Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
An Examination of W. Somerset Maugham’s “Rain," by NancyGene
151 views
Skip to first unread message
NancyGene
May 24, 2021, 6:51:24 AM5/24/21
to
An Examination of W. Somerset Maugham’s “Rain”
by NancyGene
“Rain” is a short story by W. Somerset Maugham, written in 1921. It was originally published in the book “The Smart Set” and is 51 pages long at the “lonestar.edu/departments/English/Maugham_rain.pdf” website. As an aside on this version of the story, there are some mistakes in the retyping, which should have been corrected.
The main characters are Dr. and Mrs. Macphail, missionaries Mrs. and Mrs. Davidson, and prostitute Sadie Thompson. They were all on a ship that docked at Pago-Pago, with an enforced stay there at a small hotel/general store for 14 days. The Davidsons are headed to their base islands north of Samoa and the Macphails are going to Apia, as is Sadie Thompson. It rains _a lot_ in Pago-Pago. Mr. Davidson is described as tall and thin but “the most striking thing about him was the feeling he gave you of suppressed fire.” The Davidsons see it as their “mission” “position” to put everything in order, as they think the order should be. Sadie Thompson is around 27 years old, “plump, and in a coarse fashion pretty.” “Her fat calves in white cotton stockings bulged over the tops of long white boots […]” That doesn’t sound like either Joan Crawford or Rita Hayworth, but let’s see. She is able to speak (loudly) for herself and push back against others. Mr. Davidson is both narrow in frame and mind and considers the native missionaries in his territory to be “pitifully lacking in energy.” That old mañana philosophy will make you take a nap every time. “I expect to have my work cut out for me. I shall act and I shall act promptly. If the tree is rotten it shall be cut down and cast into the flames,” Mr. Davidson states. Remember that.
Sadie entertains sailors in her room, turns the volume up on the gramophone, and is a bold miss in the confined environs in which they are all sequestered. Mr. Davidson remembers that Sadie came on board the ship in Honolulu, from the red light district that was shut down, and where the occupants were subjected to the punishment of the law. Not having enough natives to reform and reconstitute, Mr. Davidson decides that Sadie must be saved from her wicked ways.
Davidson tries and seems to be making great progress in saving her soul from damnation and in her job retraining, which takes him days and nights and immense personal effort. However, by the end of the story, Mr. Davidson has died by his own hand (slit his throat “ear to ear”). Mentally ill? The stage of zealotry that he was in seems to indicate that. Yes, it is possible to slit your own throat and die, but it is painful and not always successful.
But why, readers ask, did Davidson kill himself? Obviously he was having carnal relations with Sadie while he was “saving” her. All of his self-control, his beliefs, and his confidence in his ability to act for God and expunge evil did not stand up to Sadie lying down. Was he a hypocrite? Yes--judgmental, narrow minded, yet titillated by the native customs he was stamping out and the sins of the people he said he was saving.
Sadie: “You men! You filthy, dirty pigs! You`re all the same, all of you. Pigs! Pigs!”
“Dr. Macphail gasped. He understood.”
Was Sadie being disingenuous? Probably, since she did not want to go on the ship that would take her to San Francisco and then to prison. She was desperate, and she knew men and their weaknesses (see above). Was Davidson a victim of his own confidence? He tried to play God and decide what was sinful for the “natives” and also change those who did not align with his views. Remember his statement that “If the tree is rotten it shall be cut down and cast into the flames”? He found that he was rotten and cut himself down. He thought he was strong in the Lord but was as weak as a sailor on shore leave.
Even if Sadie was sincerely “saved” by Mr. Davidson, certainly her new faith was shaken when he started to display the base instincts that he had been trying to eradicate from her. Her savior was just like the others--wanting one thing, perhaps the only thing she had to offer. They could have both benefited from behavior modification.
But what about the title of “Rain?” Remember the 40 days and 40 nights of rain in the Noah and the Ark story? God was trying to destroy the sinful. Was this what happened to Davidson in the Maugham “Rain” story? He is the evil one although he presents himself as the earthly representative of God and interpreter of His laws. Do Not Play God. And the rain came down in Pago-Pago.
