"'I had no illusions about you,' he said. 'I knew you were silly and frivolous and empty-headed. But I loved you. I knew that your aims and ideals were vulgar and commonplace. But I loved you. I knew that you were second-rate. But I Ioved you. It's comic when i think how hard I tried to be amused by things that amused you and how anxious I was to hide from you that I wasn't ignorant and vulgar and scandal-mongering and stupid. I knew how frightened you were of intelligence and I did everything I could to make you think of me as big a fool as the rest of the men you knew. I knew that you'd only married me for convenience. I loved you so much, I didn't care. Most people, as far as I can see, when they're in love with someone and the love isn't returned feel that they have a grievance. They grow angry and bitter. I wasn't like that. I never expected you to love me, I didn't see any reason that you should, I never thought myself very lovable. I was thankful to be allowed to love you and I was enraptured when now and then I thought you were pleased with me or when I noticed in your eyes a gleam of good-humoured affection. I tried not to bore you with my love; I knew I couldn't afford to do that and I was always on the lookout for the first sign that you were impatient with my affection. What most husbands expect as a right, I was prepared to receive as a favour.'"

- Walter Fane to his wife, Kitty
from 'The Painted Veil' by W. Somerset Maugham, pp. 52-53

'"I know that you are callous and heartless, I know that you're selfish, selfish beyond words, and I know that you haven't the nerve of a rabbit, I know you're a liar and a humbug, I know that you're utterly contemptible. And the tragic part is'- her face was on a sudden distraught with pain- 'the tragic part is that notwithstanding I love you with all my heart.'"

- Kitty to her lover, Charlie Townsend
pp. 69

if only i'm not against the highlighting of novels, i would've highlighted these parts so many times the ink would penetrate the next pages. there are other parts, of course, that deserve special notice but these two are my favorites. walter knew who kitty really was and he still married her. Kitty, on the other hand, didn't know what her lover, charlie, was really like and yet, when her moment of disillusionment came, she still loved her. different circumstances but oh-so-painfully the same: they are two people trapped and there's nothing they can do to get out of it. the painted veil is a tragic story, not only because one of the them dies in the end but also because the realization came too late.

this is one of my favorite books and i've been rereading it in the midst of writing my thesis proposal. it has been adapted into a movie three times and the most recent one, starring edward norton and naomi watts, is also one of my favorite films. how i came across the film is an accident- i was searching through stacks of (pirated :p) dvds in a little shop in sc for romantic movies (remember this blog post?) and i saw edward norton on the cover so i bought it and watched it during the sem break. when i found out that it is based on a novel, i looked for a copy but couldn't find one in any of the major bookstores. until i passed by the book sale stand along as walk. and then i realized that it wasn't such a surprise that the movie-adaptation is great. because the book is beautiful. for a really simple story, maugham's words successfully gave life to the characters that they practically feel real. no one can write emotions as deeply- and with so plain words- as he could.

watch the movie. but if you have time, read the book. it can possibly be the best 213-pages you'll ever read.

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