On the protagonist of the moon and sixpence from the perspective of Voluntarism

abstract

Maugham's novels have always been the focus of Western literature and cultural studies. He continued to create from youth to old age. His works include twenty novels, thirty-two dramas, eight collections of short stories, travel notes, memoirs and reviews, among which novels are the most successful. His six pence is his most famous work, the idea of the moon.

Maugham read Schopenhauer's books when he was young. Schopenhauer's voluntarism had a great influence on him. This thought also occupies a very important position in the moon and sixpence, which can be said to be the ideological subject of the novel.Maugham's moon and Sixpence creates a talented artist, Strickland, full of enthusiasm and indifference, full of great personality tension. Originally a stockbroker in London, he had a happy family, a superior life, and lived a middle-class life that people yearned for. One day, he suddenly left for painting and was willing to suffer from ridicule, poverty and disease. Finally, he found his soul in Tahiti, He grew old in a foreign land. This paper takes the influence of voluntarism on the moon and Sixpence as the theme, discusses the representation of voluntarism in the main character Strickland, the role of voluntarism in promoting the plot, and the relationship between voluntarism and secularism. In view of Schopenhauer's thought, this topic chooses the contents related to the moon and Sixpence to elaborate, respectively, the world is the representation of will, irrational, tragic outlook on life, social morality, happiness, will freedom and modern civilization.

In the second chapter, the author analyzes the characteristics of voluntarism in the protagonist. First of all, he was dominated by a strong will. He used to be a stockbroker. In the eyes of outsiders, he is very happy and lives a life that many people yearn for. He is the life winner envied by everyone. But almost without warning, he was driven by the desire to draw, gave up his original life and betrayed his relatives. He was controlled by irrational primitive desire and impulse, and pursued constantly. He was a miserable martyr dominated and driven by will. Secondly, he has the characteristics of anti morality. Strickland is a selfish, vicious and cold-blooded man without compassion and gratitude. He is totally self-centered and tramples on the dignity and emotion of others. From the perspective of universal values, it is difficult to explain many of his irresponsible, even selfish and evil behaviors. Thirdly, he is anti rational. His way of leaving was very abrupt. It was neither premeditated nor deliberate, but reckless and reckless. It is impossible to explain with logic, rationality and even the concept of responsibility. This kind of blind, impulsive, strange and unconventional behavior is full of the strong power of will and has typical irrational characteristics. Different from the traditional sense of rational behavior, he has no plan, no purpose, regardless of everything. Finally, his pursuit of happiness fully embodies Schopenhauer's point of view. Schopenhauer thinks that there are two ways to get rid of human suffering: Art and abstinence. Strickland fully integrated himself into the artistic creation, in the painting to release his passion, burning his desire, to achieve the carnival of will. He also goes beyond some of the most fundamental constraints of human nature. He didn't care about his difficult life, and he didn't care about money and fame. He also asked his wife to burn down the great works he created before his death. The third chapter of this paper discusses the role of voluntarism in promoting the plot from the following aspects: being a mediocre person of the middle class, leaving, wandering and going to Tahiti. In the first section, this paper analyzes his life before he left. The Strickland family is a common middle-class family. There is nothing more ordinary than this family. But not in essence. He was merely subject to the norms of human life framed by social values, family happiness and moral conscience, and lived a puppet life with masks and shackles. The orderly arrangement formats him and sets his life in simple places and lines, making him a slave to the environment. In the second section, Strickland lives with a mask and a shackle, but his desire for creation is constantly surging in his heart. His pent up desire for many years finally breaks out. He breaks away from everything in the past to conform to his inner desire. He put aside all the responsibilities of himself, his family and the society, and only sought the catharsis of pure will instinct. For him, it is important to achieve peace and tranquility through catharsis and expectation of the results of catharsis. In the third section, from Paris to Marseilles, he lived like a vagrant. He devoted himself to painting, but did not find freedom and happiness. Although he broke away from the shackles of the secular world, his indescribable desire, which Schopenhauer called the mysterious will of the universe, constantly forced him to pursue, and he became a tramp with both body and spirit. In the fourth quarter, in Tahiti, he finally finds what he wants. The primitive and simple life on the island is in accordance with his nature. His paintings show the primitive, eternal and will impulse to dominate the world. When he created the last painting, he finally found peace of mind, and his tormented soul was at rest. In the fourth chapter, it discusses the relationship between voluntarism and secularism, as well as people's yearning for the distance. First of all, the philosophy of voluntarism decides to break with the secular world. It is related to the influence of Schopenhauer's philosophy of life.

Buddhism philosophy and Buddhism is far away from the secular world, so it determines that the voluntarians have the idea of seclusion. secondly,

Schopenhauer believes that the rational protection of morality, law and various social norms is the will of the people, and the will of individuals will inevitably be suppressed and violated to a certain extent. Therefore, from the individual point of view, rationality often hinders the realization of will. Modern civilization holds high the banner of rationalism and suppresses things beyond rationality. The essence of will is the irrational will for survival, vitality and life. Therefore, as a modern civilization, rationality and will are in conflict. Therefore, Strickland was unable to resist the shackles of reason and wanted to pursue his free will. These also decided that he should stay away from the dust. In the third section, Strickland finds what he wants on Tahiti. In Maugham's view, Tahiti's pre-modern life, compared with the harsh requirements and constraints of modernity on human beings, Tahiti's pre-modern civilization is more primitive, more relaxed and friendly, and maintains tolerance to primitive desires. Finally, this paper expounds people's yearning for the distance, and thinks that Tahiti's paradise does not exist.

People always put hope and redemption in the distant future or far away, thinking there is a happy distance. It's just an illusion. It's self fiction and self consolation. As a matter of fact, as long as we admit the imperfection and absurdity of the world, and live with a sober mind and an optimistic attitude, we don't need to experience ascetic practice. Happiness, happiness and hope are just around the corner.

Key words: voluntarism; the moon and Sixpence; Strickland

1. Introduction

1.1 research significance

As an outstanding writer, William samset Maugham has long been the focus of literary criticism. The moon and sixpence, published in 1919, is one of Maugham's three masterpieces after the shackles of human nature. Since its publication, the novel has attracted the attention of many critics. Researchers from all over the world have analyzed and interpreted the novel from the perspectives of Gauguin archetype, the original characteristics of Tahiti Island, the theme of seeking the true self, the theme of spiritual salvation and the theme of freedom, which greatly deepens the readers' understanding of the novel. Maugham was deeply influenced by Schopenhauer's thought, and the idea of voluntarism almost runs through the moon and sixpence. This topic revolves around voluntarism. This paper discusses the relationship between the spiritual theme of the novel and Schopenhauer's philosophy, which contributes to the further understanding of the philosophical implication of Maugham's works and the spiritual essence of Western literature and culture.

1.2 introduction to Maugham and the moon and Sixpence

Maugham was born in Paris in 1874. His father was a lawyer and was working in the British Embassy in France. Maugham was under the age of ten, and his parents died one after another. He was sent back to England to be raised by his uncle. Maugham was often bullied and tortured by other children because of his short stature and severe stuttering after he entered the Royal School in Canterbury. The lonely and desolate childhood life casts a painful shadow on his young soul. He develops his lonely, sensitive and introverted character, but also makes him strong and compassionate. His childhood experience had an important impact on his world outlook and literary creation. In his later works, he revealed a profound analysis of life, art and belief.
The British painters in the moon and Sixpence are the characters created by Paul Gauguin, a French late Impressionist master. Gauguin also worked as an agent before he decided to engage in painting. His life was very rough and poor. Finally, he went to Tahiti and buried his bones on a desolate island. This novel was written by Maugham after touring Tahiti, inspired and returned to Europe.

Maugham's childhood life makes it easy for him to resonate with Schopenhauer's pessimistic outlook on life. He read Schopenhauer's books when he was young. Schopenhauer's voluntarism had a great influence on him. This thought also occupies a very important position in the moon and sixpence.

1.3 introduction to Schopenhauer's voluntarism

Schopenhauer's thoughts are mainly reflected in the world of the will to write and the appearance. This book contains a wide range, almost involving all human society and all things in the world.

