Khazar university

Who are Forsytes?

Galsworthy gives such a description to Forsytes. A „Forsyte‟ is a man who is de-cidedly more than less a slave of Property. He knows a good thing, he knows a safe thing, and his grip on property – it doesn‟t matter whether it is wives, houses, money or reputation- is his hall-mark. It‟s their wealth and security that makes everything possible; makes your art pos-sible, makes literature, science, even religion possible. Without Forsytes, who believe in none of these things, but turn them all to use, where should we be? It was told by Young Jolyon to Bosinney. The author finds more touching ways of disclosing of forsytism as a wide spread social phenomenon. He points out that Forsytizm is not limited with the frames of one family, they are more than one can imagine. The writer achieves organic unity between comprehen-sive scientific analysis of Forsytizm as a characteristic phenomenon of the English reality and figurative expression of its essence. The epithets, parallels, metaphors are aimed to reach the goal. Their appointment is to promote more sharply to the readers about the notion of Forsy-tizm. Thus, through them the author discloses what money and property means to Forsytes.

From the plots of both of “The Forsyte Saga” and “Modern Comedy” is seen that, the unity of Beauty and proprietorship does not and cannot exist. Either fight or peace of Forsytes turns the beauty to its opposite. The process of getting rid of the remnants of past and gaining new features could be a very long termed and conflictive. For example: Irene represented beauty, which was opposite to her husband and his class, but she could not stand on her idea and not to marry Soames, then after marriage to divorce easily, it took her so much time to take courageous steps and leave Soames forever. So, her ideas, attitude towards beauty also were limited by the Forsytes. She differed greatly. She could not act against such a big mass of Forsytes, it threatened her. Her being so cautious about expressing herself and silent be-haviour was originally the ideas of Galsworthy, because he was quite remote from revolution. But he could not force himself and not to show the inner sides of Forsytes and durability of their conception. From the other sides he nearly could see the future and understand that, one day Forsytizm will collapse and that‟s why he tries to show the first symptoms of it. So, Galsworthy the little triumph of Beauty and John grows as a poet. Art, Poetry equivalent to Beauty should have another kind of basis, but not Forsytizm.

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But it does not mean that the plots of two trilogies are roughly interconnected with each other. Each group of novels has its quiet an independent structure which is related to another novel with structural components.

On a wide plan, in the Forsyte cycle, Beauty comes on to surface as an important cha-racteristic nearly of everything which stands alone against the world of Forsytes.

Forsytes are the people who think only about practical things, they are involved in money, property, which can be gathered and showed to other people. When we say property, we mean everything, house, family, wife, child, reputation, respect, etc. generally, the main indicator of Forsytizm is to think of everything his property. It is very easy to have a property for them, they do not need to think about something, because, as they say, they have money, and they can buy everything. Forsytes never tried to create something new, because they have everything ready, others make for them, and they are aristocrats. A Forsyte can only think about his property, they are nearly slaves of property. So, a person who is a not Forsyte, can not live with them, they are too dull. Even some of them who have a taste of Art and Beauty never tried to create something new, only enjoyed the created by others. Art and Beauty are the matters to get profit for Forsytes, they cannot feel the essence of morality.

The author showed Forsytizm directly and visually. In reality, their property driven character was so obviously seen.

Forsytes take measures in order to safe themselves, and not to have damp against them. One of the Forsyte members, Young Jolyon¹³ considers that, James “is the perfect spe-cimen of a Forsyte”. (14, p.188) Also Galsworthy spoke about his limitations, his having no imagination: “his nose, like the nose of a sheep, was fastened to the pastures on which he browsed”. (14, p.68) He did not like to see other people at his home. From the all sisters and brothers he was the most light-minded person, he didn‟t think of anything except money. “Of all the brothers he was least remarkable in mind and person and for that reason more likely to live forever”. (14, p.69)

Reading the strict rules of them and their characteristics, one can think that, The For-syte Kingdom would safely continue forever. Though the Tree of Forsytes is deep-rooted, it is not so much firm and stable. So, one of the major themes of “The Man of Property” is their decline. Galsworthy shows not only cracks of their edifice, but also collapse. The traces of

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13. 
    Galsworthy‟s narrator in the 1^st book
    

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this destruction can be seen from the very beginning, when the entire members gathered “At Old Jolyon‟s”. Then the death of Aunt Ann, her funeral also continues the cracks of the Great Tree, though they tried to live forever. All the Forsytes gathered and showed the unity before the great cracks. They “gathered for a last proud pageant before they fell”. (14, p.97)

Though there are a lot of family problems, which existed long before, the introduced main problem of the Forsytes is the relation between Irene and Bosinney. All the members have their own petty or great problems, but their specific characteristic features, which are common for them, give an opportunity to be closer to each-other, and to show a unity before other people. But it does not mean that, they can unite for one purpose. The author devoted the beginning of the novel to such a gathering, where “no branch of which had a liking for the other, between no three members of whom existed anything worthy of the name of sym-pathy”. (14, p.3) Though the family shows tolerance towards each-other, in fact some member even cannot bear to be together. “June disliked him. He returned the sentiment. They were of the same blood”. (14, p.51)

Soames Forsyte has a problem with June‟s grandfather. Their relations are not good for a long time; it is not related only with Irene. “There was, and always had been, a subtle antagonism between the younger man and the old. It had lurked under their dry manner of greeting, under their non-committal allusions to each-other, and arose perhaps from old Jolyon‟s perception of quiet tenacity…of the young man, of a secret doubt whether he could get his own way with him”. (14, p.144)

Old Jolyon wanted to punish James and Soames, because they did not obey the rules of Forsytes‟. So this shows another crack of the Forsyte Tree. Actually, the collapse of the Forsyte clan was inescapable and very wide. This crack did not need another affair, which was shown as a reason, such as Irene and Bosinney‟s affair. But it fastens the decline of the Forsytes‟.

