# The Stranger explained — On a Chinese Screen

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

## What happens

The missionary escapes the sweltering city for his hill bungalow, but is troubled by an encounter with Dr. Saunders, who tells him about a stranger claiming to be Christ who sought the missions only to find them closed for the summer. The missionary broods over the implied criticism and later thinks of a retort.

## Themes in this chapter

### Hypocrisy and Moral Compromise

The missionary feels stung by the implication that the missions' summer exodus is a dereliction of duty, and he rationalizes it as a practical necessity, while resenting the comparison to the Roman Catholics.

### Colonial Ennui and Isolation

The missionary's peaceful retreat is disturbed by a trivial encounter, highlighting the isolation and petty irritations of colonial life.

## Character check-ins

### The Missionary

The missionary is the central figure, traveling to his summer bungalow and reflecting on his unsettling conversation with Dr. Saunders.

### Dr. Saunders

Dr. Saunders meets the missionary in the city and recounts his encounter with a stranger who claimed to be Christ, teasing the missionary about the missions' summer closures.

### The Stranger

A mysterious stranger who asked about the missions and, when asked his name, replied 'I am Christ.'

## Key lines

> It was a comfort in that sweltering heat to get out of the city.

Leaving the oppressive heat of the city brought relief.

_The chapter opens with the missionary's escape from the city's heat._

> ‘Oh, I’m Christ,’ he said.

The stranger claimed to be Christ.

_Dr. Saunders reports the stranger's startling self-identification._

> ‘My dear Sir,’ he ought to have said, ‘Our Lord never in the whole course of his ministry claimed to be the Christ.’

The missionary later thinks of a retort: that Jesus never called himself the Christ.

_The missionary's belated, imagined comeback to Dr. Saunders._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xxxv-the-stranger
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters