# Chapter XXVI explained — Of Human Bondage

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

## What happens

Philip becomes deeply influenced by Hayward, a cultured but dilettantish young man who introduces him to literature and art. Hayward's disdain for practical pursuits and his aesthetic posturing captivate Philip, while Weeks, an American theologian, offers a contrasting, more critical perspective. Philip's growing admiration for Hayward leads him to reject Weeks's pragmatic views.

## Themes in this chapter

### Art and Authenticity

Hayward embodies a dilettantish devotion to art and culture, valuing aesthetic experience over practical achievement, which both attracts and misleads Philip.

### Isolation and Belonging

Philip, left to himself after his companions depart, eagerly seeks connection with Hayward, whose intellectual companionship fills a void.

## Character check-ins

### Philip Carey

Philip is impressionable and eager for self-improvement, falling under Hayward's influence and defending him against Weeks's criticism.

### Hayward

Hayward is a cultured but indolent aesthete who abandoned the Bar for Italy and now lives on a small inheritance, reciting poetry and disparaging practical life.

### Weeks

Weeks is an American theologian studying in Heidelberg, who sees through Hayward's pretensions and describes him as a typical waster.

## Key lines

> He felt himself a poet. He disposed of his rooms in Clement's Inn and went to Italy.

Hayward, believing himself a poet, gave up his London chambers and moved to Italy.

_Hayward's self-image as a poet leads him to abandon his legal career for a life of travel and aesthetic pursuit._

> Your new friend looks like a poet, said Weeks, with a thin smile on his careworn, bitter mouth. He is a poet. Did he tell you so? In America we should call him a pretty fair specimen of a waster.

Weeks sarcastically remarks that Hayward looks like a poet, but dismisses him as a waster, prompting Philip to defend him angrily.

_Weeks's pragmatic American perspective clashes with Philip's romantic admiration for Hayward._

## Links

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