The Painted Veil · Chapter
XXXII explained
Kitty dines with Walter and Waddington in the small dining-room of a deceased missionary's house.
What happens
Kitty dines with Walter and Waddington in the small dining-room of a deceased missionary's house. Waddington, a humorous and slightly drunk man, discusses Hong Kong, Townsend, and London theatre. Kitty feels awe and isolation as they sit across from the cholera-stricken city.
Themes in this chapter
East vs. West
The contrast between the Western missionaries' dining room and the nearby Chinese city in terror from cholera highlights the cultural and physical divide.
Suffering and Growth
Kitty's awe and sense of being 'immeasurably apart' amid the cholera crisis suggests her growing awareness of suffering and her own isolation.
Characters to notice
- Kitty Fane
Dines with Walter and Waddington; feels flush when Townsend is mentioned, and later filled with awe and a sense of isolation.
- Walter Fane
Hosts the dinner; watches Waddington with cold, ironic amusement; shows civil interest in topics he knows nothing about.
- Waddington
Described as bald, monkey-faced, charmingly ugly, and far from sober; talks of Hong Kong, Townsend, and London theatre; plans to escort Walter the next day.
Key passages
“Missionaries always have large dining-tables. They get so much a year more for every child they have and they buy their tables when they marry so that there shall be plenty of room for little strangers.”
Waddington jokes that missionaries buy oversized tables in anticipation of having many children, since they receive extra income per child.
Highlights Waddington's cynical humor and the practical realities of missionary life.
“Three solitary creatures and strangers to each other.”
Kitty reflects that she, Walter, and Waddington are isolated individuals, disconnected from one another.
Captures Kitty's emotional state and the theme of isolation.