Realism v. Idealism
At the center of the novel is the portrait of a young man who embraces and idealistic view of the world which is systematically demolished and replaced with the construction of hardened philosophy of realism. Philip Carey manages to maintain an optimistic grasp upon his the idealize outlook even in the face of losing his beloved mother at such a tender age. The more that he gets out into the world and comes into contact with actual people, the more tenuous his grasp on those ideals become until they slip entirely and he embraces a more realistic view of the true nature of most people.
Humans in Bondage
The title says it all, or almost does. Human bondage is conveyed in a variety of ways in the novel. Most specifically is Philip’s being held in bondage to Mildred through a deviant psychosexual urge he is barely able to recognize, much less control. Even after he reaches a point at which he can finally admit the deviant component in his relationship with Mildred, he remains captive to its bondage. Aunt Luisa is objectively viewed as a less deviant victim of human bondage, but only because the wife who becomes a “doormat” to a domineering husband is even today viewed less as a victim of sexual deviance than a masochistic male. More abstractly, Hayward is held in bondage to misguided aestheticism which serves to obstruct him from pursuing genuine happiness.
The Illusion of Free Will
Why would any self-respecting man put up with the vulgar and sadistic Mildred? Ostensibly, just the urge to maintain self-respect would send a man running away from her onslaught of vicious personal attacks. In a perfect world where one had only to follow their own will, Philip would probably not keep returning to her. The novel suggests that there is something sexually deviant about his willingness to keep coming back for more abuse, but his actions also indicate a positive motivation to perhaps heal whatever wounds have caused her to reach such a state. After all, he never does engage in sexual relations with her. The peculiarities of Philips interaction with Mildred are the centerpiece of the novel’s suggestion that free will is merely an illusion and that a variety of known and unknown forces act upon each decision made by every individual and that we are all held in bondage to the dominant power of those forces acting upon us.