1.3.1 the world is the representation of will

Schopenhauer thinks that will is the essence of the world, which is real, constant and unknown. Will is irrational, aimless, is a kind of upward impulse, and its positive side is the constant movement and creation of will. Will itself is free, not restricted by the laws of the world, nor can it be explained by reason and science. Our world is not the will itself, but the appearance of will, that is, the appearance of will. Will is manifested in all things in the world, including inorganic matter, animals and plants and human beings, and it is the highest embodiment in human beings. In other words, will is divided into all things in the world. In the imaginary world, will is blind impulse and endless desire. Human body is the will to become the appearance, the means of will, and the body and will are the same. The behavior of a certain time and space shows will. At this time, it is motivation. Motivation comes from will. Motivation and behavior can be recognized as appearance, but can't be recognized as essential will. Will is shown in behavior. Body's feeling also directly affects will, arousing will's reaction and pain and pleasure. Will's pain and pleasure cause body's reaction. In different appearances, the phenomena of will are full of blind impulse and struggle, from the struggle for food space of plants and the struggle for living space for animals, to the continuous division and change of forms between materials, all reflect the blind impulse characteristics of will. Will is the source of all human desires. Human activities are driven by will and desire. Among them, the "will" of human reproduction is the basis of all "will", which leads to the endless reproduction of human life. On this basis, social, economic, artistic creation and other activities will appear.

1.3.2 irrationality

Since the Renaissance, Europe has held high the banner of rationality, believing that man is superior to gods and that man can conquer everything with his own reason. The philosophy of the 18th century was the peak of reason. A large number of great philosophers such as Kant and Hegel regarded rationality as the highest character. Hegel also put forward the concept of "absolute spirit", and called Napoleon "the absolute spirit on horseback", which raised human rationality to the status of God. However, Schopenhauer, who was at the same time with Hegel, was totally contrary to him. He believed that human reason could not master the world, not even himself. He held high the banner of irrational thought, adding a new style to European philosophy.

Schopenhauer thinks that the only function of reason is to form concept, abstract and reason, and concept is the representation of representation, is the description of representation, and ultimately based on the perceptual. Rationality is one-sided and can never be compared with sensibility. Reason is of no use in virtue, art, and behavior, nor can it bring happiness. Practical reason can participate in both virtue and evil, which is different from Kant's thought. Kant thinks that practical reason means that people should distinguish good from evil according to moral rules, regulate their own social behavior and go to the highest good. Schopenhauer also believes that all rationality serves for "will". Human society is ultimately determined by various "wills" of human beings, and rationality only plays a guiding role in the will and is realized by which way. Schopenhauer didn't deny reason completely, but thought that reason had no meaning, reason should obey will.

1.3.3 tragic outlook on life

Schopenhauer thinks that the individual's body is the appearance of will, and human's instinct and direct physical behavior are all produced by will. If the result of an action is contrary to the will, it is called pain; if it is consistent, it is called appropriateness and pleasure. Bitterness and happiness are not appearances, but direct feelings of will and body. Willpower and body activities are not two different situations connected by causality, but the same thing.

Because will is a blind impulse and endless desire, as a manifestation of the will of human behavior is essentially the will impulse itself, will constantly run for the desire. Schopenhauer thinks that these activities of human beings have no pleasure at all. Human beings are like tools of will and are manipulated by fate. Schopenhauer pointed out that the will to survive is manifested in a series of inexhaustible impulses and desires. Desire is a bottomless abyss, because it is impossible for people to satisfy and realize all their desires. Even if they can be fully realized, what they are waiting for is emptiness and boredom. Generally speaking, after the old desires are satisfied, new ones will sprout up until infinity. However, when the limited individual life and ability and various willpower conflict with each other, it can only make our desire reach the limited boundary. This fact cannot be changed. In short, life is a pendulum that swings back and forth between pain and boredom. Everyone spends his life in pain and boredom. The will to dominate the world is eternal, and it is also the essence of human beings that the world follows. Therefore, human nature is painful.

Will itself is free, and is not limited by various laws of the image world. However, as a representation of will, people are not free. They obey the law of causality in the imaginary world, and have specific motives under certain conditions. Will is a variety of individual desires. Human desires can be all kinds of, absolutely free, but these desires may not be achieved through behavior, so people can not achieve the freedom of will and behavior. Not only the individual, but also all kinds of things in the external world are under the control of certain laws and can not have freedom.

As mentioned above, in different appearances, there are blind impulses and struggles between will phenomena. From the struggle for food space between plants and the struggle for living space for animals, to the continuous splitting and change of forms between materials, the blind impulse characteristics of will are embodied. This kind of conflict and struggle is particularly obvious in human society. Schopenhauer thinks that because of the endless desire of will, everyone is selfish in nature. If one's desire is blocked or his existence is threatened, he can achieve his own existence and desire by sacrificing and denying the existence of others. He believes that egoism is an inevitable principle of social life, under which there is no reason and morality to speak of. Of course, because of this, the world's intrigue, mutual strife, big fish eat small fish fight each other, constitute this evil world, making life a real nightmare.

1.3.4 social morality

Kant and other rationalists believe that practical rationality is innate, and it is the behavior of human beings to distinguish good from evil, to regulate their own social behavior and to go to the highest good according to moral rules. Different from Kant's moral view, Schopenhauer thinks that the formation of human desire is divided into two parts: one is personality, the other is will. Personality has individual characteristics and is innate, while will is the common essence. People's desire is not absolutely accidental, because it is controlled by will and constrained by character, so the absolute freedom of human desire does not exist. Its appearance is regulated by character and will.

Since people have no control over their own desires and freedom of desires, why can we reward and punish different people? It's because rewards and punishments are directed at their personalities. A person's good or bad comes from his character. Because of his character, the talent should bear the responsibility for his own behavior morally and legally. But Schopenhauer also said that the origin of the state and the establishment of morality and law lie in the welfare of the people, who are driven by will, so he does not oppose egoism and deny the destruction of individual will. Therefore, he believes that moral law and various social norms are egoism armed with rationality. For example, if we follow various norms, we will weigh the reputation and other people's love we can get after making an action, which will bring hidden convenience and benefits to our future life, which is self-interest in nature.

He believes that the motivation of human behavior can be divided into three types: egoism, malice and sympathy. Egoism is to take self-interest as all purposes, malice as the ultimate goal of others' pain, and sympathy is to try to alleviate others' pain. He opposed to using virtue to pack egoism. He thought that all good behaviors originate from sympathy, because sympathy is a negation of will. Man realizes that will gives man both survival and pain. This pain is not only his own, but also everyone will experience pain. Realizing that the fate of others is actually the same as his own, he wants to love others and show his benevolence to others so as to reduce the suffering of people. Schopenhauer believes that all moral behaviors, except those based on sympathy, are ultimately self serving.

Only in the community and society can morality have its special significance. In places where the law can not be regulated, people often use a set of conventional moral system to monitor, judge and even punish each other, such as crowding out and abusing. Schopenhauer has always been not optimistic about the group's judgment and value orientation, and put forward "either vulgar or lonely" and "people with rich spirit prefer to stay alone".

1.3.5 happiness

Life is painful. There are two ways for people to get rid of this pain and obtain spiritual peace: one is to obtain temporary peace through art appreciation. The other is to achieve long-term peace through abstinence.

In the works of art of genius, the imperfections caused by the struggle of individual things are excluded, and the perfection of things is supplemented by imagination. Therefore, art is better than natural intuition, which shows not the things themselves but the essence of things. At the same time, when appreciating these works of art, people will have no utilitarian and practical plans in their hearts, and completely forget themselves and their relationship with their surroundings, thus breaking away from the pain of endless pursuit of will and obtaining temporary peace, which is the aesthetic pleasure. Schopenhauer believes that art can only temporarily pull people out of the pain, because the aesthetic vision of art is short-lived and will be immediately pulled back to the life controlled by will, and the complete salvation of life depends on abstinence.

Schopenhauer believes that all things are the representation of will, all in time and space, and each thing exists independently and has its individual characteristics. However, there is only one essence of all things, that is will. The will of every thing is not a part of will, but a manifestation of different degrees of will. Therefore, individuals are no longer self-centered and deny the will of others only for their own will. This is only a low-level understanding, a higher level is abstinence, the complete denial of will. People no longer love, procreate, disperse property, etc. in order to eliminate desire. The essence of will is the impulse of continuous development, which is manifested in people's endless desire, thus producing endless pain. Once a person has realized the essence of will and adopts the way to cut off desire, it is the negation of will, which will root out human suffering and obtain eternal peace.

Freedom of will and modern civilization

Schopenhauer thinks that egoism can affirm the will to a higher degree. When other people's existence hinders their own survival, they will deny others' existence. In order to survive, we need to seize the surrounding resources to meet our own needs. However, the resources that people need are always limited, so there are contradictions between people. Therefore, he fully understood all kinds of disadvantages in the private ownership society. He advocated that egoism was the nature of human beings and the essence of all things. He regarded the means used to safeguard his own survival and interests, both legitimate and unjust, as an expression of will. In his view, it is egoism armed with reason to maintain the morality, law and social norms of justice and social order.

