Leo Martínez
Cholera is the disease at the centre of the 2006 film adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's novel, 'The Painted Veil'. The film, starring Naomi Watts and Edward Norton, depicts an English couple caught up in a cholera epidemic in 1920s rural China. The disease is waterborne, and the film portrays the impact of the outbreak on the community, with daily burials and abandoned corpses in the streets. The protagonist, Walter Fane, is a bacteriologist, and his role in the film provides insight into the field of public health.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Type of disease | Cholera |
| Setting | Rural China |
| Time period | 1920s |
| Symptoms | Not mentioned explicitly, but described as "harrowing" |
| Treatment | Quarantine, doctors working around the clock |
| Outcome | Death |
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What You'll Learn
Cholera epidemic in the 1920s
Cholera is an ancient disease, with the ancient Greek physicians Hippocrates and Galen describing an illness that may have been cholera. There are also references to a cholera-like disease in the fertile delta plains of the Ganges River in ancient texts. However, most of what we know about the disease is from the modern era.
The first cholera pandemic is thought to have originated in the Ganges Delta in 1543, and was described by the Portuguese historian Gaspar Correa as "moryxy". The disease reportedly killed its victims within 8 hours of showing symptoms. The first cholera pandemic of the 19th century began in 1817 in India, and spread to most of India, Burma (Myanmar), and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). By 1820, it had spread to Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and China.
The second cholera pandemic lasted from 1826 to 1837 and particularly affected North America and Europe. The third pandemic, from 1846 to 1860, was the deadliest, killing 23,000 people in Great Britain alone in 1854. The fourth and fifth pandemics were less severe, but still resulted in deadly outbreaks.
The sixth cholera pandemic lasted from 1899 to 1923, and was the context for the novel and film "The Painted Veil". The film depicts an English couple caught up in the cholera epidemic in the 1920s, with the bacteriologist Walter attempting to control the disease by creating a system of aqueducts to transport clean water. However, cholera-carrying refugees from elsewhere arrive in the area, and Walter ends up contracting the disease and dying.
The sixth pandemic was especially lethal in India, Arabia, and along the North African coast, with over 34,000 people perishing in Egypt in three months and 4,000 Muslim pilgrims dying in Mecca in 1902. Russia was also severely affected, with over 500,000 deaths in the first quarter of the 20th century. The pandemic caused small outbreaks in some ports of western Europe but did not reach the Americas. After 1923, cholera receded from most of the world, although endemic cases continued in the Indian subcontinent.
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Cholera's impact on victims
Cholera, a waterborne disease, is at the centre of the plot of The Painted Veil, a novel by W. Somerset Maugham, and its film adaptation. The story follows an English couple, Walter Fane and Kitty, caught up in a cholera epidemic in 1920s China.
The disease takes a heavy toll on its victims, with harrowing scenes in the book and film depicting the impact of cholera on those infected. In the story, people are dying in large numbers, with daily burials and abandoned corpses on the streets. The outbreak causes a depressing effect on the community, with doctors working tirelessly to attend to the ill and people ordered to quarantine at home. The fear experienced by the population is palpable, and the precariousness of life is ever-present.
As a deadly disease, cholera had devastating physical effects on those it infected. Once a person contracted cholera, there was little that physicians could do at the time, even though the disease may have been better understood in the 1920s than in John Snow's time. The character of Walter Fane, a bacteriologist, plays a crucial role in promoting public health and trying to control the spread of the disease. He creates a system of aqueducts to transport clean water, but the arrival of cholera-carrying refugees from elsewhere brings a new challenge.
The impact of cholera on Walter and Kitty's lives is significant. Walter sets up a camp for the refugees outside town but eventually contracts the disease himself. Kitty, his wife, nurses him devotedly, but he succumbs to the illness, leaving her devastated and pregnant. The epidemic serves as a backdrop to the story of forbidden love, self-discovery, and redemption, triggering a transformation in Kitty's character.
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Cholera's impact on the community
Cholera, a waterborne disease, wreaked havoc on the community depicted in "The Painted Veil." The novel, written by Somerset Maugham, and its subsequent film adaptations portray the devastating impact of a cholera epidemic on a rural Chinese community in the 1920s.
