"The Moon and Sixpence" (1919) is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham, loosely inspired by the life of Post-Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin. The story follows Charles Strickland, a dull London stockbroker who abruptly abandons his wife and children to pursue his obsessive passion for painting. Moving from Paris to Tahiti, Strickland disregards social conventions, morality, and human relationships in his relentless pursuit of artistic truth. The title symbolizes the choice between lofty ideals (the moon) and mundane material comfort (sixpence). Through sharp wit and irony, Maugham explores the nature of genius, the cost of artistic devotion, and the tension between society and individual freedom.
