The House of Doors

Penang, 1921

Willie violently wakes from a nightmare. His room is sparse, but he has a photograph of his mother. Outside his window, he can see a casuarina tree and, further away, Lesley gazing at the sea. He passes the Hamlyns’ and Gerald’s rooms as he heads downstairs, admiring Lesley’s watercolor paintings. He finds the Hamlyns reading newspapers and thinks of his surprise at finding Robert aging and infirm, a contrast to the handsome man he remembered.

Willie notes tension between the Hamlyns. He suspects that Lesley casts him a knowing glance about Gerald, who is still abed after a heavy night of drinking. Willie heads outside to write in his journal, pausing to admire an ancient pinang tree. He pens a brief description of Cassowary House, then flips back in his journal, though he quickly stops reading, finding the past entries too painful. He turns instead to the notes he has taken on the colonial history of Penang. This brings further unwanted thoughts of a fight with his wife, Syrie. He watches the work of a Tamil gardener, whose movements offer Willie literary inspiration.

Lesley brings Willie his mail from Singapore, offering advice regarding rates for a ride to town before bustling off to give instructions to the gardener in Malay. Ignoring a letter from his wife, Willie happily opens a package from his publisher containing a copy of his latest book, then turns to a letter from his lawyer, which informs him that an investment has failed, leading him to lose all his money. Lesley notices his dismay, but Willie blames his colitis. He dislikes her fussing, so he distracts her with his book, On a Chinese Fan. She asks about his travels in China, inquiring after Sun Yat Sen, a former president of China whom she knew during his time in Penang. Willie talks about the brutal poverty he witnessed in China, his usual stammer briefly vanishing.

Willie notes Lesley’s interest in China, which is uncommon in the Europeans he knows, who mainly ask for news of London. He regards her carefully and decides she is striking but not beautiful. He offers her the copy of On a Chinese Fan, but Lesley prefers to wait until the book is available at their bookshop. She departs, and Gerald hails him from his balcony. Though the sight of his lover bolsters him, Willie is weighed down by his financial loss. 

Penang, 1921

Lesley thinks about Willie’s distress as she takes a rickshaw into town, noting the recent increase in motorcars filling the roads. She had been apprehensive about Willie’s two-week visit but noted how it led to Robert’s uncharacteristic high spirits. Robert cautions against speaking freely around Willie, noting that Maugham was rumored to be a spy during World War I and that, as a writer, he likes to turn others’ secrets into plots. Lesley dislikes this. She is further angered when Robert mentions he wishes to leave Penang for South Africa, which his doctor has advised for his health. She believes her husband has timed Willie’s visit to distract her.

Lesley recalls Willie’s arrival, which left her feeling ambivalent about the writer and his secretary. The men discuss their experiences in the war, which led to Robert’s illness, and Lesley realizes that Willie and Gerald are lovers, which her husband already knew. She is shocked but does not react, instead asking about how Willie and Robert met. They recall a literary luncheon 25 years prior and the subsequent year as roommates. Gerald makes an unflattering comment about Willie’s wife, leading Lesley to wonder if Syrie knows of Willie’s affair. Gerald recounts nearly being caught in a tidal bore in India, leading Robert to recount a similar story about Alexander the Great. Lesley realizes she cannot recall the last time she and Robert laughed together. The electric lights make Lesley nostalgic for a time before they were available, leading her to think again to Sun Yat Sen. She wishes to write to him but doesn’t know where to find him due to political instability following the 1911 revolution. She resolves to find his address.

The narrative returns to Lesley’s journey to town as she arrives at St. George’s Church. Rather than entering the church, she continues down the road, passing different religious houses from various faiths. She turns onto Armenian Street, which she has not visited for years. When Robert was at war, she frequently visited the shophouses, using them as inspiration for her painting. She arrives at a house and asks for the Tong Meng Hui, an underground revolutionary society founded in part by Sun Yat Sen, but they are no longer there. She laments this, despite knowing that the group is defunct. She visits a house at the end of the street, touching the sooty door before turning around and heading back to St. George’s Church.

Penang, 1921

Willie asks the head servant, Ah Keng, to telegraph a message to his lawyers in New York. Ah Keng tells Willie to shift to writing “decent stories.” Willie and Gerald go to the beach, where Willie irritates Gerald with his restlessness. Gerald assumes Syrie’s frequent requests for money have caused Willie’s stress, but Willie blames his lingering illness. Unable to relax, Willie returns to the house, where he encounters Lesley and Robert’s doctor, Dr. Joyce. The doctor scolds Lesley for her reluctance to move to a dry climate, which will help Robert’s lungs. Willie visits the house’s library, first seeking out his own books, then admiring the extensive collection on Chinese history and art, which belongs to Lesley. Her collection on China begins in 1910. He observes a photo of Lesley wearing a Chinese-style dress—uncommon for a European woman.

