Moon and Sixpence

Author: Maugham
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-09-01
Features: The British novelist Maugham is a master storyteller. His novels are witty and humorous, often revealing satire on some social phenomena. The plot of The Moon and Sixpence is based on the life of the French Post-Impressionist painter Gauguin. The protagonist, Charles Strickland, is a painter who abandons his family to live with the natives on the island of Tahiti in the South Pacific, gaining inspiration and creating many highly artistic works. Maugham explores the contradictions and interactions between life and art in the novel, and it seems to clearly express the view that remarkable artistic achievements are sufficient justification for a genius artist to ruthlessly break free from the constraints imposed by society—especially women.