Uncle Ben thinks that in such a world, life is full of sorrow. As mentioned above, because people's desire is driven by will, there must be a fight between people. Therefore, there are various moral laws and social norms and the self-interest of the masses. However, even in this way, not all people's will and one person's will can be realized. Therefore, social norms are not only the means and ways to realize the will, but also hinder its realization. Will is not free in the imaginary world.
In a word, modern civilization can not promote the freedom of will, on the contrary, it restricts its freedom.

1.4 literature review

There are many researches on the moon and Sixpence at home and abroad, mainly focusing on the personality analysis of the protagonist and the depth of the novel's thought.

Yang Yanhuan (2015) believes that the moon and Sixpence still has a lot of room for interpretation from the perspective of the confrontation between rationality and irrationality, which is worthy of further analysis and discussion. Based on the basic contradiction of human inner spirit, which is composed of the contradiction between rationality and irrationality of human spirit, the author investigates the confrontation between rationality and irrationality in Maugham's novel the moon and sixpence. From the confrontation between spirit and material, rational and irrational, as well as the continuation of the relationship between soul and body to explore the interpretation of the novel. Through the analysis, the author thinks that the conflict between rationality and irrationality in the moon and sixpence is not only reflected in the conflict between spirit and material in human life, but also the continuation of ancient philosophy on the relationship between soul and body. And then it discusses the interpretation of life experience and human survival situation in the novel³. Liu Yue thinks that the novel the moon and Sixpence embodies the theme of freedom. The desire for freedom is always around Maugham's deep consciousness. Through his own experience and choice, Charles Strickland thought about and sought for the value and eternity of life as freedom. Strickland was nothing different. His 17 year marriage with May was ordinary to the extreme. But in the end, he abandoned the shackles of reality and sought for a higher and more beautiful value, Strickland, portrayed in the moon and sixpence, is one of Maugham's outstanding characters in the pursuit of freedom and reflection of ethics. People have mixed praise and praise for Strickland⁴. Mu Lutong (2012) studied the different characters and their causes of formation in the novel with ethics, and explored how to solve the ethical problems in modern industrial society, specifically to balance material enjoyment and spiritual pursuit, and correctly understand good and evil, positive and evil⁵. Li Limin (2015) believes that the story of the hero in the moon and Sixpence breaks through the moral shackles after middle age, pursues his ideal, regardless of his family and friends. Before his death, he orders people to set his masterpiece on fire, which has triggered people's discussion on the contradiction between ideal and reality, the choice between humble life and heroic death, and puts forward the view that life lies in value rather than external form⁶. Ye Qingfeng (2019) believes that the hero Strickland shows the dominant state of different personalities in Freud's personality structure theory in London, Paris, Marseilles and Tahiti, and explores the influence of personality state on human beings⁷. Laurence Wright (2014) believes that no one has noticed that in the novel the moon and sixpence, Somerset Maugham used Gauguin's actual works in his oral description when describing the artistic works painted by his anti hero Charles Strickland. Sometimes it refers to specific paintings, while others refer to various stages of his works. For readers familiar with Gauguin's works of art, works of art and biographies, the effect of this persistent visual "quotation" is to create a disturbing sense of aesthetic disharmony, because it is difficult to accept the unspeakable, rough, passionate but completely cold and unhappy fictional image of Charles Strickland, as the source of these vibrant paintings, it They have their own real history and origins. In Strickland, Gauguin has a childlike passion for life, his energy, his fantasies, his willingness to be outgoing, and to explain his art to friends and the public through fascinating and even highly unreliable works. Readers either try to erase from consciousness all knowledge of Gauguin and his art, deny Maugham's "quoting" Gauguin's works, or succumb to an intolerable fictional distrust and mistrus⁸t. Wright explores the biographical roots of Charles Strickland for the characters in the moon and sixpence. It is indisputable that the characters were created by Paul Gauguin, a French late Impressionist master. But in addition to the general outline of life, Maugham created a completely different character⁹ Ohno Naomi (2006) summarized the description of Strickland as an artist, especially Maugham's emphasis on egoism or individualism to explore Maugham's view of artists. This paper compares me with Maugham, Strickland and Paul Gauguin. Maugham may have read Gauguin's biography, but I think the moon and Sixpence were ultimately his own creation of ¹⁰. 김지 believes that (2015) the moon and sixpence and the sonata of fire are the most artistic novels with artistic principles in Maugham's and Kim's works, mainly describing the lives of the two protagonists, Charles Strickland and and Bai Shanzhu. They have not been able to create people-centered art with positive values. They have become slaves of art. As an artist, the aesthetic value and the impulse to pursue it are undoubtedly some of the core factors in the discussion of art. However, I want to criticize the protagonist's excessive aestheticism through the ideal artist type proposed by Nietzsche, and make his family, real life and even life become artistic tools. The main concepts of Nietzsche's art theory can be roughly divided into reason and light, Apollo dream art pursuing creation and stability, sensibility and darkness, art of destruction and anxiety caused by Dionysus intoxication. In this regard, Nietzsche's ideal state of being an artist is not totally immersed in the ecstasy brought about by the world of Apollo and Dionysus, but by intoxication and meditation, which is a kind of aesthetic satisfaction. Therefore, human life can be positively shaped, and art can be used as a means of real life. In other words, Nietzsche emphasizes the art view of human life as the center. On the other hand, the two protagonists are intoxicated with their own artistic impulses and can not distinguish a virtual dream world from their real life. From the point of view of these two writers who try to judge the value of art by art itself, Strickland and and Bai Shengzhu are obviously sincere, but from the perspective of Nietzsche who attaches importance to real life, they are just artists who failed in the illusion state of being anaesthetized by artistic impulse¹¹. Masayo MURAOKA believes that through Strickland's image of spiritual explorer, Maugham has completed his pursuit of the true meaning of freedom and the ultimate meaning of life. The author analyzes the factors restricting freedom in Maugham's eyes and the development process of these explorers' images. It shows that Maugham's concept of freedom is a process of rising and improving, and also reflects the continuous evolution of his spiritual world¹². Wright (2018) analyzes the image of Strickland in the moon and sixpence, believing that she is the image opposite to Strickland, and that she represents the secular world and is the maintainer of the existing social order¹³. Liu Chao (2007) as the pace of civilization continues to move forward, human understanding of themselves is also advancing. Human beings are constantly "allied", and the earth has become a "village". Human beings have reached a certain consensus on the "feast" on the surface. However, the human mind is unstoppable. Charles Strickland, the hero of the moon and sixpence, breaks off the relationship between the earth and pursues his own freedom. Starting from the narrative language of the novel the moon and sixpence¹⁴, Yang Yun (2015) used the method of psychoanalysis to analyze the image of the protagonist Strickland, and explored the mental process of his personality change. He found that he took a rebellious journey of personality fission of superego ego ego ID with 40 as the boundary pillar. Through a close reading of Strickland's murals, we can infer that this is actually a painting painted by Gauguin before his desperate suicide. It is also the refinement and reflection of Gauguin's most important work "where do we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?". Based on the concept of "painting like a man", this paper analyzes and interprets Gauguin's paintings, which seems indirect, but in fact, it directly and thoroughly shuttles the artistic space and time with the shining mirror of painting, reflecting the inner world of the protagonist to the readers¹⁵. Ma Qinghong (2017) compared wuyouxiang news with the moon and sixpence, believing that the two reflected two different choices of writers in different times to get rid of the plight of human beings and human nature, and represented the salvation road of Morris and Maugham in their respective search for the end result of human beings: the end of human beings and the end of human nature. In the end result of human beings, Morris chooses to save the society, while Maugham is self-saving; in the end result of human nature, the former seeks the high-level unity of spirit and material, while the latter is the separation of spirit and material. However, wuyouxiang news and the moon and Sixpence are only two typical examples on the road of exploration. To better understand this theme, readers still need to embark on their own road of exploration¹⁶.Wu Xiaodong and Han Yihang (2017) believe that the protagonist Strickland died with aloofness and ideal, or spent his whole life looking at him from afar. While the man in Maugham's works, he chose the posture similar to most idealists, but he had a soul different from their texture. He was an idealist who was still obnoxious until his death. He was ignorant, extreme and indifferent. His appearance and heart were desolate. He spent the last part of his life's nourishment and bloomed brilliant flowers on the few remaining barren land¹⁷. Luo moubei and Chen Bing (2017) believe that human nature is a permanent theme in Maugham's works. The novel the moon and Sixpence focuses on the protagonist's escape from the western society deeply trapped in the alienation vortex and rushes to the primitive society to find the root of human nature. The novel intends to highlight the valuable quality of human nature in the primitive society. What the protagonists seek is the original human nature which is not defiled by alienation, including masculinity characterized by strength and courage, the "ocean like feeling" melting the boundaries between men and women, human and nature, and a warm and friendly community life. Maugham expressed his unique thinking on the way out of the dilemma of modernity with the help of such a human nature seeker¹⁸. Hu Yonghua (2018) believes that Strickland is an eccentric genius artist created by Maugham in the moon and sixpence. Because of his differences with Gauguin, as well as the opposition between talent and morality, many critics question the credibility of this character. As for how and why Maugham constructed this artist image, critics have discussed it from the perspective of narrative and psychology. Strickland is placed in the tradition of artist image. The author finds that Maugham's creation is an enhancement of the artist myth originated from Romanticism. Strickland embodies the professional spirit of "art for art" and the rebellious social temperament of romanticism. The opposition between the moon and Sixpence originates from the requirements of the autonomy of literature and art field. The public demand for individuality makes artists become producers of individuality¹⁹. Gao wanwei (2018) believes that Maugham and Schopenhauer are not optimistic about the judgment of the group, they are willing to explore the real reasons behind people's every behavior; they focus on their own internal consciousness and the most authentic impulse, strive to get rid of the shackles of the outside world, and find the liberation of their own desires at the same time; they are in the metaphysical level, Maugham is generally recognized as a writer who is greatly influenced by Schopenhauer. His works mostly contain unconventional characters and stories, which imply profound philosophical thoughts. The moon and sixpence is the embodiment of this thought²⁰. Zhong Yanqi (2015) believes that Maugham is recognized as a writer who is greatly influenced by Schopenhauer. His works mostly contain unconventional characters and stories, which imply profound philosophical thoughts. Maugham's indifference, selfishness and no sense of morality in the moon and Sixpence has always been controversial. People judge the characters in the book by secular "good or bad", and even reject the book. Some people simply interpret it as "the conflict between ideal and reality". In my opinion, it is a great pity to misread the protagonist Schopenhauer's overlapping view of moral freedom ²¹. Wang luoru (2019) believes that the hero Charles Strickland has a spiritual pursuit of breaking away from the shackles of the secular world and pursuing the original spirit. The work explores the theme of exile and return, trying to find a way out of modern crisis and alienated civilization, and expresses a good wish to return to the root of human nature²².

