The Moon and Sixpence(William Somerset Maugham) summary

The novel The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham, was published in 1919. It is based loosely on the life of artist Paul Gauguin, who became famous for his paintings in the “primitive” style. The story is told through first-person narration in an episodic structure that follows the protagonist, Charles Strickland. The narrator is a character named Crabbe, who knew Strickland for a few years before he left his family and his job as a stockbroker in England to pursue his artistic interests. The story comprises Crabbe’s memories of Strickland, as well as those shared with him by people throughout Tahiti who knew Charles. Through these tales, Crabbe is increasingly surprised that Charles is a genius with a paintbrush because he is widely regarded as having no talent. He is also considered anti-social. In fact, Crabbe has only met Charles through Mrs. Strickland. Back in London, Crabbe was a young writer—and one of Mrs. Strickland’s favorite pastimes was to host parties for writers. When Charles abandons his wife, she is certain he is having an affair.She sends Crabbe to Paris after him to ask him to come back home to her. However, when Crabbe gets to Paris and finds Strickland, he learns that it is not another woman that has drawn him away from England, but rather his desire to paint. A year goes by and Crabbe decides to move to Paris. He befriends another artist, the painter Dirk, who knows of Strickland. Despite the fact that Strickland refuses to allow anyone to see his paintings—let alone to buy them—Dirk assures Crabbe that Strickland’s work is genius-quality.

Strickland falls ill, so Dirk decides that he will bring him to his own apartment, where he lives with his wife, Blanche. Blanche asks Dirk not to bring him there, but he does anyway. Strickland kicks Dirk out of his own painting studio and begins having an affair with Blanche, who informs Dirk she is leaving him for Strickland. Dirk is desperate to win back his wife’s affections despite the betrayal of both her and his colleague. However, after Strickland ends his relationship with Blanche, she takes her own life. Crabbe admonishes Strickland for his actions and tells Strickland that he ought to feel tremendous guilt for what he did to Dirk and Blanche. Rather than apologize or show any remorse, Strickland shows Crabbe his artwork, though Crabbe finds his paintings to be unremarkable. Months pass, in which Strickland lives in abject poverty, before he decides to set sail for Tahiti. There he settles, both into a home and a painting style. He enjoys his simple life, where he paints all day and his Tahitian wife, Ata, cares for him. Eventually, Strickland learns that he has leprosy, so he tries to get everyone to leave him. Ata refuses; she is determined to take care of him for the rest of his life, however short or long it may be. The leprosy takes Strickland’s eyesight, but not his vision—he paints a masterpiece depicting the jungle on the walls of his hut. After his death, Ata burns their hut down to destroy the disease, which unfortunately destroys his last painting.