Remaining happy is the utmost priority of every individual. Being a human being, Somerset Maugham is also a member of this group. In his famous short story, The Lotus Eater, he uniquely defines happiness.
Interestingly, a thousand books and theories are available, online or offline, to describe the ifs and buts of obtaining that delight. Even experts’ advice is easily accessible online or offline in this regard. But not many poets, novelists, or short story writers pen to draw that matter. However, Somerset Maugham is one of the few authors whose short story explains what, in reality, happiness is.
There is a passage in The Lotus Eater where the author says, “Very few people……. still find it.” Maugham here actually opines that not many people know where they should search for happiness. Also, only a few can successfully find it.
Maugham also adds that he does not know whether Wilson, the prime character or hero of the story, was a fool or a wise, knowledgeable person in this regard. However, one thing is true: the hero can read his mind successfully. He can pinpoint what he desires or aims to achieve.
Readers can find that Maugham’s words as a narrator in the story, on the one hand, prioritize the essence of delight in human life. On the other hand, his comment tries to unveil an essential part of human thinking in life. The author represents Thomas Wilson, the ultimate lotus eater, as the prime character to demonstrate that thought.
Readers can find that Thomas Wilson left his financially secure working life in England. Instead, he chose to spend his remaining life in leisure and pleasure. Accordingly, he came to Anacapri and started living there by making serenity and natural beauty his bosom friends.
Now, as the narrator of the entire storyline, the author comments on this strange way of Wilson’s living. Ordinary people always prioritize a monetarily secure life more than leisure and pleasure. They crave happiness only after securing a robust, protected financial base. However, Wilson’s life raises a big question as to why the hero of the story left this common practice.
Moreover, Maugham admits that it is challenging to determine whether Wilson acted wisely by leaving his monetarily secure life. Or, in reality, it is an utterly foolish act to run for happiness only without concentrating on the necessity of earning.
Embracing an insecure financial life, mainly to enjoy delight and leisure, undeniably appears strange and foolish to some people. It must be hard for them to understand why a man desires to pave an uncommon way that offers uncertainty. Leaving an everyday life of regular activity to appease a fascination of spending days of leisure and happiness in a romantic, serene atmosphere is always a topic of confusion and discussion, too.
On the contrary, some other people may find it a good, wise decision. According to these people, a man should understand what his soul wants. Undeniably, money is a necessary ingredient for survival, but it should not be the only aim. In short, becoming only a member of the rat race of earning in life is not a proud act. The reason is it kills the basic desires or likings and converts a human into a mere money-printing machine.
So, Thomas Wilson’s decision to hear the words that his inner mind conceives manifests the embracing of a wise resolution. It shows the man is true to his genuine aim and passions. It also pinpoints that he knows what he wants and prioritizes happiness as his sole aim. Furthermore, he is also the master of crafting how he can secure his craving for delight.
In reality, Wilson’s act is in no way a foolish activity. There is nothing wrong with following inner feelings about one’s own happiness. Somerset Maugham here shows that the actual lotus eater is well aware of the necessity and essence of delight and what can provide him that delight. His sole aim is to remain happy. Also, he doesn’t believe in working only and destroying the space for leisure. He believes that the motto of the work should be to create the opportunity to relish delight in life.
The author’s observation contains a profound philosophical outlook. It is an undeniable truth that most people hardly know where their delight lies. Moreover, without proper realization, they recklessly strive to acquire it. However, without any prior direction and understanding, how can a ship cover a fathomless sea and reach its intended destination? In short, happiness is a subject matter of mind, and when the mind is aware of this fact beforehand, it becomes easy for a man to understand when and how to act upon the subject.
Notably, Maugham’s words indicate that Wilson’s mind also had a prior sense of his happiness and how he could acquire it. Accordingly, he prioritized it and left his job. In truth, he never allowed himself to be a puppet in the hands of unknown fate. He wrote his destiny and paved the chosen way to reach that point.
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