Abstract

The Moon and Sixpence, written by W. Somerset Maugham, mainly tells a story about the protagonist Charles Strickland’s pursuit of his dream of painting and eventually finding his self and inner peace on the small island of Tahiti. This thesis aims to analyze Charles Strickland’s continuous breaking of different bondages in his life, which reflects his pursuit of ultimate freedom and his quest for a new self. This thesis furthers its analysis by demonstrating Strickland’s different lifestyles with three different women in three places and the different influences upon his artistic creations and personality from different environments.

Key words: The Moon and Sixpence, Charles Strickland, bondages, ultimate freedom, quest for self
 
摘 要

威廉•萨默塞特•毛姆的小说《月亮与六便士》主要讲述了主人公查尔斯•斯特里克兰德不断追逐绘画梦想并最终在塔希提岛上找到自我与内心安宁的经历。本论文旨在分析思特里克兰德不断冲破生活中的各种束缚以求得最终自由和全新自我的过程。本论文具体分析了斯特里克兰德在三个地点和生命中的三位女性度过的不同生活，来剖析其追逐自由与理想世界的历程，并揭示了不同的生活环境对其艺术创作和人格的影响。

关键词：《月亮与六便士》；查尔斯•思特里克兰德；束缚；终极自由；追寻自我

1.    Introduction
W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) was a British playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest paid author during the 1930s. After losing both his parents by the age of 10, Maugham was raised by a paternal uncle who was emotionally cold. Not wanting to become a lawyer like other men in his family, Maugham was eventually trained and qualified as a doctor. The first run of his first novel, Liza of Lambeth, sold out so rapidly that Maugham gave up medicine to write full time. In the follow years, he wrote several novels but each novel was not very popular. He turned to drama creation in 1902 and became a famous playwright. However, bitter memories don’t let him have any peaceful moment. His past strongly urges him to express and create. Maugham has many famous works. The Razor’s Edge, Cakes and Ale, Of Human Bondage are all his famous works. Maugham is not only an artist at language but also a great storyteller. His works, especially his novels, all have unadorned language and explicit structures. Readers can find that all these novels have something in common. For instance, the characters all have distinct personalities and intricate experiences. For these reasons, Maugham has a number of readers among different ranks.