2. The representation of voluntarism in Charles Strickland, the hero of the moon and sixpence

2.1 strong will domination

Charles Strickland, the protagonist of the moon and sixpence, was a well-known stockbroker in London. He has a typical middle-class family. He is a qualified husband and father of two children. He has a wife who is addicted to making friends with petty bourgeoisie and struggling to climb the upper class. In the eyes of outsiders, he is very happy, living a life many people yearn for, is the winner of life envied by everyone, but when he appeared, "I" saw something different. He was dressed in formal clothes, but there was a kind of unspeakable incongruity. He did not communicate with outsiders. He just shook hands politely and smiling happily. He was a little out of place with the people at the dinner party. He is an ordinary man who walks cautiously on the moral steel wire rope. He is mediocre, and no one applauds or criticizes him. These social labels are produced under the influence of his parents and the social moral principles. As he accepted these requirements from outside and used them as a standard to restrain himself, he formed the image of "no sense of existence" at the beginning of the novel for a long time. In Maugham's writing, Charles Strickland is "bulky but clumsy, like a caboofer dressed up for a party. He may be a respectable member of society, a sincere agent, a conscientious husband and father, but in him you really don't have to waste time.".

Charles Strickland is not welcomed by the people around him. He is like a cup of boiled water, which makes people feel dull. He is a man who follows the rules and makes money to support his family. He is an individual moralized under the enlightenment and rule of modern civilization, and a man who is bound by the shackles of traditional morality.

Schopenhauer thinks that there are three extreme manifestations of life: 1. Strong desire; 2. Artistic meditation; 3. Emptiness and meditation; and boredom. Most of them do not adopt one extreme, but wander among them. Follow the existing social legal systems and norms of conduct, pursue all kinds of desires, comply with various motives, and constantly act to pursue what they want. Family, honor, money and so on, can not get the pain at the time, get the temporary happiness after. In order to fill the boredom, people also created religion and brought hope of salvation. Charles Strickland was such a normal person when he was in London. However, "he had a strong desire to create in his soul. Although he was suppressed by daily life, he grew like a cancer tissue and finally finished him

Full control of the belt, making it difficult for him to resist, so he had to act. "Charles Strickland took what Schopenhauer called the extreme act of" strong desire, "running away from home to learn painting. Like other desires, the strong desire for creation comes from the same will, but Charles Strickland has been obedient to the general rules since childhood and pursued the realization of will in an ordinary way. When he was over 40 years old, he was suddenly driven by the desire to draw and gave up his original life. He may not be clear about what this pursuit is, but he generally knows that non-material enjoyment, non social status, and non comfort and comfort can be expressed with the help of painting tools. To what extent is he satisfied? When and where to stop? He didn't know, he was driven to pursue blindly. As the book says, "I told you I had to draw. I couldn't help myself. If a man falls into the water, it doesn't matter whether he swims well or not. He has to struggle out, or he will drown. " In other words, the pursuit of painting is not a rational choice, but a kind of primitive desire, impulse and unavoidable behavior. Strick's surprising and extreme approach, rather than living a mediocre life as usual, may be due to "character," as Schopenhauer put it. His personality determines that he can only choose to leave, leaving his wife and children, leaving the original life, so that he is like a pilgrim who has traveled all his life, constantly looking for spiritual temples.

2.2 anti morality

Kant and other philosophers have repeatedly stressed that the measurement of morality should pay attention to the intrinsic motivation of behavior. The morality without moral hope is the true morality, and the morality made with interest motivation and weighing the advantages and disadvantages is false morality. Schopenhauer thinks that the blame of conscience comes from the violation and negation of others' will to satisfy and affirm his own will, but at the same time, the two wills are actually from one kind, so they deny themselves and will cause pain. It is unjust to deny and violate the will of others. This is the principle of morality. When people use reason to get rid of the unjust pain that everyone may bear, social contract and law come into being. But at the same time, as mentioned above, morality and law do not oppose egoism and deny the destruction of will. Therefore, morality and law are armed with egoism.

When Strickland ran away from home, the biggest victims were his wife and children. No woman can accept the fact that her husband suddenly disappeared. The children suddenly lost their father. They didn't even know where the father was going or what he was doing. There is no doubt that the double blow of economy and spirit left a deep and indelible pain on his wife and children. In Paris, when he was down and out, stroph generously helped him: when he was dying, he took good care of him; however, after he recovered, he took away stroph's studio and his wife, but in the end, he abandoned his wife coldly because he did not love her, and stayed with her because of the desire of creation and simple sexual desire. This kind of shameless, immoral behavior is very angry. Strickland is a selfish, vicious and cold-blooded man without compassion and gratitude. He is totally self-centered and tramples on the dignity and emotion of others. From the perspective of universal values, it is difficult to explain many of his irresponsible, even selfish and evil behaviors.

As mentioned above, Schopenhauer and Kant hold different views on morality. Starting from the theory of voluntarism, he thinks that morality, obligation and conscience all come from will, and their essence is egoism.

From Schopenhauer's point of view, morality is also one of the egoistic behaviors of interest exchange in civilized society. Conscience and pay are for exchange, for gain, and ultimately for themselves, which are egoistic behaviors out of will. Since Strickland decided not to be an ordinary person in civilized society, he chose to leave Paris to learn painting. He escaped from the chain of interest exchange, because other people's feedback - warm family, tangled love, reputation, status, etc. were not what he needed. He neither pays nor wants to get to others and society. So after he left home, "I" was entrusted by his wife to look for him in Paris and found his attitude very strange. He is very calm and indifferent to admit that his behavior is immoral, and "I" denounce him, "he agrees with the heart.". But he was not condemned by his conscience, even to his own children. Because he has a completely indifferent attitude towards morality, social norms and so on, he does not lie in the morality of secular society, nor does he feel uneasy about his conscience.

2.3 anti rationality

Strickland's behavior is against the traditional sense of rationality. He was originally a winner in life. At the age of 40, he suddenly gave up the life with status and status, which made many people yearn for. He also abandoned his wife and children, and pushed them to an unfortunate situation. This is not only immoral, but also irrational. In the eyes of others, this kind of behavior is absurd, disordered and incomprehensible. And it was because of his strange behavior that "I" began to pay attention to him.

In Kant's view, human reason is the most valuable character. Man understands nature by reason and transforms nature according to various laws of nature. What's more, people have moral freedom, that is, through self-discipline, they consciously choose to do good and achieve virtue. But Schopenhauer thinks that reason is lower than will, which is the means of will realizing itself. Rationality serves the will by balancing, planning and choosing appropriate methods and paths. Strickland's behavior is a response to his theory.

