The Razor's Edge

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1944

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Literary Devices

Authorial Intrusion

Authorial intrusion is when the author breaks into the narrative to explain or comment on some element of the story. Maugham does this on several occasions. For example, in the opening paragraph of Part 1, where he speaks to the reader about his misgivings about calling his story a novel, or in the opening of Part 6, where he tells the reader they can skip this chapter.

Normally, this would be different from a fictional first-person narrator breaking into the narrative to speak to the reader. Maugham, however, places himself in a curious position as both the invisible author behind the narrative and as a fictional version of himself as a character within the story. This technique blurs the line between the author and the character, so it is never completely clear to what extent the intrusions are intended to be read as coming from Maugham the author or Maugham the character. For example, it is ambiguous whether Maugham the author really has reservations about writing this story, or whether this is entirely his fictional self speaking.

Authorial intrusion can be employed to different effect depending on the author’s intent. It might be used to make humorous or ironic observations, to raise suspense, or to give the reader context. In this story, the effect is playful without being comic. It challenges the reader to exercise their ability to hold multiple points of view in their head at the same time and sort out which point of view is dominant at any given time.

Frame Narrative

In a frame narrative, one story plays out within another. In The Razor’s Edge, the primary narrative is Larry’s quest. The frame is the fictional Somerset Maugham telling the story. Usually, the frame story has its own objective apart from that of the primary narrative. For example, the fictional Maugham is sharing Larry’s story in the hope that, if Larry ever does change the world, his biographers will find Maugham’s memories useful.

The frame device can give context to a story that might otherwise seem unfocused or disconnected. Maugham uses his opening chapter to tell the reader that they should be looking for the ways in which Larry influences those around him. This is helpful because Larry actually appears relatively little on the page, and Maugham spends a great deal of time on character studies and backstories of other people. If a reader weren’t told that Larry ties them all together, they might wonder why the narrative follows all these charming but apparently unconnected people.

Finally, the story told by the fictional Maugham also contains first-person narratives related to him by other characters like Larry and Suzanne. This kind of frame is relatively common, as it is a convenient device for conveying information to the reader that the point-of-view character cannot have seen.

The Hero’s Journey

Joseph Campbell’s universal monomyth—more commonly known as “the hero’s journey”—is often associated with fantasy adventure, mythological heroes, and epic poetry. Campbell, who draws from Jungian analytical psychology, describes the journey thus:

A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man (Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Joseph Campbell Foundation, 2020).

However, The Razor’s Edge is evidence that the arc of the hero’s journey also appears in literary fiction. Despite the term universal, the hero’s journey doesn’t appear in every story. Isabel’s story, for example, is complex and dynamic, but if The Razor’s Edge were written from Isabel’s point of view, it wouldn’t take the shape of a hero’s journey. Larry offers Isabel a call to adventure when he asks her to marry him; once Isabel refuses that call and goes home to marry Gray, her story takes an entirely different shape.

Larry’s quest for enlightenment begins with a call to adventure in the death of his friend, which raises the questions that drive him. He refuses the call by taking a passive role in his search for meaning. Larry wonders if he is even worthy to pursue such a lofty goal. His journey can only begin in earnest after Isabel (guardian of the first threshold, an element of the monomyth) releases him from the constraints of family and social class.

Crossing the first threshold, Larry undergoes tests and trials, from working underground in the mine to traveling across country with Kosti, who acts as a mentor, inspiring Larry to turn his quest from the physical world to the metaphysical. Larry’s passivity results in his encounter with Ellie, which ultimately brings on his dark night of the soul from which he emerges to take a more active role in his quest.

Larry then wanders for a few years, trying one thing after another—sex, art, religion, work. Nothing gives him the answers he seeks until he finds his way to the Hindu monastery. There, on a mountaintop, he experiences symbolic resurrection and union with the Infinite. Transformed, he returns to the ordinary world, bringing what he has learned. He faces his final challenge with Sophie and prepares to sacrifice himself for her. Isabel intervenes and sacrifices Sophie in his stead. Having shown his willingness to give himself up, Larry can now return to the ordinary world, sharing the boon he has been given.