Домашнее чтение Уильям Сомерсет Моэм «Узорный покров», главы XLIV - XLVIII, 2 (Школьные сочинения)

2. Answer the following questions:

How did Kitty feel in ‘another world situated strangely neither in space nor in time’?

As soon as Kitty’s chair was set down near the convent she felt strange because she had never come out of the bungalow for so far. Mei-tan-fu seized with the epidemic seemed terrible. She felt like an alien which arrived on the new planet. Though she was ready to see the empty streets and dying people, the nuns differed completely from what she expected them to see. Though they were under the harsh circumstances they still smiled and held themselves cheerful. They completely differed from the women Kitty saw around her in London.

The native dignity of the Mother Superior struck Kitty so she could hardly say a word when she was standing in front of her. So the way Kitty behaved while being in the convent was rather different. All her attention was directed towards the Mother Superior who made her breath stop. Kitty realized that they spoke a different language not only of the tongue but of the heart. She was only a trivial stranger for them. She felt on a sudden alone as she had never felt alone before.

What was the reason for Kitty’s contempt for herself?

To my mind, Kitty unconsciously compared herself to the nuns and she revealed how worthless she had behaved. All those things that were so valuable and attractive for her lost their value. This place turned her outlook upside down.

Was Kitty accepted at ‘the garden of spirit’? If not, why?

As far as I understood Kitty wasn’t accepted in the garden of spirit. The way she looked at things differed from the one which the nuns had, so the little chapel which was a place of spirit for them seemed to be an ugly and vulgar room. I think she saw it because she saw it superficially. It wasn’t just a room with paintings on the wall and a statue in the centre, but something deeper that it seemed to be. While the nuns came there in order to have a rest and rehabilitate their soul, Kitty thought only about its interior.

ut it wasn’t decorations which made it beautiful, but their faith.

Speak on Kitty’s failed attempt to reconcile with her husband.

That evening was quite hard for both Litty and Walter. He came back to the bungalow earlier than usual. While they were sitting in the living room, all of a sudden Kitty wondered what they would do if they went through the epidemic. She was trying to find out if it was his plan to take her out of Hong-Kong to a seized city in order to kill her. Walter resisted, he, as usual, wasn’t in the mood to talk. It seemed as though she tried to apologize for the way she had treated him before. She realized her mistakes, so she tended to make the situation clear to feel relieved. Her speech was partly grateful because Walter saved her from the unavoidable. She confessed that she only wanted him to feel less unhappy. Kitty got a little bit angry since Walter told her that he despised himself for loving her. She couldn’t understand for what reason he loved her if now he said that he despised himself for doing it. She didn’t pretend, it was just her nature, but he ascribed her the qualities she hadn’t got. Walter in a weak voice said that he didn’t blame her.

Can you share Kitty’s impatience with Walter? Find an impressive sustained metaphor explaining her feelings.

Honestly, I do not clearly understand whether I agree with Kitty or not. Walter is quite a complex character, so I am not sure if she was right about his feelings. While speaking her mind Kitty used an interesting metaphor to make Walter understand her. She said that Walter just expected her to be different. He had been living with an imagined picture and when Kitty broke his heart he realised that it all had been a bluff. So he felt contempt for her because she didn’t conform to those expectations. Kitty compared it with a situation when somebody blamed a deaf person for misunderstanding classical music.

What trouble reduced the Mother Superior to tears?

When Kitty saw the Mother Superior she noticed that her eyes were red so it was clear that she had been crying. Kitty was confused, she thought that she had come in such an inappropriate moment. The Mother Superior told her that one of their Sisters died last night. She confessed that it was hard for her to control her emotions. That sister was one of those who came out of France with her 10 years ago. Her name was St Francis Xavier, the Mother Superior remember her holding her hand when they were departing from their home country. There was so much to do and now fewer than ever to do it.

What were Kitty’s points for working in the convent?

I think by working in the convent she wanted to prove to both herself and Walter that she had changed. Her values and outlook were not the same she had in Hong-Kong. She wasn’t just a silly and gay girl who worried about such commonplace things as concerts and venues. I think she was so amazed at the personality of the Mother Superior that unconsciously she wanted to get some qualities from her. She also was proud of Walter who every day sacrificed his life to help people. Apart from it, of course, she wanted to become a part of this sort of family which was united by the common grief and goal. She was a kind person, she felt sorry for people who were ill, for children who had been left. In addition, as we found out further, it was a convent which got the name of Charles out of her head.

DISCUSSION.

1. Comment on the Mother Superior’s words: ‘One cannot find peace in work or in pleasure, in the world or in a convent, but only in one’s soul’. (Ch. XLVIII)

I am sure that the Mother Superior is right. It doesn’t matter where you live, what you are or what people surround you. Unless your soul is tense, you’ll never feel relieved. A lot of things in our life greatly depend on our mental state which must be supported. People are likely to close their eyes to such an important aspect of their health as a mental one.

ut it is a big mistake. Though we have a tendency to make up excuses for our feeling ill, sooner or later all accumulated problems will be revealed. There are a lot of examples when young, rich and athletic people are taken ill to mental hospitals.

ut when their friends or relatives are asked if there were any symptoms of the illness, they just shrugged their shoulders. That’s why it is vital not to let a snowball of mental-problems turn into a tremendous stone. Fortunately, there are high-qualified specialists who are ready to get you out of it.

2. Kitty seems to be at the starting point of her long way towards spiritual regeneration, doesn’t she?

Yes, she does. It is clear to see that she is changing. The biggest part of the previous chapters consists of Kitty’s feeling description. I do think that the author turns to her inner world to show its’ being transformed. Though she is at the very start at her spiritual regeneration, as we know, any long way starts with the first step. It is stunning to observe how the gay and empty-headed girl is growing like a flower into a wise and clever woman. I think Kitty has found her hero in the Mother Superior and she aims to be similar to her.