# XLVIII explained — The Moon and Sixpence

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

## What happens

The narrator reflects on his original plan to begin the book with Strickland's final years in Tahiti and his death, but abandons it for a chronological account. He then recounts the story of Monsieur Cohen, a Jewish trader who knew Strickland in Tahiti, hired him as an overseer, lent him money, and later received a painting as repayment. Years later, Cohen's brother in Paris sold the painting for thirty thousand francs, revealing Strickland's posthumous genius.

## Themes in this chapter

### The Meaning of Greatness

Strickland's unrecognized genius during his lifetime contrasts with the posthumous valuation of his work, questioning how greatness is measured.

### The Artist as Outcast

Strickland is dismissed as a failed painter and beachcomber in Tahiti, yet his art later achieves fame, highlighting the artist's marginalization.

## Character check-ins

### Charles Strickland

Recalled as a beachcomber in Tahiti, known for absurd paintings, later recognized as a genius after death.

### The Narrator

Reflects on narrative structure and recounts the story of Monsieur Cohen.

### Mr. Van Busche Taylor

Mentioned indirectly as the gentleman who bought Strickland's painting from Cohen's brother for thirty thousand francs.

## Key lines

> I am in the position of a biologist who from a single bone must reconstruct not only the appearance of an extinct animal, but its habits.

The narrator compares his task of piecing together Strickland's life from fragmentary evidence to a biologist reconstructing an extinct creature from a single bone.

_Metaphor for the narrator's challenge in assembling Strickland's story._

> I wish that poor Strickland had been still alive. I wonder what he would have said when I gave him twenty-nine thousand eight hundred francs for his picture.

Monsieur Cohen expresses regret that Strickland did not live to see the immense value of his painting, which Cohen sold for a fortune.

_Highlights the irony of Strickland's posthumous success._

## Links

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