The Moon and Sixpence

Synopsis

The Moon and Sixpence is a biographic novel inspired from the real life of Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin, written by the British novelist William Somerset Maugham, remembered for his masterpiece Of Human Bondage.

The Moon and Sixpence, narrates the story of Strickland, a London stockbroker who leaves his wife and children and moves to Paris aspiring to be an artist. Life at Paris was not a cakewalk for him, though his desires drive him towards a successful painter at the cost of his health and hunger. Dirk Stroeve, a Dutch painter recognize the genius in Strickland and support him to recover from a life-threatening condition.

However Blanche, wife of Stroeve leaves her husband for Strickland. Strickland however was just looking for a model in Blanche, not a serious relationship. Abandoned by Strickland, Blanche commits suicide, which is another casualty for the sake of Strickland’s aspirations of Art.

Strickland, then moves to Tahiti and marry another woman and had two children. Strickland creates numerous paintings and his magnum opus shorty before losing one of his eyes on account of leprosy. Before dying he had ordered his wife to burn his magnum opus, which was eventually burnt by his wife.

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