"It was as if there was a violent primitive force struggling in him, as if against Strickland's own will."

This "violent primitive power" is actually will, which is irrational. The power of his will made him do strange things that the whole society could not accept: abandoning his good life, abandoning his relatives, betraying his benefactor who helped himself and saved himself, preferring to bear the extreme lack of material, wandering around and doing hard work. The purpose of doing this is not to pursue a lofty ideal and a great goal, just because you want to learn painting.

"As if against Strickland's own will." The "will" in this sentence is not Schopenhauer's will, but the rationality in the traditional sense. It is a social norm composed of secular morality, law, ethics, history and culture.

Strickland liked painting as a child, but his parents did not let him learn painting from the perspective of secular future. Instead, he learned a "more promising" major and became a decent agent. Until he was forty years old, he was following the secular rationality, being a good husband and father, and having a perfect home. In other words, he has been following the secular ethical norms for a long time, and he is a "rational" person. But the power of will is too great. At the age of 40, that is, when a person is most mature, rational and rational, he makes the most irrational choice. This choice is not really his subjective choice, because "it seems to be against Strickland's own will". To a certain extent, he is also forced by the powerful force of will. "I tell you I have to draw, I can't help myself. If a man falls into the water, it doesn't matter whether he swims well or not. He has to struggle out, or he will drown. " This sentence fully shows his dilemma of being oppressed by will and advancing blindly. Different from the traditional sense of rational behavior, he has no plan, no purpose, regardless of everything. His way of leaving was very abrupt. It was neither premeditated nor deliberate, but reckless and reckless. It is impossible to explain with logic, rationality and even the concept of responsibility. As a stockbroker, he didn't communicate with his partners before he left. The partner who he left in the middle of the way was very angry and threatened to file a lawsuit. As husband and father, they not only did not tell their families in advance, but also did not consider the survival of their wives and children in the future. He just went out to paint, and was it just for painting? He may not know what this pursuit is. And his pursuit of painting process is also chaotic, there is no learning plan, the study of other people's paintings is also very chaotic. This kind of blind, impulsive, strange and unconventional behavior is full of the strong power of will and has typical irrational characteristics.

2.4 pursuit of happiness

As the highest carrier of will, man is always driven by will, and there is no freedom. If the will is not satisfied, people will suffer; if the will is satisfied, people will be happy. But the will is impossible to be satisfied, so people can only be satisfied for a short time or a certain kind of satisfaction, and will soon feel empty and boring after satisfaction. Will drives us to run like clocks among one desire and another, never ending.

Schopenhauer's voluntarism provides two prescriptions for his tragic life: Art and abstinence. The reason why art can relieve pain is that art gets rid of the control of will and produces an aesthetic sentiment beyond utility and desire, thus getting rid of pain.

Schopenhauer thinks that art is valuable because it shows not the things themselves but the essence of things, that is, the idea of things. Artists need to give up their own will in the creation process to show the concept of the things they are painting. Because the will of the artist in the process of creation will hinder the artist's intuitive concept, so it should be suppressed. Artists get rid of the will and labor on themselves in intuition, that is to say, they completely forget their various desires and motives, and completely forget themselves, leaving only one subject who can understand the essence of things. In this way, artists can create excellent works. However, with conscious coordination, artists should try their best to express these ideas in art works with appropriate art forms, and this process requires the participation of will. The artist's vital ability lies in balancing the two. Schopenhauer is clearly aware of two conflicting needs of artists, namely, the need to separate from will and the need to use will. Therefore, Strickland did not get peace in the process of painting. He continued to paint, but he was always dissatisfied with his paintings. Therefore, he was very depressed and looked for comfort in the arms of women. But the consolation was vain, and soon it was shattered. Only after arriving at Tahiti, did he really get comfort from painting, release his passion in painting, burn his desire, and achieve the carnival of will.

Schopenhauer believes that art can only temporarily pull people out of the pain, because the aesthetic vision of art is short-lived and will be pulled back to the will of life, and the complete salvation of life depends on abstinence. The idea of asceticism is derived from Schopenhauer's study of Oriental Brahman. Schopenhauer believes that will is the root of all suffering. Without denying will, suffering will exist forever. Therefore, to completely solve the tragedy of life, we must deny will, embark on the path of ascetic life, and reach the nirvana state of asceticism and poverty.

Strickland, the protagonist, not only ignores moral and social norms, but also transcends some of the most fundamental limiting factors in human nature. He is a man of low desire. Two times in the novel, the living room where he left is extremely simple and narrow. He didn't care about his difficult life. There was no difference between delicacies and dry bread. He was indifferent to money and fame. As the book says, "most of us can't stand the temptation and make compromises to the secular world. You can't even boast that he is indifferent to fame and wealth, because for him, such temptation does not exist at all." He just paints wholeheartedly. He doesn't care about other people's evaluation. He doesn't care about the honor he gets. He even ordered the Aboriginal women to set fire to the great works created before their death.

The root of life's pain comes from the insatiable will and the insatiable desire. Whether Strickland realized that the will of all things is not part of will, but the manifestation of will in different degrees. His own will is the same as that of others, we don't know. But he's lowering his desire, from material life to sexual life. As we have said before, once a man understands the nature of will and adopts the method of cutting off desire, it is the denial of will, which will root out human suffering and obtain eternal peace. But he didn't do it. He just reduced his desire, but he didn't forbid it. So he succumbed to his own desires and had an affair with other people's wives, which also led to the suicide of the other party. He is not without guilt about this. In fact, it is the trouble caused by his desire and the pain and trouble brought by his desire. In addition, he couldn't satisfy his basic food and housing problems because he didn't have any money, so he had to borrow money. Of course, this is also the trouble and pain brought by the most basic will to survive. After arriving on Tahiti Island, the predicament of these desires has been greatly relieved. The islanders are simple, represented by tiari. They generously provided him with material help, which saved him from hunger. The appearance of the aboriginal wife satisfied his sexual desire. So in the real sense, he was only partially abstinent.

3. Plot development driven by will

The moon and sixpence is a biography of Strickland in the latter half of his life. These clips come from the hearsay of "I" and the few meeting opportunities. His various demonic behaviors have already made me feel disgusted. I always want to avoid any trouble related to him. However, Murphy's law keeps "me" and him closely together, making "I" contact with all things around him, and then outlines his development path in the later half of his life. The latter half of his life is a process of constant wandering and constant pursuit, and the internal driving force of his wandering pursuit is his indescribable and strong desire, that is, his individual will. It is the will that determines the direction of his life and the direction of the plot.

3.1 to be a mediocre person of the middle class

"I" first knew Mrs. Strickland, through her, got to know him. His experience in the first half of his life can be roughly inferred from other people's evaluation and introduction. He was born into a civil servant family, a typical middle-class family. He wanted to be a painter when he was young, but his father didn't agree and asked him to do business, because his father thought that he couldn't make money by studying art. Growing up with his wife to know, love, marriage, birth, everything is very ordinary people. After marriage, his career and family are very stable, and his life is very comfortable. In the eyes of outsiders, their family is very harmonious, very harmonious together, can be said to be a happy family. So "I" said: the Strickland family is a common middle-class family. An amiable, hospitable wife with a harmless habit of making friends with literary celebrities; a husband who is not very clever, who is conscientious and scrupulous in the life arranged for him by the merciful God; and two beautiful and healthy children. There is nothing more ordinary than this family. This kind of happy family life is full of envy.

But from the later story to see, things are not like this, so what happened? Because "I" mainly from his family to see Strickland's, as for his social relations, the book shows very little, so first from his family to analyze.
Mrs. Strickland loves art. She lives a simple life, but her delicate details are reflected everywhere. As a housewife, she is strict with herself. A acre of land in her family is her "battlefield". The banquet she holds is her weapon. She has a simple heart. She loves literature and is glad to break into the dark world of writers. But as a husband, Strickland was "not literate at all" and "not very talkative" at parties. His wife said of him: "he is a complete citizen." "He has no literary accomplishment at all." he doesn't want to pretend that he has any talent. Even in the stock exchange, he didn't make much money. But he has a very kind heart "I happen to be his wife. I like him very much. " Although she is not very satisfied with her husband, she still has a lot of feelings for him. They have a pair of very clever children, the wife said, he seems to have always liked these two children. Everything seems to be very ordinary, is "orderly happiness", but "this kind of peaceful and peaceful happiness seems to have something that frightens me."

