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Chapter 1
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Of Human Bondage, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Maturation and Finding Purpose
Marriage and Family
Religion and Belief
Poverty and Injustice
Summary
Analysis
One week later, Philip is sitting on the floor of the drawing room at Miss Watkin’s house. The nurse, Emma, scolds him for playing “Indians” on some cushions. Emma tells Philip that his mother (Helen Carey) is doing well, but he won’t ever see her again. Philip is confused, so Emma explains that Mrs. Carey is in heaven. Emma is a large woman who has kept a Devonshire accent even after working in London for many years.
The imaginative games that Philip plays on the floor of the drawing room hint at his later artistic interests, but they also show how he is still disconnected from reality and doesn’t understand the death of his mother. Emma’s lies to Philip about his mother shows how adults around Philip try to shelter him. But the unavoidable reality of his mother’s death shows that Philip has reached an age where he will have to start facing the difficulties of the world on his own.
Active
Themes
Emma brings Philip to see Miss Watkin so that he can say goodbye before he goes to live with his Uncle William. Miss Watkin cries seeing Philip, and Philip himself doesn’t fully understand, but he likes the attention. When Philip goes out on the landing to await departure, he overhears Miss Watkin talking with her sister and another woman. They talk about how Mrs. Carey is dead and how it’s a pity that, in addition to that, Philip will have to go through life with a club foot.
Active
Themes
