The Moon and Sixpence · Chapter
XLI explained
The narrator engages in a heated philosophical debate with Strickland about love, women, and the nature of artistic obsession.
What happens
The narrator engages in a heated philosophical debate with Strickland about love, women, and the nature of artistic obsession. Strickland reveals his contempt for love as a weakness and explains his relationship with Blanche Stroeve, disclosing her past and his purely physical motives. The chapter ends with the narrator agreeing to see Strickland's paintings.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Obsession
Strickland dismisses love as a disease and an insignificant part of life, contrasting with Blanche's obsessive love that leads to her suicide.
The Artist as Outcast
Strickland's complete indifference to social norms and his rejection of human bonds highlight his role as an outcast driven by artistic compulsion.
The Primitive and the Civilized
Strickland's raw, instinctual desire is described as a primitive force, contrasting with the civilized expectations of society.
Characters to notice
- Charles Strickland
Expounds his views on love as a disease and women as instruments of pleasure; reveals the truth about Blanche Stroeve's past and his own desire for her.
- The Narrator
Confronts Strickland about his callousness, questions the value of life, and ultimately agrees to view Strickland's paintings.
- Blanche Stroeve
Discussed as a tragic figure; her past as a seduced governess and her suicide are revealed.
- Dirk Stroeve
Mentioned as the compassionate man who married Blanche after rescuing her from suicide.
- Mrs. Strickland
Briefly referenced by Strickland as an example of a woman trying to imprison a man's soul.
Key passages
“Because women can do nothing except love, they’ve given it a ridiculous importance. They want to persuade us that it’s the whole of life. It’s an insignificant part. I know lust. That’s normal and healthy. Love is a disease.”
Strickland argues that women overvalue love because it is their only pursuit, while for him love is trivial and lust is natural; he sees love as an illness.
Strickland's core philosophy on love and gender.
“A woman can forgive a man for the harm he does her, but she can never forgive him for the sacrifices he makes on her account.”
Strickland cynically observes that women resent being indebted to a man's sacrifices more than they resent being harmed by him.
Strickland's cynical insight into female psychology.
“She had a wonderful body, and I wanted to paint a nude. When I’d finished my picture I took no more interest in her.”
Strickland explains that his interest in Blanche was purely artistic and physical; once he painted her, she no longer mattered to him.
Strickland's utilitarian view of Blanche.