As the outbreak sweeps through the region, the community is plunged into a state of fear and despair. People are dying in large numbers, with daily burials and abandoned corpses lining the streets. The sense of mortality and the precariousness of life is palpable. The community is ordered to quarantine, confining them to their homes, and doctors work tirelessly to attend to the ill. The disease casts a depressing and harrowing shadow over the entire population.
The protagonist, Walter Fane, a bacteriologist, finds himself at the forefront of the public health response. He creates a system of aqueducts to transport clean water, a crucial intervention in the fight against waterborne cholera. However, their progress in controlling the outbreak is short-lived as cholera-carrying refugees from elsewhere arrive in the area. Walter sets up a camp for them outside town, but he too falls victim to the disease, succumbing to it despite his best efforts.
The cholera epidemic serves as a crucial backdrop to the story, triggering a transformation in the main characters, particularly Kitty Garstin, who is forced to confront her own mortality and the realities of life in a cholera-stricken community. The community's struggle against cholera adds depth and urgency to the narrative, highlighting the fragile nature of human life and the limitations of medical knowledge and intervention in the early 20th century.
The depiction of cholera and its impact on the community in "The Painted Veil" is so powerful that it prompted concerns about censorship from the Chinese production company involved in the 2006 film adaptation. They requested revisions to the scenes portraying the cholera victims, highlighting the sensitivity and significance placed on the disease's representation in the story.
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Cholera-carrying refugees
In the 2006 film adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's novel, The Painted Veil, cholera-carrying refugees arrive in the area from elsewhere. The film depicts the cholera epidemic of the 1920s, with the lead characters Walter and Kitty caught in the midst of it.
Cholera is a highly transmissible disease that is endemic to parts of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America. It is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, which is ingested through contaminated food or water. The disease can spread rapidly in densely populated settings, such as refugee camps, where sanitation and hygiene are often inadequate. Overcrowding, unclean water, and improper waste disposal further increase the risk of cholera transmission.
Refugee camps often face challenges in providing adequate water and sanitation facilities for their inhabitants. For example, during the 1994 cholera outbreak in the North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the influx of 500,000-800,000 Rwandan refugees resulted in a rapid relocation of a large population. This led to a shortage of clean water and sanitation facilities, contributing to the spread of cholera. Similarly, the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, which hosts nearly 340,000 refugees, experienced the largest cholera outbreak in its history from November 2015 to June 2016, with 1,797 cases reported.
To prevent and control cholera in refugee settings, specific protocols have been outlined. These include pre-training health center staff, stocking sufficient oral rehydration and intravenous fluids, improving sanitation and hygiene facilities, and designating separate areas for cholera treatment centers. Oral cholera vaccination campaigns have also been implemented in some refugee populations, such as in Mae La, Thailand, where more than 36,000 refugees were vaccinated in 2013.
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Walter's death from cholera
Cholera is a waterborne disease. In the 1920s, it was better understood than in John Snow's time, but once someone was infected, there was little a physician could do. In the novel and film The Painted Veil, Walter Fane, a bacteriologist, and his wife, Kitty, are caught up in a cholera epidemic in rural China. Walter creates a system of aqueducts to transport clean water, but cholera-carrying refugees arrive in the area, and he sets up a camp for them outside town. Walter contracts the disease and dies, despite Kitty's loving nursing.
In the novel, Walter Vane, an intense bacteriologist, falls in love with Kitty, an impulsive beauty who agrees to marry him to avoid the humiliation of attending her younger sister's wedding alone. The couple moves to Hong Kong, where Kitty embarks on an affair with the assistant colonial secretary. In the film, Walter's character is enhanced, and he and Kitty fall in love.
The film depicts the cholera outbreak and its victims, and the Chinese production company requested that these scenes be revised. The director threatened to remove his name from the film, and the cuts were limited to 38 seconds. The novel includes harrowing scenes of how cholera affects its victims and the depressing effect on the community. People are dying, there are daily burials, and abandoned corpses on the streets. Doctors work around the clock to attend to the ill, but death is everywhere.
Walter's role as a bacteriologist in the film gives a strong connection to public health. As the film progresses, he becomes a promoter of public health, and his actions allow viewers to see the impact of jobs in public health on the population.
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Frequently asked questions
Cholera.
Cholera is a waterborne disease.
Cholera is a deadly disease that was better understood in the 1920s than in John Snow's time. However, once someone was infected, there was little a physician could do.
Walter Fane contracts cholera and dies from the disease.