The seemingly harmonious relationship between husband and wife is not. Before marriage, "he used to run around with a paint box. But his paintings are as ugly as they are. We often make fun of him. He has no talent for such things. " As for his beloved painting, his wife did not understand him at all, let alone support him. She even teased him with others, saying that he had no talent for painting. This was a fundamental misunderstanding and did not support him. It's not even a misunderstanding. When the wife knew he didn't run away because of the woman, she said, "he'll never come back." "As long as he ran away from the same woman, I always thought he might come back. I don't believe that this kind of thing can make any difference. In less than three months, he'd hate her to death. But if he didn't run away because of love, everything would be over. " It can be seen from here that she knows her husband very well. She just doesn't agree with him. The estrangement starts from the root. A year ago, he took an evening class and studied painting. However, he told his wife that he was playing bridge. He knew that his wife would not support him, so he simply lied in order to avoid conflicts.

Just as his wife didn't agree with him, he didn't agree with his wife. His wife is fond of making friends with literati and holds banquets at home. Some of them were boring and empty banquets, and the banquets were filled with officials, businessmen and other middle-class citizens. His performance in the banquet is honest and insipid. His communication skills make his wife anxious and make the guests feel bored and tired. However, he is still present and accompanies the guests all the time.
For his two children, the children did like them when they were young, "but now that they are grown up, I have no special feelings for them." Why is this? Because when he was a child, the innocent and natural flavor of the child has a strong temperament of primitive will, which is in line with his emotional orientation. With the growth of age, social habits become more and more strong in children. When they lose their true spirit and will, they will lose their emotion.
Look at his social relations. He is not interested in literature at all The husband of his wife's sister said he never liked him. His wife's sister had a firm attitude towards his departure, believing that he had eloped with a woman. It can be seen that the people around him do not like him at all, do not know him, let alone understand him. I don't see much from his career, but I know he's "an honest agent.".
From his family relationship, we can see that in the first half of his life, he has been wearing a mask in life, but also wearing shackles in life.

Cronshaw, a character in Maugham's other novel the shackles of life, said: "we love social intercourse, so we live in social life, and society is maintained by force, that is, by force (police) and public opinion (i.e. Mrs. Grundy). "Force and public opinion maintain social order and ensure that no one dares to go beyond the minefield. Once the order is broken, it will be forced to be sent to prison or drowned in the gossip of Mrs. Grande. Force represents law, while public opinion represents morality and social norms. Moreover, the fear of order, the admiration of power, the moral norms and the condemnation of conscience derived from public opinion all strengthen the barriers to human restraint and make people dare not go beyond them. May is the most typical social puppet. When her husband runs away, she does not consider the emotion itself, but the reputation and vanity that her husband needs because of his leaving. She can even show her gentleness and kindness for the praise of the society and avoid Strickland's harm. Moreover, the group strengthens the barrier virtually, and the group eliminates the individual's consciousness and uniqueness, forms a unified group consciousness and group action, firmly enslaves the individual in the group and makes them submit to the group consciousness. Strickland is submissive to the norms of human life framed by social values, family happiness and moral conscience. He wears the mask of a good husband, a good father and a good citizen, and does not dare to go beyond the minefield. His mechanical repetition day after day, puppet like life year after year, boring. He was formatted by orderly arrangement, and his life was framed in simple places and lines, which made him a slave to the environment and could only move forward according to the formalized life. In this way, he became a worthless man. "He didn't even have any strange habits, which made him free from the suspicion of being ordinary and vulgar. He is nothing but a honest and insipid ordinary man. A man can admire him, but he is not willing to stay with him. He is a man of no notice. He may be a respectable member of society, an honest broker, a conscientious husband and father, but in him you don't have to waste any time

The problem is that all kinds of norms of civilized society are also the appearance of will and the way and means of will realizing itself. So, what are the advantages and disadvantages compared with other methods? This will be discussed later.

3.2 run away

Strickland's departure was abrupt. He was also on holiday with his family in August. He is as like as two peas in ordinary days. He ran away in September. He wrote less than ten lines to his wife that he did not explain the reason for his departure, nor did he express any regret or uneasiness. For a wife who has been married for seventeen years, it's "running away from home for no reason.". All the people in the family thought that he had eloped with another woman and lived a luxurious life, otherwise it could not be explained. But when "I" was entrusted by his wife to find him, it turned out that the situation was completely opposite to what was expected. The inn he stayed in was a shabby building, which had not been painted for many years, and was dirty and shabby. No lover, alone, and disgusted with women, rudely refused their temptation. In the face of "I" censure, he is very indifferent. When "I" said, his wife was in agony. He just replied, mercilessly, "it's going to be over." And said he was not ashamed of it. "I" refers to other people's opinions and says, "everyone will think you are a bad man without human nature." Said that all people hate you, despise you, he replied: "let them want to go like this." It doesn't matter to the public opinion. When "I" suggested that he was already forty, it was too late to draw. His answer was, "that's why I thought it would be too late if I didn't start now." "I" pointed out that the future of his painting can only become a third rate painter, not worth abandoning everything. He said, "you're a damn fool." He said, "I have to draw." I can't help myself. If a man falls into the water, it doesn't matter whether he swims well or not. He has to struggle out or he will drown

At this point, Strickland's pent up desire for many years finally broke out. He broke away from everything in the past to conform to his inner desire.

When he lives in the format cage, he has a clear consciousness, and carefully examines his life and trajectory, he has a strong desire to escape from the shackles. Strickland despised literary salon banquet very much, superior material life, warm family atmosphere, decent social status all fettered his desire and made him miserable. Although he has been suppressing himself, wearing masks and shackles, but the desire for creation is constantly surging in the bottom of his heart. At the age of 40, when the painter's desire finally surged out like a volcano that had been dormant for many years, he chose not to be the sand subject to the social shackles and violence, and he resolutely broke away from the secular society. However, the way it broke out brought great harm to the people. When this power came, he had no chance to breathe. Instead, he made a quick decision. He not only devoted himself to his whole life, but also dedicated his responsibilities to his family, his obligations to society, his careful consideration of the future, his inner remorse and regret, and so on, on the altar of will, All of them have to be broken. The boundaries between the two kinds of life as an artist and as a stockbroker are so clear that there is no transition at all. This way of breaking out is related to his personality, because he "has the directness of a blind believer and the fanaticism of an apostle", so he suddenly smashed the family, morality, society and etiquette into pieces.

o be exact, his pursuit is not equal to Levin in ketolstoy's novels, or the typical works of Raskolnikov, kirilov and Ivan in Dostoevsky's novels. The lost Evans endure the suffering of thought, constantly and fiercely speculate, and strive for "truth". Their quest is more like a process of spiritual growth. He was also different from Faust. The old man, who was not satisfied with the tedious study and was eager to experience in the broad world, was in line with certain aspirations and ideals of the rising period of capitalism in the 18th century. However, Strickland only has a strong spiritual demand and acts for it. However, his spiritual process is not a process of growth and has no ambition to conquer the world. This is what his spiritual world is and has always been. He just wants to release this passion, just seeking a more leisurely and more free residence and a way to interact with beauty.

His spiritual need is a kind of instinct and a kind of exuberant desire expressed in people's will. Therefore, the book has always stressed that he has a rough, carnal face, "I feel some kind of evil temperament in him; this temperament reminds me of those half human and half animal creatures at the beginning of the universe, at that time, all things in the universe still maintain primitive contact with the earth, although they are material, they still seem to have spiritual nature." His paintings are mixed with spiritual and carnal elements, in which "they are both earthly, the dust they knead and the gods.".

In order to vent his desire, he is willing to live in the dilapidated hotel in Paris. He is short of food and has no stable life. He was willing to paint the so-called crude and clumsy paintings that people despised. He was willing to wander from Paris to Marseilles, begging for money to pay for his travel expenses, suffering from hunger, disease and even death. Fame, wealth and people's praise are not rare to him. Compared with the material and physical torture, the mental and spiritual torture makes him more painful. He does not care about the accusations and complaints of his family members, the hostility and criticism of the society, and the inner guilt and chagrin that others can not endure. What's more, it doesn't matter whether the painting is good or not. It doesn't matter whether you can succeed or not. If suffering can bring money, reputation and fame, even if it is money, reputation and fame after death, it can be tolerated temporarily. But the motive of his seeking is very simple, which is not contaminated with any worldly money, reputation and fame, but simply the catharsis of willpower instinct. For him, it is important to achieve peace and tranquility through catharsis and expectation of the results of catharsis. Therefore, when he arrived in Paris, he was no longer "dressed up neatly, but he was not very comfortable to look at. He's sloppy now, but he's very natural. " And "although he can't say anything meaningful, there's something in his character that makes you think he's not boring at all." After he takes off his mask, his real personality shows his charm and his real self gets a certain degree of freedom.

So he left and got his desire satisfied? Is his will free? Is he really looking for something to become a painter?

