# XLI explained — The Moon and Sixpence

> Chapter companion for The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham.

## 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.

## Character check-ins

### 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 lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_moon_and_sixpence_se/chapters/xli
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_moon_and_sixpence_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_moon_and_sixpence_se/chapters