I wanted to see their love affair develop instead, I got to see Soames making another woman’s life miserable. Also, Galsworthy seemed to stop telling the story of Irene and Jolyon. Part of that may come from the fact that I loathed Soames far more than I did during the first part. This section didn’t feel as developed as the first. The younger, Edwardian, generation makes personal choices that are in stark contrast to those that the image-important Victorian generation would make. (page 421)Įach generations of Forsytes gains more self-consciousness, and therefore less interest in the public appearance of things.
My father had a little, but I don’t believe any of other of the old Forsytes ever had a scrap. How and when self-consciousness was born I never can make out. We may live to their age, perhaps, … but self-consciousness is a handicap, you know, and that’s the difference between us. He is of the second generation, speaking to his cousin: A few second-generation families must decide what is most important to them: reputation or happiness.Īgain, young Jolyon Forsyte seems to put the difference between the generations in perspective best. However, divorce is the only way to pursue the path necessary for happiness. Divorce was a scandalous public occurrence, and no one in the family wants the shame. The Forsytes certainly face rather hopeless predicaments in the turn-of-the-century England, as this section revolves around two significant divorce cases in the Forsyte family. According to Merriam-Webster, “in chancery” now means: When I first began this section, I mistakenly thought “Chancery” was a place. In fact, in the third novel ( To Let) I only felt a strong emotional draw in the very last scene as Soames reflects on his life. As the characters became less likable (first Soames, and then his daughter Fleur), I also felt like I could not relate to their emotions as much.
In a sense, the first novel was powerful because of the strong emotions the main characters faced. Galsworthy’s writing was just as beautiful and the stories were just as interesting in terms of the social history they tell, but I failed to relate to or enjoy the characters as much as I enjoyed The Man of Property. My thoughts on the first novel of the trilogy were complimentary these thoughts are a bit more mixed. In essence, to me they felt like merely sequels to a powerful novel.
While I still enjoyed In Chancery and To Let, the second two novels of The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy felt less developed, less powerful, and less important. I may receive compensation for any purchased items. Posts written from review copies are labeled. Note: I occasionally accept review copies from the publisher.
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