The story of the fallen preacher/missionary/minister has been written in this, the last and previous centuries, so it is not a daring twist in the story. Ironically, the generally happy and content but partially dressed “natives” were seen as sinful, but in actuality the people who were buttoned up tightly were the ones who were not living honest lives.
The story seems dated when read in 2021. Sadie could not have gotten into Sydney without a clean bill of health and a work permit. Stuck on an island? Fly out from the nearest island with an airfield. Does a prostitute work without a pimp and is she on a ship? Probably neither of those. We can see that the story was naughty at a time when readers were not given specifics but had to use their imaginations. Maugham does not write the details of what happened in Sadie’s room, and of course the story only runs for 51 pages.
We can see the turnabout of the ho getting the best of the sanctimonious preacher and him succumbing to her evil, womanly ways as being something that people used to want to read about. Today, it is in the newspapers and is nothing new. Repression was well known to Maugham, a homosexual in Britain at a time when acting on that sexuality could bring 10 years in prison (Oscar Wilde).
Is the story well written and worth reading? Yes, with an asterisk. It is not a salacious story and would not have been banned on the basis of what was written in the text. That it has been made into two movies starring “sex symbols” tells us that the story has been considerably expanded and embellished. We will have to watch the movies to compare those versions with what was actually in “Rain.”
by NancyGene
“Rain” is a short story by W. Somerset Maugham, written in 1921. It was originally published in the book “The Smart Set” and is 51 pages long at the “lonestar.edu/departments/English/Maugham_rain.pdf” website. As an aside on this version of the story, there are some mistakes in the retyping, which should have been corrected.
The main characters are Dr. and Mrs. Macphail, missionaries Mrs. and Mrs. Davidson, and prostitute Sadie Thompson. They were all on a ship that docked at Pago-Pago, with an enforced stay there at a small hotel/general store for 14 days. The Davidsons are headed to their base islands north of Samoa and the Macphails are going to Apia, as is Sadie Thompson. It rains _a lot_ in Pago-Pago. Mr. Davidson is described as tall and thin but “the most striking thing about him was the feeling he gave you of suppressed fire.” The Davidsons see it as their “mission” “position” to put everything in order, as they think the order should be. Sadie Thompson is around 27 years old, “plump, and in a coarse fashion pretty.” “Her fat calves in white cotton stockings bulged over the tops of long white boots […]” That doesn’t sound like either Joan Crawford or Rita Hayworth, but let’s see. She is able to speak (loudly) for herself and push back against others. Mr. Davidson is both narrow in frame and mind and considers the native missionaries in his territory to be “pitifully lacking in energy.” That old mañana philosophy will make you take a nap every time. “I expect to have my work cut out for me. I shall act and I shall act promptly. If the tree is rotten it shall be cut down and cast into the flames,” Mr. Davidson states. Remember that.
Sadie entertains sailors in her room, turns the volume up on the gramophone, and is a bold miss in the confined environs in which they are all sequestered. Mr. Davidson remembers that Sadie came on board the ship in Honolulu, from the red light district that was shut down, and where the occupants were subjected to the punishment of the law. Not having enough natives to reform and reconstitute, Mr. Davidson decides that Sadie must be saved from her wicked ways.
Davidson tries and seems to be making great progress in saving her soul from damnation and in her job retraining, which takes him days and nights and immense personal effort. However, by the end of the story, Mr. Davidson has died by his own hand (slit his throat “ear to ear”). Mentally ill? The stage of zealotry that he was in seems to indicate that. Yes, it is possible to slit your own throat and die, but it is painful and not always successful.
But why, readers ask, did Davidson kill himself? Obviously he was having carnal relations with Sadie while he was “saving” her. All of his self-control, his beliefs, and his confidence in his ability to act for God and expunge evil did not stand up to Sadie lying down. Was he a hypocrite? Yes--judgmental, narrow minded, yet titillated by the native customs he was stamping out and the sins of the people he said he was saving.
