The Painted Veil book cover
Last year in class we were asked to do a book cover of a book we had liked. It's funny I thought of this one. I read 'The Painted Veil' a long time ago, around my freshman year in high school. Though is not the kind of book I usually read, nor the kind of story I usually like, for some reason I really enjoyed this reading, perhaps because of how humane the characters are.
The two main characters, Kitty and her husband Walter, are just, simply put, completely flawed. They both have a distorted perspective on reality: one too frivolous, and one too cold. Not at any point in the book does the author try to hide their flaws under excuses –even if the characters themselves do try to do that–, but rather puts special emphasize on their imperfect nature. And it is thanks to these imperfections that one can really understand the beauty of the story.
For these cover I wanted to represent both Kitty and her relationship with Walter, as well as to give some context about the book.
The green wallpaper and the wooden table: being an interior scene, I wanted to symbolize how the importance of the book is not so much on what happens around the characters, but rather inside of them.
The shadow on the wall: in the form of a Chinese traditional arc foretells the setting of the story.
The veil: apart from the obvious reference to the title of the book, the veil also represents the distorted perspective of both characters. Yet the veil is being lifted to the side. Perhaps the characters will learn to see each other in truth.
The vase: Represents Kitty. I wanted to show her delicateness and beauty. I chose a light blue because is the color I associate to her. The golden cracks are again a reference to China, as well as herself and her relationship with Walter, for is in their travel to China they will start fighting for their marriage, and, in doing so, starting to heal. The narcissus are a reflection of the frivolity and vanity Kitty has at the beginning of the book, as well as a reference to her being English. Meanwhile, the lilies of the valley are a direct reference to how Walter sees Kitty: "He remembered the dress she wore; it was her wedding dress, and he said she looked like a lily of the valley."
The carnations and the lilies: the first ones symbolize love, which is one of the main themes of the book, as the story mainly explores the marriage of Kitty and Walter; the second ones symbolize on the one hand, the renewal both characters and their marriage go through, and on the other hand, the purification their love goes through.