—from The Man of Property(Chapter 1)
John Galsworthy
[1]Those privileged to be present at a family festival of the Forsytes have seen that charming and instructive sight—an upper middle-class family in full plumage .But whosoever of these favoured persons has possessed the gift of psychological analysis (a talent without monetary value and properly ignored by the Forsytes), has witnessed a spectacle, not only delightful in itself, but illustrative of an obscure human problem.In plainer words, he has gleaned from a gathering of this family—no branch of which had a liking for the other, between no three members of whom existed anything worthy of the name of sympathy—evidence of that mysterious concrete tenacity which renders a family so formidable a unit of society, so clear a reproduction of society in miniature.He has been admitted to a vision of the dim roads of social progress, has understood something of patriarchal life, of the swarming of savage hordes, of the rise and fall of nations.He is like one who, having watched a tree grow from its planting—a paragon of tenacity, insulation , and success, amidst the deaths of a hundred other plants less fibrous, sappy, and persistent—one day will see it flourishing with bland, full foliage , in an almost repugnant prosperity, at the summit of its efflorescence.
[2]On June 15, 1886 , about four of the afternoon, the observer who chanced to be present at the house of old Jolyon Forsyte in Stanhope Gate, might have seen the highest efflorescence of the Forsytes.
[3]This was the occasion of an “at home”to celebrate the engagement of Miss June Forsyte, old Jolyon’s granddaughter, to Mr.Philip Bosinney.In the bravery of light gloves, buff waistcoats, feathers and frocks, the family were present, even Aunt Ann, who now but seldom left the corner of her brother Timothy’s green drawing-room, where, under the aegis of a plume of dyed pampas grass in a light blue vase, she sat all day reading and knitting, surrounded by the effigies of three generations of Forsytes.Even Aunt Ann was there; her inflexible back, and the dignity of her calm old face personifying the rigid possessiveness of the family idea.
[4]When a Forsyte was engaged, married, or born, the Forsytes were present; when a Forsyte died—but no Forsyte had as yet died; they did not die; death being contrary to their principles, they took precautions against it, the instinctive precautions of highly vitalized persons who resent encroachments on their property.
[5]About the Forsytes mingling that day with the crowd of other guests, there was a more than ordinarily groomed look, an alert, inquisitive assurance, a brilliant respectability, as though they were attired in defiance of something.The habitual sniff on the face of Soames Forsyte had spread through their ranks; they were on their guard.
[6]The subconscious offensiveness of their attitude has constituted old Jolyon’s “home”the psychological moment of the family history, made it the prelude of their drama.
[7]The Forsytes were resentful of something, not individually, but as a family; this resentment expressed itself in an added perfection of raiment, an exuberance of family cordiality, an exaggeration of family importance, and—the sniff.Danger—so indispensable in bringing out the fundamental quality of any society, group, or individual—was what the Forsytes scented; the premonition of danger put a burnish on their armor.For the first time, as a family, they appeared to have an instinct of being in contact, with some strange and unsafe thing.
[8]Over against the piano a man of bulk and stature was wearing two waistcoats on his wide chest, two waistcoats and a ruby pin, instead of the single satin waistcoat and diamond pin of, more usual occasions, and his shaven, square, old face, the colour of pale leather, with pale eyes, had its most dignified look, above his satin stock.This was Swithin Forsyte.Close to the window, where he could get more than his fair share of fresh air, the other twin, James—the fat and the lean of it, old Jolyon called these brothers—like the bulky Swithin, over six feet in height, but very lean, as though destined from his birth to strike a balance and maintain an average, brooded over the scene with his permanent stoop; his grey eyes had an air of fixed absorption in some secret worry, broken at intervals by a rapid, shifting scrutiny of surrounding facts; his cheeks, thinned by two parallel folds, and a long, clean-shaven upper lip, were framed within Dundreary whiskers.In his hands he turned and turned a piece of china.Not far off, listening to a lady in brown, his only son Soames, pale and well-shaved, dark-haired, rather bald, had poked his chin up sideways, carrying his nose with that aforesaid appearance of ‘sniff’, as though despising an egg which he knew he could not digest.Behind him his cousin, the tall George, son of the fifth Forsyte, Roger, had a Quilpish look on his fleshy face, pondering one of his sardonic jests.Something inherent to the occasion had affected them all.
