# XLVI: The Plain explained — On a Chinese Screen

> Chapter companion for On a Chinese Screen by W. Somerset Maugham.

## What happens

The narrator reflects on a moment of profound personal association when, expecting to see a Chinese landscape from a hilltop, he instead sees a vista that reminds him of the Rhine valley near Heidelberg. This triggers a flood of memories about his youth, his first experiences of beauty, knowledge, and conversation, and his deep emotional connection to the European landscape, which has become his symbol for happiness.

## Themes in this chapter

### Search for Meaning and Identity

The narrator's sudden vision of the Rhine plain triggers a deep personal reflection on his youth and the formation of his identity through beauty, knowledge, and conversation.

### Beauty and Art as Escape or Illusion

The narrator's memory of the Rhine landscape becomes a symbol for happiness, showing how beauty and art can serve as an escape from the present or an idealized illusion.

### Cultural Clash and Misunderstanding

The narrator expects a Chinese landscape but instead sees a European one, highlighting the clash between his Western cultural conditioning and the reality of his surroundings.

## Key lines

> I was taken aback to find how completely one could be at the mercy of the laws of association.

The narrator is surprised by how powerfully memories and associations can override direct perception.

_This reflects the theme of the power of memory and personal association over objective reality._

> it was the valley of the Rhine, the broad plain all golden in the sunset, the valley of the Rhine with its river, a silvery streak, running through it, and the distant towers of Worms

Instead of a Chinese scene, the narrator sees a vivid memory of the Rhine valley near Worms, Germany.

_This illustrates the narrator's deep cultural and emotional ties to Europe, overriding the actual geography._

> the only symbol for happiness I know is a wide prospect all golden in the setting sun, with a shining stream of silver running through it

For the narrator, happiness is symbolized by a golden sunset view over a plain with a silver river.

_This personal symbol encapsulates the theme of beauty as an ideal and escape._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xlvi-the-plain
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters