THE KITE:BY W.S Maughan

      Critical Appreciation Of W.S. Maugham's "The Kite"

The Kite written by W. S. Maugham is one of his psychological short stories. Maugham's stories like those of Maupassant generally mark a development of plot and character.He has a rare skill in vesting his tales with a plausibility that sustains the interest of the readers throughout the stories. His stories are largely readable and entertaining.
Though Maugham's stories are deeply psychological like those of Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf,there is a difference between them . For,the stories of Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf lack in plot and neat characterization and seek to active an effect by creating an atmosphere or recording a mood. There is a great deal  of suggestiveness in their stories.A Cup Of Tea by Katherine Mansfield and The Dutches And The Jeweller by Virginia Woolf may be cited as examples.
But Maughan's stories are known for realism,an economy of presentation and a simplicity of style. Maughan's psychological stories have a bias towards neat characterization analysis of human character and provide a deep in sight into the working of human nature and mind.Such stories of  Maughan as Mr. Know-All, The Lavender Scarce, A door of opportunity, The Kite etc. Clearly illustrate the important features of Maugham as short-story writer.
The Kite as Maugham himself says, is an old , unusual story about "the Psychology of the human animal." He attempts to throw some light on the complication of human nature in it. He bases the story upon Freudian theory of obsession and presents the character of a young man whose obsession with kite flying breaks up his marriage and sends him in prison.
The young man in this story is Herbert Sunbury. He is quite good and normal. He works in an office and earns his living. He loves and marries a young lady called Pretty Prevan. But he has courage for kite-flying. He has taken a keen interest in  it since his childhood,and as he has grown in years. His interest has also grown deeper and deeper. It has now become a craze and obsession with him. For he is so much fond of it that he cannot leave it even when he is a grown up man,employed, and married. His wife objects to his habit of kite-flying. But he listens to no arguments. He even quarrels with her and parts from her, and when she smashes his kite to rid from it,he refuses her alimony and prefers imprisonment to having relation with her. He says to the magic state;
"I said I wouldn't pay her and I won't not after she smashed my kite. And if you send me to the prison, I'll go to prison."
Obviously, the story of the life of Herbert Sunbury is a strong story because his love of kite flying is stronger than his love for his wife. It seems difficult to explain his conduct in normal human terms. But it ceases to be strange if it is seen in the light of Freudian assumptions. Freud is a great psychologist and founder of psycho-analysis. His researches have thrown new light on man,his mind and behaviour. He says that when a man develops an abnormal fondness for a thought or an idea,than that thing of idea seized his mind so strongly that he cannot live without it. This seems true of the character of Herbert Sunbury. For he likes kite-flying more than his wife and social prestige. He loves it as deeply as a man loves an ideal.When he flies kite he feels a unique joy born either of his sense of power as he watches  it soaring towards the clouds,or of his sense of mastery over the elements of nature,or of his sense of freedom symbolized by thee kite flying so high and free or of his sense of ideal of adventure. This explains his obsession with kite-flying.
There is also a great deal of the psychology of woman nature. The psychologists says that a normal married demands all attentions of her husband to herself and feels jealous of anything that divides the attention of her husband.
It is in her nature to claim about love,loyally,and attention of her husband to herself. She cannot tolerate her husband going more love and attention to say politics,games or studies. She becomes jealous of the object of passion of her husband and stops at nothing short of complete destruction of that object. This explains pretty Prevan's jealousy of Herbert Sunbury's kite-flying. She notices that her husband is more fond of kite-flying than of her. So she warns him against his habit of kite-flying and when he does not give this habit up,she threatens to desert him. When this does not work,she goes to smash it altogether. As Mr. Sunbury's reports to Herbert Sunbury:
"She did it all right. She told me straight out. She's proud of it . . .the long and short of it - was she jealous of the kite. She said Herbert loved the kite more than he loved her and so she smashed it up and if she had to do it again she said do it again:
Clearly, The Kite by Mangham is a profounbly psychological story,a study in the psychology of human mind and behaviour. Commenting upon this aspect of the story,Derek Hudsen says:
"And the collection demonstrates . . . the new awareness of the lights and shadows within the human mind which has been generated by modern psychology and by the nervous intensity of contemporary life in his compelling story 'The Kite'  Mr. Mangham shows that he has moved in step with the terms."
Obviously modern short stories like modern poetry and drama seek to achieve a close approximation to real life in a style becoming increasingly responsible to human emotion and behaviour.

Questions :

• Attempt a critical appreciation of Maughan's The Kite.
• Discuss critically the theme of The Kite.
• Write a note on the art of story writing of W. S. Maughan.