3.3 vagrancy

From Paris to Marseilles, Strickland was always pushed by will to seek. He could not get what he asked for in London. He went to Paris to look for it, but still could not find it. He was pushed to Marseilles by will.

From Paris to Marseilles, he was more of a tramp than an artist. If he wants to get some money and find a place to stay at night, he has to buy some food to deal with his hungry stomach. In order to eat, he would go to the bread charity, borrow money from others, and work as a painter. He was rude and vulgar, "fuck you." "Go away!" It's his mantra. But in those difficult days, he never said a word of frustration. He was aloof from the people around him, even in the most depressed circumstances. He doesn't care what others think of him. Traditional norms have nothing to do with him. It gave him a certain degree of freedom. He became extremely thin. His body was only skin and bone. He had been wearing a piece of clothes for many years, which was ragged and stained with oil, and swayed around his body, but it seemed that there was an incomparable strength in his body. He was a man who needed food and women, but didn't care about them. He didn't regard hunger and cold as suffering. He lived a completely spiritual life, he was immersed in his own world, and most of the time he seemed to be meditating on his own affairs.

In order to learn painting, he also learned from his teacher, but did not look after him. He himself was not disheartened in this matter, and the opinions of others had no influence on him. Therefore, he encountered great difficulties in painting, because he was not willing to accept other people's advice, and had to waste a lot of time to explore some technical problems, in fact, these problems have been solved one by one by the artists in the past. He didn't have very good opinions on other people's paintings. He didn't sell his paintings because he wanted to solve the problem of food and clothing. He didn't want to be famous. He didn't mind whether the painting was good or not.

So he is absolutely free and happy? At least the spirit is free? Not so.

"He seems to have been caught by some kind of force and is being used to accomplish the goal pursued by this force. He is like a fly caught in a spider's web and has lost the ability to struggle He was pursuing a mysterious thing that he did not know well. He is no longer a human being, but a tool for pursuing a mysterious purpose he does not understand. "A tormented, blazing soul is pursuing something far beyond the imagination of flesh and blood.". He tried to use his paintings to depict the mysterious things which can not be described, and to express the spiritual significance with the tangible things. For him, the color and form of painting has a unique meaning. He had to convey his feelings about that mysterious thing to others, which was his only intention to create. But the meaning was so mysterious and great that he could only reluctantly express it with imperfect symbols and describe it clumsily. He was never satisfied with his paintings, because he did not show the mysterious and great things. He felt that these paintings were too meaningless. He tried his best to seek the means of expression, because he was unable to do what he wanted, and his soul was in great pain. He is forced by this mysterious thing to embark on a dangerous and lonely road, always looking for a place, hoping to get there to liberate himself from the spirit that torments you. This process is too difficult, too painful, and he will seek comfort in other places, such as women. But after the passion, he still did not get anything, women for him is just a tool to vent his passion, so he mercilessly abandoned Blanche, resulting in her suicide.

When he was ill and dying, he took him to his home, served him, sacrificed his time, money and easy life, and took him back from the hand of death. But he revenged the kindness with the vengeance, had an affair with stroph's wife, and caused his death.
When "I" asked him if he was guilty, he said, "I feel ashamed, because to be honest, I don't care too much."

His whole life is running towards a goal that he himself does not know, pursuing that great and mysterious goal. If anything hinders the pursuit of this goal, he will not hesitate to destroy it. Whether it is others or himself, he will be black and blue and bloody. In other words, for the sake of that mysterious goal, he didn't care about others, he didn't care about himself.

So although Strickland broke away from the shackles of the secular world, he did not get freedom, he was dominated by a powerful force, constantly running, very painful, very tired. He is always on the road, wandering on the spiritual Road, he is a tramp in real life, he is also a tramp in spirit. What was the whole mysterious force that forced him to become a double tramp? What was the indescribable desire in him? Schopenhauer's voluntarism is the mysterious will that dominates the whole universe. As the essence of the world, will, as an irrational, aimless and upward impulse, is reflected in him, leaving blind purpose impulse and endless desire, constantly urging him to pursue and seek.

3.4 to Tahiti

He was forced by the will to keep searching. He could not get what he asked for in London. He went to Paris to look for it, but he did not find it. He was pushed to Marseilles by will, and finally he arrived at Tahiti.

When "I" asked whether I could paint on an island far away from the secular world. He was "silent for a long time. But there was a strange light in his eyes, as if he saw something that ignited his soul and made him ecstatic. " He had been longing for such a secluded place for a long time, so after many twists and turns, he arrived at Tahiti.

He said, "I looked up and saw the outline of the island. I knew immediately that this was the place I had been looking for all my life. Then our boat got closer and closer, and I felt as if I remembered this place. Sometimes when I walk around here, everything I see seems familiar. I swear, I've been here in the past He finally found his dream place, where he could settle down, paint and pursue his mysterious will of the universe. He still lived like a tramp. He would borrow money from others, do odd jobs, get some money from anyone, and go to the woods to paint without a trace. Sometimes he doesn't draw much. He wandered in the mountains, bathed in the river, went fishing on the rocks, wandered on the docks, and talked with the local people. He married a native woman, ETA, and had children, nannies, and others, and gradually became a big family. He smokes, chats and listens to the local aborigines. He is more local than the local people. Three years in Tahiti was the happiest period of his life. "I'd like to stay here until I die," he said In the end, he got leprosy. During his serious illness, his wife, ETA, never left him. He endured great pain and was always creating one of the greatest paintings. He created a whole mural on the inner wall of his house.
Driven by his strong desire, he was eager to create paintings of mysterious images. This passion made him unable to be quiet for a moment, and forced him to run around. In order to achieve this goal, he would not hesitate to ask him to completely overturn the basis of his life. In Tahiti, in the paintings he created at the end of his life, he finally found what he wanted. This painting has a pressing momentum, it is both carnal and full of infinite enthusiasm. He painted something primitive and shocking. His understanding of life, his vision of the world with images. At this point, he has completed his task, using his paintings to show the primitive, eternal and dominating will impulse of the world.

When he created these giant paintings, he finally found peace of mind, and his tormented soul was at rest. Therefore, although his illness has devastated him and his eyes have been blind, his mind has always been peaceful and peaceful. He had got what he wanted and died without regret. He created a world, and his life's goal had been achieved, so he destroyed it again - let his wife burn the house down after his death.

Character determines fate. Strickland's character is desperate to find his own mysterious desire impulse, which leads to his wandering in the later half of his life and promotes the development of the plot of the novel.

4. Breaking with the secular world and yearning for the distance

Strickland's pursuit of the road is a process of breaking away from the secular world, which seems to be a common feature of many geniuses and Mavericks. Strickland is far away from the secular world because of the following three factors:

4.1 the life view factors of Voluntarism

In Schopenhauer's view, life is a tragedy. Apart from abstinence and artistic appreciation, there is also philosophical meditation. Through philosophical meditation, we can improve people's spiritual realm and realize that human beings, as the representation of will, are endless. As a phenomenon, we can integrate ourselves into other phenomena after death, so as to eliminate the fear of death. With a clear understanding of will, desire stops, and will denies itself. These thoughts are related to Buddhism.

It is related to the influence of Schopenhauer's philosophy of life. The purpose of Buddhist philosophy is to explain the truth of life and how to get rid of the pain of life. Primitive Buddhism advocates that life is full of pain and pain is everywhere. It thinks that the real world is a process of suffering, and puts forward the types of suffering and the methods of relief. Buddhism is fundamentally far away from the secular world, so it determines that voluntarians have the idea of seclusion.

4.2 factors of modern civilization
The former leaves a question: the norms of civilized society are also the appearance of will, and the ways and means by which will realizes itself. So, what are the advantages and disadvantages compared with other methods? This will be explained here.
First of all, Schopenhauer thinks that reason is lower than will, which is the means of will to realize itself. In his opinion, what way does rationality take to realize will? Schopenhauer discusses the origin of morality and law in the world as will and appearance. He believes that the infringement on other people's property is also a denial of their will, which is unjust. The resistance to injustice is justice, which is stipulated by morality and the source of all natural laws. To get rid of the unjust pain that everyone may bear with reason will produce social contract and law. Morality prescribes will, law prescribes behavior. The origin of the state is the welfare of the people, but it does not oppose egoism. What is protected is the self-interest of the people, which is the self-interest of rational armed. Since rationality protects the will of the people, the will of the individual will inevitably be suppressed and violated to a certain extent. Therefore, from the individual point of view, rationality often hinders the realization of will.

A civilized society is an invisible net woven by reason, which restricts people from being able to do my watch. Strickland broke away from the net to pursue his free will.

