Of Human Bondage · Chapter
XC explained
Philip encounters Mildred on the street and realizes she has turned to prostitution.
What happens
Philip encounters Mildred on the street and realizes she has turned to prostitution. Overcome with pity, he offers her money and eventually proposes that she and her baby come live with him in his flat, asking nothing in return but that she keep house. Mildred accepts, and Philip feels an ecstatic sense of purpose.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Disillusionment
Mildred's fall into prostitution and Philip's horrified recognition of her degradation highlight the brutal realities of poverty and despair.
Love and Obsession
Philip's offer to take Mildred in is driven not by love but by a complex mix of pity, guilt, and a lingering need to rescue the woman who once obsessed him.
Characters to notice
- Philip Carey
Philip encounters Mildred, feels horror at her situation, and offers her a place to live out of pity and a desire to rescue her.
- Mildred Rogers
Mildred is working as a prostitute, desperate and ill. She accepts Philip's offer to live with him and care for his flat.
Key passages
“I hate asking you, Philip, but can you spare me anything?”
Mildred reluctantly asks Philip for money.
Mildred's shame and desperation are evident as she begs for financial help.
“If I could only get out of it! I hate it so. I'm unfit for the life, I'm not the sort of girl for that. I'd do anything to get away from it, I'd be a servant if I could. Oh, I wish I was dead.”
Mildred expresses her misery and desire to escape prostitution, even if it means becoming a servant.
Mildred's outburst reveals her deep self-loathing and hopelessness.
“Look here, if you want to get away from it, I've got an idea. I'm frightfully hard up just now, I've got to be as economical as I can; but I've got a sort of little flat now in Kennington and I've got a spare room. If you like you and the baby can come and live there.”
Philip offers Mildred and her baby a place to live in his flat, asking only that she do the housework.
Philip's proposal is both generous and self-protective, as he insists on a purely practical arrangement.
“My God, it is awful.”
Philip is overwhelmed by the horror of Mildred's situation.
Philip's reaction underscores the grim reality of Mildred's life as a prostitute.