How many readers can identify the character Donna Lucia? The answer is those who read Maugham’s short story The Lotus Eater become acquainted with the name of this female character.
Donna Lucia is a small yet essential part of the storyline. She is not a famous story-related personality like Shakespeare’s Macbeth or Othello. However, her presence in The Lotus Eater enhances the significance of the subject matter in the short story.
Moreover, her presence in the story helps readers to realize the condition of Thomas Wilson, the prime character of The Lotus Eater. Even the ending part of the story remains incomplete without her. Notably, a small description of her becomes enormously vital and enhances the essence and attraction of the storyline.
William Somerset Maugham’s genius as a story writer is indisputable. His words display his inexhaustible innovative urge, and the invention of Donna Lucia in The Lotus Eater is an ideal example of that creative urge.
It is indisputable that Maugham is famous for his appealing literary style. His unique way of dealing with human affairs is his signature style. The presence of a short character, Donna Lucia, in The Lotus Eater is the embodiment of that style. As a minute watcher of humankind, Maugham knows how to describe human life most compactly and concisely.
His every writing manifests his impressive art of storytelling. Most importantly, precision in portraying a character like Donna Lucia emerges as the lifeblood of a short story. And Maugham’s portrayal of such a character shows that accuracy regarding perfect brevity. Whether it is extremely important or less crucial, every character always enjoys equal perfection in Maugham’s words.
Donna Lucia is a minor character. However, it enjoys sufficient relevance in the story. The author introduces her in the story just in time. Readers know that the famous short story, The Lotus Eater, presents a tale of a man, Thomas Wilson, who prefers to choose a life that doesn’t match with the known conventional way of living. Readers may consider him a man with queerness. Yes, a man with a rare and strange way of enjoying and perceiving the importance of life.
His thinking, living, and enjoyment raise the question of how many people on earth show the indomitable courage to leave a life of financial security. The answer is probably none or only a few. Wilson becomes one of those few human beings who love to see things from a completely different perspective.
Maugham’s splendid narrative technique about Wilson’s way of choosing and living an exceptional lifestyle unlocks many aspects of a striking theme and storytelling. And the presence of Donna Lucia makes that narrative approach more interesting.
Somerset Maugham represents the good-looking woman Donna Lucia as the wife of an innkeeper or tavernkeeper. The host of that tavern is probably Morgano, as mentioned in the story (“Morgano’s”). Now, the author introduces a brief description regarding the beauty of the host’s wife.
According to the writer’s description, the woman is middle-aged. However, she is still beautiful. In addition, she possesses the traces of her beauty that she had thirty years before. Her eyes are indeed charming. She seems to have the eyes of Hera, the queen of Heaven. Even her smile is adoring and gracious.
There is no denying that Maugham here makes an evident or apparent deviation from his main story. The aim is to make the story more charming and enjoyable by providing some ingredients of sweet enjoyment to readers, and at the same time, it works to enhance the readers’ curiosity. In addition, the author creates a way to let the readers enjoy the subject without getting exhausted by the feeling of walking on the same track for a long time. In short, it puts a variety of interests in the narrative.
The inclusion of some interesting aspects in the main story is an inevitable feature of a skilled writer. Undeniably, Maugham here did the same thing. He knows that continuously describing a man’s life may appear dull for the readers and listeners. The only way to make it charming is to add some compelling elements. Undoubtedly, the arrival of Donna Lucia unfolds the opportunity for the advent of such a persuasive element.
Her entry at the right time makes her an apt character. It shows the author’s unmatchable skill in uncovering the best mode of expression. Donna Lucia is not a mere character in The Lotus Eater. Maugham makes her an inevitable part that helps build the pivotal foundation of the story. Moreover, the advent of such a character is so accurate that it confirms the deviation is so timely that it can compel a reader to complete the story in a single sitting.
In short, it enhances a reader’s curiosity about the next part after every portion of the tale. It simultaneously encourages that person to realize the sequence hiding in the core of the storyline. In addition, the characterization and detailing in character narration definitely emerge with distinctive marks and make The Lotus Eater one of the matchless literary creations in the world.
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Why Somerset Maugham Feels People Often Exaggerate a Subject Matter