Secondly, the flag of rationalism is held high in modern civilization. However, as Foucault said in madness and civilization, out of the constraints of order on the body and morality, the pressure on the group, and the demand for uniformity, rationality has imposed a mandatory regulation on the things outside the rationality, suppressing the things outside the rationality, making them become madness, crime or disease. The will is the instinct to keep alive. This instinct is common to all things, and this instinct determines everything. The essence of will is the irrational will for survival, vitality and life, including survival will and reproductive will. Fundamentally speaking, will is irrational. Therefore, as a modern civilization, rationality and will are in conflict.
Strickland is far away from the civilized society. What he escapes from is the shackles of modern society and the family society set by the social norms of the Victorian era. Behind this is the resistance to the repression of rationality.

In the Victorian era, Britain ushered in a period of rapid development of industrial development and overseas expansion. At that time, the bourgeois world order was initially established, and the grand blueprint planned by the "rational era" was being realized step by step, It binds people's behavior. However, morality, norms and customs are only tools, and should not be the purpose of surpassing, dominating and imprisoning human beings. It can be said that Strickland's escape is just a symbol of the secular reality. Behind it lies the order, or the social life framed by the rational rules. This order has its rationality of existence. But it can not be denied that it suppresses human nature. The group that the individual adheres to dissipates the individual's personality, feelings and pluralistic thoughts, and forms the unity of group psychology and spirit. The individual is no longer an individual, but becomes a doll independent of his own will. Therefore, Strickland must stay away from the secular world and escape from the oppression of reason.

4.3 the pre modern civilization of Tahiti

Not in Paris or London, Strickland found it on Tahiti. Tahiti Island is isolated from modern civilization and has always maintained its primitive customs. "Since ancient times, life has continued to the present in accordance with the ancient customs. It can only make you more keenly aware of the joy of your current life. " The scenery here is beautiful and the folk customs are simple. He was more likely to survive than a civilized city. Because the people here are full of compassion and the island residents represented by tiari are generous. Tiara's hospitality is her nature; as long as the flower hotel has something to eat, no one on the island needs to starve. She never drives tenants away because they can't pay. " Cohen, the planter, pitied him for Strickland, "because I think his paintings are poor." His first job was given by Cohen. "I know he's starving, but I give him a high salary." When he borrowed two hundred francs from Cohen, "he looks like he hasn't had a full meal in a week, and I can't bear to refuse him. Of course, I know I'll never get it back. " The civilized "I" did not lend him any money and was hostile to him.

He married the aboriginal woman ETA here. Unlike the two women in a civilized society, she gives her heart and soul.

ETA not only satisfied his most primitive sexual desire, but also satisfied his pursuit of artistic creation. First of all, Etta never asks Strickland for anything. She just works for him in silence, never bothers him, satisfies all his needs, and enables Strickland to concentrate on finding the soul of art. Secondly, ETA is the representative of pure soul. She is also Strickland's painting model. From her, the hero can get more creative inspiration. What about the two women in civilized society? They tried to confine him to themselves. After he left, his wife, may, thought of the first thing: "I should not be taken as a joke." the only thing to do is to quickly decide what to do. In the last chapter, she was relieved of Strickland's departure and betrayal. She even talked with foreign critics about her ex husband. With Strickland's fame after her death, she entered the literary circle successfully, and her desire was greatly satisfied.

In Tahiti, he lived a primitive life. He wandered in the mountains, bathed in the river, went fishing on the rocks, wandered on the docks, and talked with the local people. He smokes, chats and listens to the local aborigines. He is more local than the local people. "ETA's cousins, cousins and cousins climb up trees to pick coconuts, so that women in the family can exchange dried coconut meat for necessities of life." In a word, people are living in the primitive community life, even if they have no direct blood relationship, "they still treat each other by kinship." therefore, the old woman who takes care of ETA, the granddaughter of the old woman, or even a young man who "no one knows where this person comes from and who is related to" will form a big family with ETA and Strickland. ", On the contrary, his brother-in-law in London has always disliked him and resented him.

Tahiti is different from the civilized society. No one dislikes him. On the contrary, people sympathize with him. No one was surprised by his strange behavior and eccentricity. Although he was a stranger, he never looked at him differently. In the civilized society, he was an untimely man, "a square plug was inserted into a round hole", but here "there are various forms of holes, and all kinds of plugs can be in their own place". The people here have no privileges, no prejudice, and are highly tolerant. What he experienced here is what he did not dare to hope for and never asked for in the civilized society. What he got here was sympathy and tolerance.

Pre modernity, modernity and post modernity are the three types of western culture. The interaction among them is a system in which modernity is surpassed by modernity and modernity is surpassed by post modernity. Among them, pre modernity refers to western modern culture and medieval culture, while modernity refers to the modernization of enlightenment culture. The return in the moon and sixpence is a reverse development from modernity to pre modernity. Compared with the harsh requirements and constraints of modernity on human beings, Tahiti's pre-modern civilization is more primitive, more relaxed and friendly, and maintains tolerance to primitive desires.

"Sometimes when there is a celebration party in the neighboring village, pigs are killed. People from nearby flocked there, dancing, singing hymns, eating and drinking so much that everyone was about to vomit. " But the warm and kind Tiara thinks that "the sexual matters are the human nature, both men and women are the same, she always gives people proverbs and examples from her rich experience."

Compared with the standard and order of civilized society, the people here do not hide the pursuit of human instinct. Everything is authentic and primitive.

The ideal of modern civilization hinders and damages the will, while the pre modern civilization here is more in line with the original desire and will.

4.4 yearning for the distance

When Maugham wrote about Tahiti, his style was soft and relaxed, not only without irony, but also with praise. In the western world, conflicts are everywhere, while in Tahiti, an exotic island, there is peace and tranquility.

People always have a kind of distant plot. They think that as long as they are far away from the chaotic world around them and go to the infinite bright distance, they will surely get happiness, hope and freedom. It is not only Maugham, but also countless sages who have described the bright distance for us. The question is, does Tahiti really exist? The answer is No.

In fact, the contradiction is not between artists and modern civilization, but between individual quest and group contract. Even though Tahiti is an artist's paradise, it is largely due to the scholars' tolerance of white people from other countries, rather than the spirit of creation contained in the world of pre-modern civilization. In the novel, Tahiti is Strickland's final destination, where he has his faithful wife and continuous creative inspiration. But the real Tahiti is not the case. She was not virtuous. She had given birth to children before she married Gauguin, and she was unfaithful to Gauguin many times after she married him. Gauguin did not get spiritual salvation. After living in Tahiti for a period of time, he returned to Paris because of missing his wife and children and the civilized society. He spent a lot of time on his uncle's legacy and returned to Tahiti after wasting his property. Moreover, Tahiti also has classes, fights and intrigues of modern society, but the form is slightly lower. People always put hope and redemption in the distant future or far away, thinking that as long as we get rid of the present situation, we can get freedom and improvement, and believe that the world is perfect and there is a happy distance. A mirage, like the plot of a mirage, makes people run in front of them. When the world around us is becoming more and more rigid and solidified, we can get rid of the class order and the heavy pressure of life by escaping from the distance. We can get comfort and a moment of peace from it. But the distance is not good. After living for a period of time, we will find ourselves in a strange circle of rigidity and solidification.

It is not Tahiti or the pre-modern society that saved Strickland, but his "fantasy", the meaning he actively added to the distance and his expectation for catharsis. In the dreamland, he was driven by the nihility and the great idea, sacrificing himself, burning himself and dedicating himself. This great illusion led him to have no attachment to all the earthly things, and finally gave him the ultimate salvation, and his soul was comforted.

In a word, dreamland is Strickland's self fiction and self consolation. The belief of redemption and the complex of distance give people optimism. But the question is, if Tahiti doesn't exist, how can people get happiness? Camus answers this question in the outsider. He stressed that the world is absurd, which is reasonable and can not be eliminated, that is to say, to admit the imperfection of the world and to be faithful to the life with imperfection. Strickland wanted to get rid of the shackles and imperfections. He refused everything crazily and tried to break free from the shackles by refusing, the warmth of family, the love of friends, the passion of lovers, the power and prestige, and the pleasure and comfort. However, this does not eliminate the imperfections of life, because these imperfections are eternal in the community society. As long as we admit imperfection and absurdity, we can live with a clear mind and an optimistic attitude. We don't need to experience ascetic practice. Happiness, happiness and hope are just around the corner.

summary

Voluntarism has an important influence on Maugham's creation, and his masterpiece the moon and sixpence is a typical one. The influence of Schopenhauer's thought is reflected from the character of the protagonist to the development of the plot. Therefore, the novel is particularly distinctive and unique in its theme and personality. The analysis of the protagonist of the novel can increase the understanding and thinking angle of the novel, and deepen the understanding of the postmodern thought.

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