In fact, Irene and Bosinney gain more respect. It is not related with their work of help in the decline of the Forsytes. They are representatives of True Art and True Beauty, which is very interesting for the author, too. Because Galsworthy wanted to prove that, there is a way of development from an animal to a human being; so to be developed means to be a human. But we can‟t say that, Galsworthy trimmed “The Forsyte Saga” with a variety of humanistic scenes. He could not do it, because the society itself lacked a lot of humanistic ideas. And the Forsytes are the leading members of that society. They were not interested in Art and Beauty; they were busy with money making. The higher things, moralities were not to their taste,

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which “marks them as belonging in fiber and instincts to that great class which believes in nourishment and flavor, and yield to no sentimental craving for beauty”. (14, p.41)

The description of Swithin‟s dining room shows their life-style and interests one more time. There “a cut-glass chandelier filled with lighted candles hung like a giant stalactite above its centre, radiating over large gilt-framed mirrors, slabs of marble on the tops of side-tables, and heavy gold chairs with crewel-worked seats”. (14, p.35)

But Soames Forsyte differs from Swithin. Thus, to his mind, to gather expensive things, to show them to the guests is not so much important. Instead he buys valuable pieces of Art. Unfortunately, his point of view according to Art and Beauty differs greatly from Irene and Bosinneys, generally from humanistic people. Because his aim of buying pieces of Art is to sell them for a good price. So, Art is a means of earning money for him. From the other side we can see that that, Soames has a good taste to value a good piece of Art.

Forsytes could not understand the essence of the problem between Soames and Irene. They estimate this situation from their world outlook and cannot see the moral misunders-

tandings between the couple. “Most people would consider such a marriage as that of Soames and Irene quite fairly successful; he had money, she had beauty; it was a case for compromise. That was no reason why they should not jog along, even if they hated each oth-er. It would not matter if they went their own ways a little so long as the decencies were ob-served…. The advantages of the stable home are visible, tangible, so many pieces of property;

there is no risk in the status-quo. To break up a home is at the best a dangerous experi-ment…”. (14, p.192)

Love and Beauty are symbolized by Irene and Bosinney. The author relates these cha-racters with Art which he thinks is a moral power, which can change the world of property, Forsytism, add to it harmony and feelings which lack there. Irene with all her charm and beauty is set against Soames and, in general, the world of Forsytes, which is disgusting with its worship of money of low people. Beauty here is an intended and divertive symbol which in real cannot endure Forsytizm and the people of property alone. In the world of Forsytes Irene is alone, that‟s why she is passive, she can‟t act and force against such a big society, and her objection is understood by the words of the author, as a character she could not protest open-ly. The abstractness of her ideals can be observed in the character of Bosinney. Thoughts of liberty and its importance are observed in the relations between Art (Bosinney) and the world of property, which kills his talent by purchasing it. As a people of a high cultural level, though without property, Irene and Bosinney compromised Forsytes. As Galsworthy wrote to his sis-ter, he was obliged to show Irene and Bosinney from the distance, only with the eyes of oth-

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ers, in the perception of other acting faces; so the author wants to show that on the surface Beauty and Liberty compromise and yield without war, but in fact this was the defeat of For-sytes, because Beauty and Liberty morally and culturally are of high level, they aren‟t able to force, to war and also they are few comparing with Forsytes.

Though Forsytes don‟t accept the death of Bosinney as their defeat, and all the things remain unchangeable in the world of Forsytes, the author gives a hint that with this death are related the first cracks of the family roots. Galsworthy shows it symbolically-the death of Bo-sinney-the strike of lightning to a Forsyte tree, which stands only on the basis of proprietor-ship. Reflecting over the death of Bosinney Young Jolyon comes to conclusion that it will re-ally affect the Forsyte family. The strike is bang on the center. Because Soames was one of the important members of the family, also he was from second generation and also the strike was not on the surface, it was from the center. Bosinney died and Irene can leave, because now everything is known to everyone, her relation with Bosinney, the unhappy family life of Soames with Irene, etc. So, generally Galsworthy presaged that the stable and durable existence of Forsytes cannot continue so much time as was in the XIX century and it will end up, so it was the time when he wrote “The Man of Property” which tried to show historical events symbolically.

The criterion of evaluating of money according to Forsytes is suitable to all the defini-tions of Forsytism. Even in the relation between father and son, even the love for children comes through proprietorship egoism. In the background of such love- is the relation between the men of property towards to his inheritors. For example; James and Soames looked at each other as a capital, invested to a solid enterprise. Both of them took care of other‟s welfare and were pleasant with his surrounding.

This criterion of evaluating of money has a great role between brothers, too. Here it is related with business struggle, which governs both in the Forsyte clan and bourgeois society at all. Each of the six brothers fears that others may have more property. The list of wedding presents, the value of which depends on the property of a fiancé was set to the rules of market.

One of the outstanding achievements of Galsworthy is portraits of Forsytes. Painting them with little, but expressive features, he could show indissoluble relation of individual and typical. Each Forsyte has his/her “Unique Me”.

If the Forsyte - a townsman, as a rule, is a stranger for the beauty of fields he tries to change the nature, and thus the verb “to have” and its synonyms squeeze the nature. Soames chooses a place for building a countryside house, he is oppressed by the silence of the land, but the beauty opened before catches him as Irene‟s beauty caught him four years ago.

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