# Cronshaw — Of Human Bondage character guide

> Cronshaw in Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Monsieur Cronshaw, J. Cronshaw

**First appearance:** 0029-xxx

## Snapshot

A drunken poet in a Parisian café who talks art, love, and the meaning of the Persian carpet with equal and unreliable brilliance.

## Who they are

Cronshaw holds court at Tuesday gatherings, drinking steadily and discoursing on art as a luxury men only bother with once food and women are secured. He recites his own verses, mingles wisdom with nonsense, and treats the divine comedy of love as a joke he has already heard. He matters because he gives Philip a philosophy to argue with: a way of seeing life as pattern rather than purpose, which Philip will spend years testing against experience.

## Relationships

### [Philip Carey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se/characters/philip_carey)

_friendship_

A cynical, alcoholic poet who influences Philip's philosophical outlook and introduces him to the idea of life's meaninglessness.

### [Philip Carey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se/characters/philip_carey)

_friendship_

A cynical, alcoholic poet who influences Philip's philosophical outlook and introduces him to the idea of life's meaninglessness.

### [Philip Carey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se/characters/philip_carey)

_friendship_

A cynical, alcoholic poet who influences Philip's philosophical outlook and introduces him to the idea of life's meaninglessness.

## In the story

### [XLII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se/chapters/xlii)

Cronshaw holds court at the café, drinking whiskey, reciting poetry, and delivering cynical views on art and love.

### [XLV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se/chapters/xlv)

Dominates the chapter with his fatalistic philosophy; lives in squalor with a vulgar mistress; dismisses his own poetry as unimportant.

### [XLVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se/chapters/xlvii)

Cronshaw agrees to attend the party and volunteers to make poires flambées.

### [The Doubt of a Painter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se/chapters/l)

Cronshaw, when asked for advice, reveals his own tragic failure and urges Philip to leave the artist's life while he still can.

### [LIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se/chapters/liii)

Philip recalls Cronshaw's statement that there is no abstract morality and his parable of the Persian carpet.

### [LXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se/chapters/lxv)

Reported to be dying from drink and poverty; sent Philip a Persian rug as an enigmatic answer to the meaning of life.

### [LXXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se/chapters/lxxii)

Mentioned as a friend Philip plans to introduce to Mildred in Paris.

### [LXXIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se/chapters/lxxix)

Cronshaw's Persian rug is mentioned as part of Philip's furniture in his new rooms.

### [LXXXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se/chapters/lxxxii)

Dying, living in poverty in Soho, drinks absinthe and speaks of death without regret.

### [LXXXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se/chapters/lxxxiii)

Found ill and bedridden in a filthy shared room; agrees to move in with Philip; corrects proofs of his poetry volume.

### [LXXXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se/chapters/lxxxiv)

Lies dying in Philip's rooms, refusing medical help and insisting on whiskey and cigarettes.

### [LXXXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se/chapters/lxxxv)

Found dead in his room by Philip; his life is later romanticized by Upjohn.

### [XCVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se/chapters/xcvii)

The Persian rug he gave Philip is slashed by Mildred; Philip had told her it contained the answer to a great riddle.

### [CVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se/chapters/cvi)

Philip recalls Cronshaw's Persian rug and his answer about the meaning of life.

### [Chapter CXXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se/chapters/cxxi)

Philip recalls Cronshaw's words about the power of fancy, which influence his acceptance of his new path.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se/characters/cronshaw
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/of_human_bondage_se/characters