[9]Seated in a row close to one another were three ladies—Aunts Ann, Hester (the two Forsyte maids), and Juley (short for Julia), who not in first youth had so far forgotten herself as to marry Septimus Small, a man of poor constitution .She had survived him for many years.With her elder and younger sister she lived now in the house of Timothy, her sixth and youngest brother, on the Bayswater Road.Each of these ladies held fans in their hands, and each with some touch of Colour, some emphatic feather or brooch, testified to the solemnity of the opportunity.
[10]In the centre of the room, under the chandelier, as became a host, stood the head of the family, old Jolyon himself.Eighty years of age, with his fine, white hair, his dome-like forehead, his little, dark grey eyes, and an immense white moustache, which drooped and spread below the level of his strong jaw, he had a patriarchal look, and in spite of lean cheeks and hollows at his temples, seemed master of perennial youth.He held him self extremely upright, and his shrewd, steady eyes had lost none of their clear shining.Thus he gave an impression of superiority to the doubts and dislikes of smaller men.Having had his own way for innumerable years, he had earned a prescriptive right to it.It would never have occurred to old Jolyon that it was necessary to wear a look of doubt or of defiance.
[11]Between him and the four other brothers who were present, James, Swithin, Nicholas, and Roger, there was much difference, much similarity.In turn, each of these four brothers was very different from the other, yet they, too, were alike.
[12]Through the varying features and expression of those five faces could be marked a certain steadfastness of chin, underlying surface distinctions, marking a racial stamp, too prehistoric to trace, too remote and permanent to discuss—the very hall-mark and guarantee of the family for tunes.
After You Read
Knowledge Focus
1.Pair work: Discuss the following questions with your partner.
1)What is your impression of the Forsytes’ Family?
2)What event led to the family reunion in this part? What are the family members’ attitudes towards the event and why do you think so?
3)Who did the author describe as “the favored persons”?
4)What is your understanding of the sentence “no branch of which had a liking for the other, between no three members of whom existed anything worthy of the name of sympathy”?
5)What kind of person is old Jolyon Forsyte?
6)Of all the characters depicted in the part, which one is the most impressive to you? Why?
7)Could you work out a map of family tree with your partner according to the character relationships revealed in this part?
2.Solo work: Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F) according to what you learned and tell why?
____ 1)People are always welcomed to be present at a family festival of the Forsytes.
____ 2)The Forsytes is an upper middle-class family in its full plumage.
____ 3)The family has been admitted to a vision of the dim roads of social progress.
____ 4)The observer is like one who, having watched a tree grow from its planting.
____ 5)This was the occasion of an “at home”to celebrate the engagement of Miss June Forsyte, old Jolyon’s granddaughter, to Mr.Philip Bosinney.
____ 6)Aunt Ann now seldom left the corner of her brother Timothy’s green drawing-room.
____ 7)Aunt Ann’s inflexible back, and the dignity of her calm old face personify the rigid possessiveness of the family idea.
____ 8)Only when a Forsyte was engaged, married, or born, the Forsytes were present.
____ 9)About the Forsytes mingling that day with the crowd of other guests, there was a more than ordinarily groomed look.
____ 10)In turn, each of the four brothers was very different from the other, yet they, too, were alike.
Language Focus
1.Fill in the blanks with the following words you have learned from the text.
witness
obscure tenacity
formidable repugnant
efflorescence prelude permanent scrutiny
superiority
1)The athletes displayed great_____throughout the contest.
2)This is just the _____ of the great storm.
3)Although he has done something so selfless and heroic, his name remains _____.
4)Architecture, sculpture, painting, music, and poetry, may truly be called the _____of civilized life.
5)The year 1949 has _____ the establishment of People’s Republic of China.
6)The election results will undergo close_____.
7)All food was_____ to me during my illness.
8)The new student couldn’t show his sense of _____, which made him very unwelcome in the class.
9)He is an excellent player, as well as a _____ counterpart that nobody wants to meet in the first round.
10)It become harder and harder to find a well paid _____ job, especially during the crisis.
2.Complete the sentences with the proper forms of the words given.
1)In present society _____ (psychology) health has been attached as much importance as physical health.
2)He grew up in such a _____ (patriarch) where his father got much more authority than his mother.
3)Without strong _____ (evident), the judge can had no choice but to let the criminal go.
4)He has to use some painkillers to fight with his _____ (flexible) back during the rainy days.
5)The mother kangaroo was very _____ (precaution) when her baby was outside her pouch eating grass.
6)It is widely believed that women’s _____ (instinctive) are always more accurate than men’s.
7)It was out of our expectations that the young student’s _____ (offensive) didn’t displease the old professor.
8)Although it has been over 10 years, he still cannot get rid of his _____ (resentful) to his ex-wife.
