《月亮与六便士》是英国著名作家毛姆的代表作之一。小说主人翁斯特克里兰德在追求自由的同时被指责不负责任，这引起许多学者的争议。本研究旨在通过文本分析，结合具体事例，试图为其在自由和责任之间的选择做出合理解释，并理解作者创作的真正意图。 首先,第一部分中主要介绍作家毛姆的生平及其文学成就，以及《月亮和六便士》的主要梗概。第二部分概括了国内外对毛姆作品的研究状况，发现少有研究从存在主义的角度分析这个作品。第三部分重点分析自由和责任两个主题：斯迪克兰追求自由，摆脱三层束缚--家庭的束缚、性欲的束缚和美的束缚，随后他自由地选择定义自己为追梦人、淫秽与神圣的结合体以及胜利者；与此同时，斯迪克兰在挣脱前两种束缚中对他人造成的“伤害”也是情有可原的，研究发现斯迪克兰抛弃的爱人、家庭和社会也被作者批评。最后在结论部分，结合沙特的存在主义，得出结论：斯迪克兰追求真正的自由，对自己负责，是一个真正存在的存在。

The Moon and Sixpence is one of the representative works of the famous British writer, William Somerset Maugham. Mr.Strickland, the protagonist, is accused of taking no responsibility in pursuit of freedom, which has stirred up a huge controversy in academic field. This thesis attempts to make a reasonable explanation for Strickland’s choice between freedom and responsibility through textual analysis and tries to reveal the real intention of the author. Firstly, Part One discusses the life and literary achievements of the writer Maugham, as well as the brief contents of The Moon and Sixpence. Part Two introduces the literature reviews of Maugham’s works at home and abroad. Part Three focuses on the two main themes: freedom and responsibility. In pursuit of freedom, Mr.Strickland got rid of three shackles: the shackle of family, that of sexual desire and, lastly, that of beauty. Then he made free choices and defined himself as a dream-seeker, an obscene and divine being, and a winner. Besides, it’s understandable that Strickland did harm to others when breaking away from the first two shackles. It figures out that the society, the family and the lovers that Strickland has abandoned are also criticized by the author. In the last part, drawing on Sartre’s theory of existentialism, it concludes that Strickland attained freedom and did take responsibility.