Of Human Bondage · Chapter
Chapter XIII explained
Philip, now nearly twelve, has become a successful student in the first form, but his growing self-consciousness is painfully shaped by the ridicule of his clubfoot.
What happens
Philip, now nearly twelve, has become a successful student in the first form, but his growing self-consciousness is painfully shaped by the ridicule of his clubfoot. He invents a lie about a broken pen-holder being a gift from his dead mother, and though he knows it is false, he is genuinely distressed by his own deception and the complex emotions it stirs.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Disillusionment
Philip's lie and the genuine distress it causes him illustrate his growing disillusionment with himself and the painful gap between his inner feelings and outward actions.
Isolation and Belonging
Philip's self-consciousness about his clubfoot and his invented story highlight his sense of apartness from others and his struggle to fit in.
Characters to notice
- Philip Carey
Philip is now nearly twelve, self-conscious about his clubfoot, and struggles with a lie he told about a pen-holder.
- Emma
Mentioned in Philip's memory of being told of his mother's death.
- Mrs. Carey
Philip's mother, whose death is recalled in the context of his lie about the pen-holder.
Key passages
“He did not know in the least what had made him invent that pathetic story, but he was quite as unhappy as though it had been true.”
Philip was completely baffled by his own lie, yet he felt just as miserable as if the story were real.
This moment captures Philip's confusion and the depth of his emotional turmoil over a fabricated tale.
“The feeling of apartness from others comes to most with puberty, but it is not always developed to such a degree as to make the difference between the individual and his fellows noticeable to the individual.”
Most people begin to feel separate from others during adolescence, but not everyone becomes acutely aware of this difference.
The narrator reflects on Philip's heightened self-consciousness, which is unusually intense due to his clubfoot.