The Painted Veil: A Structural Analysis

1
The Painted VeilA Structural Analysis

• ASL Literature in English

2
Foreshadowing

• Kittys first meeting with Charles Townsend
• Watching a play at a Chinese theater
• Townsends translation of the storyline
• About a young girl weeping
• For her being sold into a life of slavery and
  taken away to a foreign land
• For her being condemned to this life in which she
  will never find happiness, never be loved or love
  in return

3
Foreshadowing

• A striking description of the life that Kitty
  will soon know
• Her and Townsends affair begins shortly after
  watching this play
• Soon taken away by her husband, Walter, to a very
  foreign land where she feels enslaved, alone,
  unloved and unable to love
• As a punishment of her infidelity

4
Explicit Plot

• Kitty and Walter get married, but she has an
  affair with Charles Townsend.
• Walter takes revenge by forcing her to accompany
  him to a disease-ridden Chinese village where she
  will feel miserable.
• However, misery awakens enlightenment,
  reconciliation and redemption.

5
Implicit Plot

• The motive behind Kittys affair
• Marrying Walter for the wrong reasons
• Kitty never loved Walter, respected him or had
  any interest in him
• Getting married to spite her mother
• Kittys character selfish, impulsive and
  rebellious
• Her affair with Townsend to rebel against her
  husband whom she didnt love

6
Implicit Plot

• Walters motive for avenging Kittys affair
• by taking her to a cholera-infested village
• Instead of bursting into the bedroom when he knew
  his wife was cheating on him
• Walter as malicious and calculating, rather than
  confrontational
• Decision upon cold, calculated punishment by
  enslaving his wife into a life where she would be
  miserable

7
Sub-plots

• The relationship between their neighbor
  Waddington and his Chinese wife
• Waddingtons affection and his wifes admiration
  towards him
• Forcing Kitty to examine her own relationship
  with Walter
• Motives of the French nuns operating the
  orphanage
• To serve Gods will to serve others with love
  while one has it
• Help Kitty become more self-aware

8
Ending of the Film

• Walter and Kitty are able to find love and
  acceptance of each other toward the end of the
  film
• Portrayal of raw human emotion, anger,
  resentment, guilt and finally acceptance
• Walter and Kitty are never happy in the film
• A somber acknowledgement of growing respect for
  each other that did not exist before the betrayal
• Under the life-threatening Cholera, they are able
  to put their bitterness aside, find companionship
  and mutual understanding

9
Imagery

• Breathtaking images of an idyllic, seemingly
  mythical Chinese landscape
• Idyllic beauty Immense suffering
• The cholera epidemic and political turmoil
  ravages the landscape

10
Imagery

• The scenery symbolic for Walter and Kittys
  relationship
• Seemingly a healthy young married couple to those
  they initially meet
• Just as the perfect Chinese landscape
• Immense suffering, grief and turmoil inside
• Always feel like a foreigner in an unfamiliar
  land uncertain of what will happen next

11
Colour and Lighting

• The beginning of the film gorgeous bright colors
• After the betrayal more muted colors
• A lot of dead colors like grays and very drab
  blues
• Impact of sadness, loneliness and unease
• Early in the film (before the betrayal) bright
  and cheerful lighting
• Post-affair dim lighting filled with shadows
• Creating an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty
  and a sense of powerlessness

12
Conclusion

• A powerful and provocative tale of betrayal,
  revenge and the immense emotional havoc that
  infidelity reaps on relationships
• A story about self-awareness
• A cautionary tale to be weary of the painted
  veil

13
Conclusion

• Do not fall in love with an illusion
• Get to truly know your love-interest to avoid
  disenchantment and pain when the truths are
  revealed
• Ending a somber tale of betrayal, consequence,
  self-discovery and the difficult road to
  redemption

14
The End