Willie returns to his room, where Lesley is arranging a requested writing desk, but asks that it face the wall instead of the scenic view out the window. They discuss Willie’s ideas about a book based on Sun Yat Sen, and Leslie asks that Willie be fair in his description. She offers him a book about Sun’s life in Penang; Willie wishes for her impressions of the revolutionary. Lesley admires the photograph of Willie’s mother, then asks if he has one of his wife; he does not. She asks for On a Chinese Fan and notes the positive effect Willie’s visit has on Robert. After Lesley departs, Willie reflects that, despite her assurances, she clearly understands that Robert’s condition will worsen and prove fatal.

Willie recalls his first trip to East Asia. He and Gerald traveled for eight months, visiting Hong Kong, Shanghai, and China. The narrative shifts to the past, and Willie recalls Syrie’s resentfulness of his absence. In memory, the two passive-aggressively quarrel over whether to call their daughter Elizabeth or Liza and argue about her wearing the Chinese-style clothes Willie brought home for her. Willie enjoys his time in England, particularly time spent writing and playing with his daughter, but he misses Gerald, and wanderlust soon sets in. Syrie seeks reassurance that he is attracted to her, but Willie rebuffs her sexually. He tells her that when his book is complete, he will return to America and then East Asia. She wishes to go with him, which he refuses, citing his need to write alone. He says they can divorce. Syrie screams, sobs, and throws a heavy glass at Willie. The next day, as Willie prepares to depart, Syrie acts as though nothing is wrong between them. He sails to New York, happy to see Gerald, and the two continue to California, then Hawaii, Sydney, and Singapore, traveling at their leisure.

In the narrative present, Willie laments that he needs to begin a new book, foregoing his travel schedule. He adopts a routine, taking an early morning walk, breakfasting with the Hamlyns, then writing until lunchtime. He lunches with Gerald and the Hamlyns, then spends his afternoons with Gerald. Both men recover from their illnesses, and Gerald begins frequenting brothels. Willie is unconcerned with Gerald’s sexual exploits, though he fears any indiscretion that may lead to his own embarrassment or exposure.

The couple discuss the Hamlyns’ marriage; Willie finds something interesting and unconventional about Lesley, while Gerald sees her as “just another woman in the colonies stuck in an unhappy marriage” (51). Gerald comments on rumors that Lesley and Sun were close, implying a sexual relationship between them. Willie asks Gerald to see what else he can learn.

Penang, 1921

Lesley finds Gerald and Willie to be easy houseguests, though she finds Gerald lazy. Lesley and Willie spend most evenings together. She reads On a Chinese Fan, imagining herself in China, though she knows she will never visit. After several more failed attempts to locate Tong Meng Hui members, she visits her brother, Geoff, the owner of the Penang Post. Lesley tells Geoff of Willie’s proposed book, which Geoff frames as a potential political coup for Sun, as a sympathetic profile by the famous author could lend the revolutionary influential support. She explains her interest in writing to Sun, but Geoff reminds her that the Tong Meng Hui no longer exists—most of its members captured or killed fighting in China.

Lesley shares her husband’s interest in relocating to South Africa, insisting she won’t leave Penang. She gossips about Willie and Gerald’s relationship, but Geoff insists their sexual relationship is private. Geoff wants an interview with Willie; Leslie offers to facilitate the interview in exchange for her brother asking his contacts at the Kwong Wah newspaper about Sun. He agrees but reminds her that Dr. Sun is unlikely to ever return to Penang.

Robert, Willie, and Lesley sort through the numerous invitations Willie has received when Gerald arrives, bleeding. He confesses to a fight with some Chinese gamblers, whom he describes using racial epithets. Gerald is dismissive of his injuries, but Willie is embarrassed at the scene. Lesley realizes that one of the invitations, from Noel Hutton, can help her obtain Sun’s address. She urges Willie to attend, emphasizing that his readers will be disappointed if he leaves Penang without making a public appearance. Willie agrees, saying it will be like “the old days” with Robert (59).

The group eats a dinner of local dishes. Lesley emphasizes the numerous influences that developed Penang’s unique cuisine. Lesley says there is nowhere else she would want to live. She admires the art she has collected over the years, most with East Asian influences. Willie comments on a painting, belonging to Robert, by French artist Paul Gauguin. Gerald recounts a story wherein he and Willie visited Tahiti and paid a man two hundred francs for a painting on a door that was crafted by Gaugin. Robert calls the purchase a “bargain,” but Lesley opines that they “cheated” the original owner. Irritated, Gerald leaves for town. Lesley cannot imagine why Willie cares for Gerald, speculating that the reason is sexual, though she is unsettled by the thought of two men having sex.

