The Painted Veil

“It couldn’t have been Walter that afternoon. It must have been one of the servants and after all they didn’t matter. Chinese servants knew everything anyway. But they held their tongues.”

Kitty’s view of the Chinese people who work for her typifies a colonizer’s attitude to the people they have colonized. The fact that the servants do not count as people who know about her affair dehumanizes them. Meanwhile, the idea that the Chinese servants know everything and keep silent is a metaphor for colonized people’s unspoken knowledge about the corruption of those who rule them. Being on the side of power, Kitty feels mistakenly invincible.

“If he accused her she would deny, and if it came to a pass that she could deny no longer, well, she would fling the truth in his teeth, and he could do what he chose.”

This passage indicates Kitty’s lack of regard for her husband. She can coolly contemplate going through a charade of lies with him and then getting fed up and revealing a truth that would hurt his feelings. The violent image of flinging “the truth in his teeth” exemplifies the extent of her ruthlessness and the fact that she thinks she will get away with her misdemeanor.

“Her beauty depended a good deal on her youth, and Mrs. Garstin realized that she must marry in the first flush of maidenhood. When she came out she was dazzling: her skin was still her greatest beauty, but her eyes with their long lashes were so starry and yet so melting that it gave you a catch at the heart to look into them.”

This passage conveys how Kitty’s worth in the marriage market relies entirely upon her youthful good looks. The idea that she has the type of beauty that depends on youth gives a sense of urgency to her mother’s plans to marry her off, as Mrs. Garstin knows that her daughter’s value will depreciate as the years pass.