Somerset Maugham’s Mr. Know-All
Allusions
to God’s Attributes in Mr. Kelada's character
According to Christian Theology, God has many attributes.
For example, God is: Good, Eternal, Holy, Infinite, Infallible.
Three of God's most well-known attributes are the three “all-encompassing”
ones, omni-
* God is all-powerful (omnipotent),
* God is everywhere-present (omnipresent,
ubiquitous)
* God is all-knowing (omniscient).
Curiously enough, Maugham mentions them when referring to the
protagonist, Mr. Max Kelada.
1. Omnipotent –
this is referred to implicitly, when we are told that
“He (i.e. Kelada) ran
everything. He managed the sweeps, conducted
the auctions, collected money for prizes at the sports, got up quoit and golf
matches, organized the concert and arranged the fancy-dress ball.”
“Mr Kelada would
certainly have had it all his own way”
“He had us at his mercy”
“Well, there are plenty more where that came from, and if
you`ve got any friends on board, you tell them you’ve got a pal who’s got all the liquor in the world.”
2. Omnipresent
–
“He was everywhere and always”.
3. Omniscient –
“We called him Mr. Know-All… He knew everything better than anybody
else”
“The possibility that he could be mistaken never occurred to him” (i.e., he is infallible,
another attribute of God)
“He knew everything better than
anybody else”
* * *
Well, what do you think?
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