound emotional pain from Mildred's repeated betrayals and feels utterly disillusioned with love and human nature.
Freedom and Determinism
Philip reflects on his lack of self-control, feeling driven by instincts and emotions like a machine, powerless to alter his fate.
Love and Obsession
Philip's obsessive love for Mildred persists despite her cruelty, leading him to contemplate murder and suicide.
Characters to notice
- Philip Carey
Philip reflects on his weak will and lack of self-control, suffers intensely over Mildred's betrayal, and retreats to Blackstable.
- Mildred Rogers
Mildred deceives Philip again by staying in Oxford with Griffiths and then leaving her London lodgings without contacting him.
- Griffiths
Griffiths writes a remorseful letter to Philip, apologizing for running off with Mildred and asking for forgiveness.
- Hayward
Philip is glad Hayward was not in London, as he would have told him everything and been ashamed of his weakness.
- William Carey
Philip telegraphs his uncle and returns to the vicarage at Blackstable for solace.
Key passages
“It seemed to him that he was swayed by every light emotion, as though he were a leaf in the wind, and when passion seized him he was powerless.”
Philip felt he had no control over his emotions, being tossed about by every passing feeling like a leaf in the wind.
Philip's self-analysis of his weak will and susceptibility to passion.
“He acted as though he were a machine driven by the two forces of his environment and his personality; his reason was someone looking on, observing the facts but powerless to interfere.”
Philip saw himself as a machine propelled by his surroundings and character, with his reason merely a passive observer.
Philip's deterministic view of human action, comparing reason to the gods of Epicurus.
“He thought the letter cowardly and hypocritical. He was disgusted at its sentimentality.”
Philip found Griffiths' apology contemptible and insincere, full of cheap sentiment.
Philip's harsh judgment of Griffiths' remorseful letter.