Robert turns the conversation back to Willie’s writing. Lesley expresses surprise that strangers open up to Willie so freely; Willie says that many people feel an “urge to confess” to wrongdoing (63). Robert, a lawyer, rejects this notion, saying it is impossible to get the full truth from someone. Willie says it is the task of the writer to fill in the unknown portions and decide how a story ends. They discuss Maugham’s 1921 short story, “Rain,” in which a missionary attempts to reform a sex worker, and Willie expresses admiration for the absence of hypocrisy in the woman who inspired the story’s protagonist. Robert retires, and Willie and Lesley discuss Robert’s shell shock and intention to move to South Africa. Willie offers to move to a hotel, but Lesley forbids it. She declares she won’t leave Penang and asks if Willie would relocate for his wife. Instead of answering directly, Willie reports that Robert lent him the money that enabled him to start his career as a writer. Lesley later thinks this changes her view of Robert, but she still feels she does not see her husband clearly.

Penang, 1921

A telegram from Willie’s lawyers insists he return to London to mortgage his home and sell his art collection to cover the losses from his bad investment. He begins a list of tasks, then pauses, considering that he will not be able to afford another trip like this in the foreseeable future. Further, he doesn’t know when he will see Gerald again once he returns to London. He fears that Gerald will leave him now that he is without money.

Gerald arrives with information about Lesley: Her mother operated a boarding house after Lesley’s father died, Lesley taught at a local school, and she possibly has some Chinese heritage. He learned little of her relationship with Dr. Sun, merely that she was a supporter of his cause. Gerald requests money, which Willie reluctantly gives him, though he doesn’t confess his financial troubles. Gerald kisses Willie and makes sexual overtures; Willie’s financial worries disrupt his arousal. Willie blames this on struggles with a story.

Willie feels dispirited that writing, normally a comfort, is adding to his recent troubles. He encounters Lesley on the veranda; she asks him for an interview on behalf of her brother. He is initially reluctant before reminding himself that he needs all the help he can get to sell books. He agrees. The two discuss marriage, and Lesley alludes to the sexual relationship between Willie and Gerald. Their conversation turns to their children and Willie’s childhood in Paris. They muse that stories can ensure that people will never be forgotten after they die. Willie says that children can do the same, but Lesley counters that children have their own lives to live. She relays a Malay legend that if one stands under a casuarina tree under a full moon, it will tell your future, though she has never heard such whispers.

Penang, 1921

Lesley, Gerald, Willie, and Robert drive to Noel Hutton’s party. Willie suspects an affair between Lesley and Dr. Sun despite hearing no gossip to this effect. The party is full of guests, both from European and East Asian communities, who wish to meet Willie. As he politely greets his fans, Willie realizes Robert is flagging, and Lesley has abandoned their group. He slips away from the party, taking refuge in the library. He spots Lesley, who is anxiously watching an elderly Chinese man, Loh Swee Tiong. Noel interrupts before he can watch further, drawing Willie back to the party.

Later, Willie manages to slip away again, taking the stairs down toward the beach that he’d seen Lesley take. She asks him to sign a book for Loh’s son; the son is soon returning from China, where he traveled to fight for Dr. Sun. They look out over the water, and Willie confesses to dreaming of owning a villa that overlooks the sea. Lesley asks why he doesn’t, and his mood falls, though he tries to hide it. They discuss Willie’s inspiration for writing, and he opines that every good story must have love in it. She muses at the sadness of a love that had to be kept secret, and probes as to why so many of his books contained adultery. He replies that he is interested in the conditions of human weakness that lead to adultery, though denies judging his characters when Lesley suggests it. 

Penang, 1921

Lesley is relieved to return home after the party, though she is greeted by the frustrating news that Geoff cannot locate Sun’s address. She recalls her conversation with Loh, a prominent philanthropist. Loh reported that Dr. Sun is ill and expressed regret that Dr. Sun ever came to Penang, as he feels the revolutionary cost him his son, who has sent no letters in two years. He told her that Sun is moving constantly in China to avoid threats of violence. Lesley offered to get the book signed and returned to him. Loh asked how she knew about his private donation to the Tong Meng Hui.

Later that night, Lesley can’t sleep and goes downstairs, where she encounters Willie. He is reading A Man of the Southern Seas, the book on Dr. Sun. She reveals that her brother is the author. She notices Willie’s strain, and he confesses he has struggled with his writing. She asks about the symbol in his books, which he identifies as a hamsa, a symbol that represents protection from the evil eye and a sword breaking through darkness to let in light. Lesley likens the symbol to a casuarina tree. Willie asks Lesley to play the piano; she performs a song based on a Paul Verlaine poem, which Willie is able to recite without stammering. Lesley tells Willie that she wants to tell him a story.