On The Exchange Of Affection In Maugham’s Of Human Bondage

William Somerset Maugham is a famous British novelist and playwright. Of Human Bondage was a novel published during World War I. Through the description of the hard life of the protagonist named Philip Carey, this novel delicately shows the affective state of the bourgeois and people of lower strata in the Great Britain. This works opens up the prospect of the disorder of affection in the British society at the end of the 19 th century and the beginning of the 20 th century.Social exchange theory is put forward by George Homans. Homans holds that the interaction between people is a process of exchange. Peter M. Blau further develops social exchange theory. Blau holds that the exchanges among people begin with social attraction. The decrease of social attraction may finally leads to the discontinuance of the exchanges. The exchanges of affection among the main characters in Of Human Bondage deserve to be explored from the perspective of exchange by combining the special historical background in Britain.This thesis takes six typical characters Philip, Mildred, Griffith, Rose, uncle William and aunt Louisa out, and tries to analyze the exchanges of affection from the aspects of love, friendship and kinship. Based on the exchange of affection among Philip and his beloved, friends and relatives, this thesis tries to explore the exchanges of affection in Of Human Bondage from the dimension of cost and reward and points out that the wrong cognition of love, the decadence of morality, the alienation of humanity and the decrease of social attraction are the main reasons that lead to the emergence of obstacles in the exchange of affection. In introduction, a literature review of the predecessors and a brief introduction to social exchange theory are given. And then three questions are put forward: why does the exchange of love between Philip and Mildred become distorted? What are the reasons that make the genuine friendship among Philip, Griffith and Rose deteriorate? Being the guardian of Philip, why is uncle William so selfish and autocratic in the exchange with Philip? The first chapter explores the distorted exchange between Philip and Mildred. Although Mildred, a lady born in lower class, is humble, she has a weakness for money. As a worshiper of money, Mildred attaches label of price to the love between Philip and her. Meanwhile, Philip is looking with anxiety to have Mildred for his own driven by lust. Their utilitarian outlooks of love induce the distortion of the exchange of love between them. The second chapter analyzes the deteriorated exchange of friendship among Philip, Griffith and Rose. Griffith and Rose’s deceitful behavior, treachery and utilization towards Philip as well as Philip’s possession of his friend lead to the deterioration of the genuine friendship between them. Chapter three focuses on analyzing the alienated exchange of kinship among Philip, his uncle and aunt. His uncle’s selfishness and heartlessness, his aunt’s reservation and the lack of efficacious communication lead to the estrangement of their kinship. The poor situation not only alienates uncle William’s personality and Philip’s nature, but also alienates the exchange of their kinship. In conclusion, the description of the modes in the exchanges of affection in this novel shows that Mildred and Philip’s wrong cognition of love makes them become the blind admirer of money and lust, and distorts the exchange of love between them. The betrayals of Rose and Griffith bring about essential change to the exchange of genuine friendship among them and Philip. Griffith perfidious behavior makes him get trapped in the moral dilemma. Philip’s possession of his friends like a commodity brings about essential changes to the normal exchanges of friendship. The indifference among the family members results in the estrangement of kinship. Modern society alienates social individuals and the exchange of interpersonal kinship. The abnormal exchange of affection in this novel mirrors Maugham’s deep concern about the affective state of the British at that time. Besides, it also reflects Maugham’s hope towards the reasonable exchanges of affection as well as his criticism on the chaotic affective and ethical order in British society and his profound care on humanity.