9)His wisdoms and rich experiences are the _____ (dispensable) elements for the success of our plan.
10)The novel _____ (absorption) ideas from the legends of several religions.
3.Complete the sentences with the proper forms of the expressions listed below.
in full plumage
one’s gift of
be admitted to a look of
chance to
be contrary to
take precautions against
be on one’s guard be resentful of one’s share of
1)When the individuals with constant preparation _____ fulfill their plans, they are more likely to succeed.
2)The output of the project was _____ his original motive.
3)Though nothing she has said, there is _____ contempt in her eyes.
4)In such a desirable position, we have to _____ other competitors.
5)When he heard that he was _____ play on the stage with that rock star, he was wordlessly stunted.
6)Observing the crimes done by the bandits not far from them, the passengers were _____ at once.
7)You should make good use of your _____ logical analysis ability.
8)Severalofthe other leading tribes are increasingly_____ the Kikuyu, who are both the most numerous and the richest.
9)They are surely a new and influential force in the political field, yet they are not _____ at the present.
10)The weaker wolves are waiting impatiently for _____ the game.
4.Find the appropriate prepositions that collocate with the neighbouring words.
1)Those privileged to be present _____ a family festival of the Forsytes have seen that charming and instructive sight—an upper middle-class family _____ full plumage.
2)Whosoever has witnessed a spectacle, not only delightful _____ itself, but illustrative _____ an obscure human problem.
3) _____ plainer words, he has gleaned _____ a gathering of this family.
4)One day he will see it flourishing _____ bland, full foliage.
5)Death being contrary _____ their principles, they took precautions _____ it.
6)The Forsytes mingled that day _____ the crowd of other guests.
7)The Forsytes were resentful _____ something, not individually, but as a family.
8)Swithin is tall but very lean, as though destined _____ his birth to strike a balance and maintain an average.
5.Proofreading.
Comprehensive Work
1.Pair work: Read the following passage about John Galsworthy and share your information about him with your partner.
John Galsworthy (14 August 1867-31 January 1933) was an English novelist and playwright.Notable works include The Forsyte Saga (1906-1921) and its sequels, A Modern Comedy and End of the Chapter .He won theNobel Prize in Literaturein 1932.
From the Four Winds, a collection of short stories, was Galsworthy’s first published work in 1897.These and several subsequent works were published under the pen-name John Sinjohn, and it would not be until The Island Pharisees(1904) that he would begin publishing under his own name, probably owing to the death of his father.His first full length novel, Jocelyn was published in an edition of 750 under the name of John Sinjohn—he later refused to have it republished.His first play, The Silver Box(1906), in which the theft of a prostitute’s purse by a rich “young man of good family”is placed beside the theft of a silver cigarette case from the rich man’s father’s house by “a poor devil”, with very different repercussions became a success, and he followed it up with The Man of Property(1906), the first in the Forsyte trilogy.Although he continued writing both plays and novels, it was as a playwright that he was mainly appreciated at the time.Along with those of other writers of the time, such asGeorge Bernard Shaw, his plays addressed theclasssystem and social issues, two of the best known being Strife(1909) and The Skin Game(1920).
2.Group work: Make an online research on John Galsworthy’s The Man of Property.Summarize the plot of the whole novel.Discuss the themes and characterization techniques.
*Some widely accepted notions about the themes of the book:
Duty versus Desire:
Young Jolyon was the favorite of the family until he left his wife for his daughter’s governess.He eschews his status in society and in the Forsyte clan to follow his heart.Soames, though it seems he is the polar opposite of Jolyon, has those same inclinations toward doing what he desires.For example, instead of finding a wife who is rich, he marries Irene and then Annette, who have neither money nor status.When he takes Irene to a play about a married woman and her lover, he ironically sympathizes with the lover and not the husband.However, most of his decisions are on the side of duty.
Generations and Change:
The many generations of the Forsyte clan remind everyone of what has come to pass over the years.However, as the old ranks begin to die, people are able to change.For example, after a few generations, the fact that they are nouveau richedoes not matter as much.This is also the case with Soames and Irene’s marital problems.Once they grow old and their children can overcome their parents’past, Soames can finally let go of the past.Mortality is an important issue because it forces people to let go.Another change with generations is the diminished number of Forsyte offspring.Many of the second generation have fewer children.
3.Group work: Discussion.
Are you familiar with the term “American Dream”? Try to understand the meaning and the background of the term, and share your interpretation of the differences between the “American Dream”and the “Chinese Dream”with your group members.
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