Sadie: “You men! You filthy, dirty pigs! You`re all the same, all of you. Pigs! Pigs!”
“Dr. Macphail gasped. He understood.”
Was Sadie being disingenuous? Probably, since she did not want to go on the ship that would take her to San Francisco and then to prison. She was desperate, and she knew men and their weaknesses (see above). Was Davidson a victim of his own confidence? He tried to play God and decide what was sinful for the “natives” and also change those who did not align with his views. Remember his statement that “If the tree is rotten it shall be cut down and cast into the flames”? He found that he was rotten and cut himself down. He thought he was strong in the Lord but was as weak as a sailor on shore leave.
Even if Sadie was sincerely “saved” by Mr. Davidson, certainly her new faith was shaken when he started to display the base instincts that he had been trying to eradicate from her. Her savior was just like the others--wanting one thing, perhaps the only thing she had to offer. They could have both benefited from behavior modification.
But what about the title of “Rain?” Remember the 40 days and 40 nights of rain in the Noah and the Ark story? God was trying to destroy the sinful. Was this what happened to Davidson in the Maugham “Rain” story? He is the evil one although he presents himself as the earthly representative of God and interpreter of His laws. Do Not Play God. And the rain came down in Pago-Pago.
The story of the fallen preacher/missionary/minister has been written in this, the last and previous centuries, so it is not a daring twist in the story. Ironically, the generally happy and content but partially dressed “natives” were seen as sinful, but in actuality the people who were buttoned up tightly were the ones who were not living honest lives.
The story seems dated when read in 2021. Sadie could not have gotten into Sydney without a clean bill of health and a work permit. Stuck on an island? Fly out from the nearest island with an airfield. Does a prostitute work without a pimp and is she on a ship? Probably neither of those. We can see that the story was naughty at a time when readers were not given specifics but had to use their imaginations. Maugham does not write the details of what happened in Sadie’s room, and of course the story only runs for 51 pages.
We can see the turnabout of the ho getting the best of the sanctimonious preacher and him succumbing to her evil, womanly ways as being something that people used to want to read about. Today, it is in the newspapers and is nothing new. Repression was well known to Maugham, a homosexual in Britain at a time when acting on that sexuality could bring 10 years in prison (Oscar Wilde).
Is the story well written and worth reading? Yes, with an asterisk. It is not a salacious story and would not have been banned on the basis of what was written in the text. That it has been made into two movies starring “sex symbols” tells us that the story has been considerably expanded and embellished. We will have to watch the movies to compare those versions with what was actually in “Rain.”
Hieronymous Corey
May 24, 2021, 7:06:54 AM5/24/21
to
self-righteousness and hypocrisy is as old as the Bible.
Karen Tellefsen
May 24, 2021, 7:25:15 AM5/24/21
to
On Monday, May 24, 2021 at 6:51:24 AM UTC-4, NancyGene wrote:
Michael Pendragon
May 24, 2021, 9:34:06 AM5/24/21
to
On Monday, May 24, 2021 at 6:51:24 AM UTC-4, NancyGene wrote:
jdcha...@gmail.com
May 24, 2021, 11:11:49 AM5/24/21
to
NancyGene
May 24, 2021, 12:26:53 PM5/24/21
to
Karen Tellefsen
May 24, 2021, 12:30:46 PM5/24/21
to
NancyGene
May 24, 2021, 12:35:31 PM5/24/21
to
jdcha...@gmail.com
May 24, 2021, 12:41:24 PM5/24/21
to
Michael Pendragon
May 24, 2021, 12:51:53 PM5/24/21
to
Do you think that Anderson's adaptation was successful? Apart from the dialogue, was the play faithful to the story?
NancyGene
May 24, 2021, 1:02:00 PM5/24/21
to
http://alexander-arsov.blogspot.com/2016/01/somerset-maughams-rain-on-stage-and.html
0 new messages