Individual Reading W. S. Maugham "The Moon and Sixpence" Summary Chapters 12-23

The narrator and Strickland went to have dinner. The former tried to persuade the other to return home to his family. However Strickland was obstinate and resolutely decided to stay in Paris. He admitted that his deed was awful and he left his wife and children without any money, but he didn’t worry about it at all. He knew that his wife’s relatives would help with children’s education and his wife herself would find a job. When the story-teller told about it Mrs. Strickland, she was strongly surprised. She didn’t even suspect that her husband was interested in Art. What is more she was confident that he couldn’t live in poverty. That’s why it was a severe blow to her. Mrs. Strickland asked the narrator never tell about it anybody and floated a rumour that her husband had left her because of a pretty French dancer. As Strickland had said his wife really found a job – she became a typist and soon started his own business.

After five years he narrator went to Paris again. There he met his friend Dirk Stroeve, a funny chubby artist. He found Strickland a genius, though his works didn’t enjoy wide popularity. Strouve also had a wife, Blanche, a calm courteous woman. He loved her madly. Though he always behaved silly and made people laugh at himself she disliked when people jeered at her husband. One of such people was Strickland who often made Dirk Stroeve cry by his mockeries.