Customer Reviews

The Man of Property (The Forsyte Saga)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First book in The Forsyte Saga, the first trilogy about Galsworthy's family, the Forsytes. I have always known that this is a classic; i can remember Mum & Dad watching "The Forsyte Saga" on BBC, when i was under ten. I've thought about reading it at various times since then, when i 've seen parts of the Sage in various libraries, but have never taken the plunge. What a fool i was. This book is wonderful. It is not fast-paced; there is not a lot of action; there aren't thrills and spill for the average modern reader raised on television and motion pictures. What it does have, however, is a delicately portrayed family of characters, nice (in the older sense) irony, gentle interplay between people, and a carefully told story of the disintegration of an engagement, and the loss of a marriage. Very definitely written about the late Victorian Age (it takes place in 1884), some of the people's attitudes are radically (literally, other-rooted) different from the prevailing views of the Western world today. Soames' musings about marriage, the duty of his wife, and his exercise of his rights with her, would not stand today; fascinating they are, though, as a view into our great grandparents' world. Roll on the next two books of the trilogy.

This is a surprisingly good read. While many of the characters are pompous and dull, the writer never is... and although it takes a long time for a truly sympathetic character to come on the scene, there is never any confusion as to the point of view being presented.

The book takes an interesting look at the drive for ownership that infected English society then, as it infects all relatively prosperous societies then and now. The characters are clearly portrayed, laughable and lovable, or despicable, or merely human.

The plight of Irene, a beautiful woman, desired but regarded as an asset by her husband, is one that fascinates and terrifies me as a female reader. Thank god we were not born in that time!

Once upon a time, not so long ago, wives were practically considered the property of their husbands.

But this antiquated idea is only one that John Galsworthy quietly slashed apart in the first book of the Forsyte Saga, "the Man of Property." With his intricate plot and lush old-style writing, Galsworthy introduces us to a snobby upper-middle-class family who begins to disintegrate in the changing times.

The vast Forsyte family has come together to celebrate June Forsyte's engagement to a young bohemian architect, Philip Bosinney -- except for June's father, who eloped with the governess and is now shunned by his family.

Among the guests are the stuffy, domineering Soames Forsyte and his quiet, unhappy wife Irene -- though she conditionally agreed to marry him, she doesn't love him. But Soames regards Irene as his most valuable piece of property, so he decides to get her away from London. At the same time, the patriarch Jolyon starts to kick off family disapproval, and goes to see his estranged son.

Soames contracts Bosinney to design a country house, hoping that his work will appeal to Irene's "artistic" sensibilities. And it does -- too much. An attraction starts to flower between Bosinney and Irene, leading to a furtive affair and the promise of yet more scandal. And Soames' determination to "own" Irene leads to tragedy...

Written in 1906, "The Man of Property" was written in a time before the world of England's upper crust changed forever -- sort of an English "Age of Innocence." And while Galsworthy's first Forsyte book can be sees as the portrait of a disintegrating marriage, it can also be seen as the portrait of the Forsytes overall -- stuffy, gilded, and extremely eager to forget the working class roots a few generations back.

Galsworthy paints this time in a flurry of lush, dignified prose , filled with slightly mocking notes about the Forsyte family, and tiny gestures and expressions that convey more than actual dialogue could ("Huddled in her grey fur against the sofa cushions, she had a strange resemblance to a captive owl"). Yet there are touching moments too, like Old Jolyon paying a visit to his estranged son and his lower-class second wife, and the grandchildren he has never met. The awkwardness, love and pain in these scenes is truly astounding.

As for the main characters of this drama, the little love rectangle is handled delicately. No soap opera dramatics -- just a married woman in love with her best pal's fiance, and who is raped by her angry husband. Galsworthy was a staunch advocate of women's rights, so you can guess how he treats this contemptible act.

Ironically, the "man of property" is the one whose head we get into the most, and Galsworthy allows Soames' own narrow thoughts to speak for him. Irene is all vague seductive elusiveness, as she is to Soames, but there are a robust supporting cast, including the spirited June, the kindly aging Old Jolyon, the fussy aunts, and the artistic rebel Young Jolyon.

"The Man of Property" causes his own marriage's downfall, in the beautifully crafted tale of a family that never changes, in a time when change was about to strike. Definitely a must-read.

The Forsyte Saga, Book One

To me, this is a story of Human Feelings that connect all of us. The Forsyte are a tree with many branches sitting in a park of the threes just like theirs: the Owners of Lands and Houses and Wives and the Society in general; but they all are connected to the EARTH from which all feeds and all grows. Thus the feelings, uniting all of us, are not unreachable for them: beauty and pity, love and compassion, companionship and understanding... The desire to POSSES: who does NOT have it? More or less, we all are OWNERS, "men of property", and we want it: it is in our human nature, after all. I feel for Somes. He really did his best with what he got, with what he felt and knew. He is just a human, just like Irene and Bossini. And now...

"A divorce! Thus close, the word was paralyzing, so utterly at variance with all the principles that had hitherto guided his life. Its lack of compromise appalled him; he felt--like the captain of a ship, going to the side of his vessel, and, with his own hands throwing over the most precious of his bales. This jettisoning of his property with his own hand seemed uncanny to Soames. It would injure him in his profession: He would have to get rid of the house at Robin Hill, on which he had spent so much money, so much anticipation--and at a sacrifice. And she! She would no longer belong to him, not even in name! She would pass out of his life, and he--he should never see her again!"

My Mom loves the series and have been telling me for a while now that I should read it. I am glad I finally started. It is a true encyclopaedia on human nature.

Victoria Evangelina Belyavskaya

I guess this is the original version of this series (which I didn't know existed). Be aware that it is in Black and White. Although I do like the performances of the characters in the 2006 color version better, I still enjoyed this earlier version and would recommend it.