An Analysis Of Female Initiation In The Painted Veil

William-Somerset-Maugham is a famous English writer. For a long time, he is excluded from the first-rank writers due to his emphasis on the entertainment function of his works, though he has a good reputation and numerous readers. However, Maugham never gives up his efforts to explore life, human nature and literature in his unique writing style.The Painted Veil mainly tells the extramarital affair of the heroine--Kitty, who could not resist the temptation. Therefore, it attracts controversy after its first publication. However, Maugham’s exploration of life in the novel doesn’t stop here. As a human, Kitty struggles in temptation and trials, and finally finds a way out of the predicament. As a woman, she has to suffer the pressure (both from her family and the society) physically and mentally. At last, she unveils the "veil of life", and acquires the essence of life.Recent studies both at home and abroad mainly focus on these aspects:research on the Orientalist ideology of Maugham from Orientalism, Maugham’s naturalism reflected in the novel from the perspective of Naturalism, Kitty’s awaking from Frudian Consciousness Theory and tragic marriage from Jungian Archetypal Theory etc. This thesis will analyze the theme of female initiation in this novel. Firstly, this thesis will discuss the unique growing process of the heroine from the perspective of Bildungroman. Apart from this, this thesis will analyze the awaking of the Feminine Consciousness of the heroine from the perspective of Feminine Literary Criticism in order to broaden the research angles of this novel.This thesis first summarizes the definition and development of Bildungsroman of the previous studies. Then the thesis analyzes the growing process of the heroine following the narrative structure of Bildungsroman. Initiation guides are also important factors in a Bildungsroman. Therefore, this thesis discusses the characters of the novel in three categories: positive initiation guides, negative initiation guides, and initiation companions based on relevant theories of Bildungsroman. Besides these, this thesis analyzes the awaking of Kitty’s feminine consciousness and various factors which contribute to her waking from the perspective of Feminine Literary Criticism. In the end, this thesis discusses her limitations as a woman. The Painted Veil is a classical female Bildungsroman. The heroine experiences the test and trials that typical characters of a Bildungsroman would encounter, at the same time, she also has her own growing pains belonging to women. She survives all these trials and becomes an mature and independent woman in the end.This thesis broadens the research angle of the novel to some extent, and it also deepens the understanding of Maugham’s works. But there is still much to be improved and corrected.