- Email: [email protected]
Study of Archetypal Narrative Pattern in The Forsyte Saga
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Procedia Engineering
Procedia Procedia Engineering 00 (2011) Engineering 15000–000 (2011) 80 – 84 www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia
Advanced in Control Engineeringand Information Science
Study of archetypal narrative pattern in The Forsyte Saga SUO Juanjuan* College of Arts,Hebei University of Engineering,Handan056038, China
Abstract The paper deals with the archetypal narrative pattern and illustrates the development of U-shaped plot in The Forsyte Saga and inverted U-shaped plot in the Iliad, which is supported by the displacement ideas of Northrop Frye. By analyzing the archetypal narrative pattern of The Forsyte Saga and comparing the structures of the two works, the inner connection between the ancient Greek tragedy and the modern novel is dug out, and the primeval, collective unconscious shared in the psychic inheritance of all members of the human family are illustrated. The Forsyte Saga is inevitably a mirror that reflects the culture of the ancient Greek society.
© 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of [CEIS 2011] Keywords:John Galsworthy; The Forsyte Saga; Archetypal Narrative Pattern; Iliad
The narrative pattern in The Forsyte Saga a trilogy, written by John Galsworthy, who received the Nobel Prize in 1932 for his distinguished art of narration, is a characteristic of archetype[1]. There is a correspondent relationship in narrative patterns between The Forsyte Saga and the Iliad. Through the analysis on the archetypal narrative pattern of The Forsyte Saga and comparison between the structures of the two works, the inner connection between the ancient Greek tragedy and the modern novel will be dug out, and the primeval, collective unconscious shared in the psychic inheritance of all members of the human family will be illustrated. The Forsyte Saga is inevitably a mirror that reflects the culture of the ancient Greek society. This viewpoint offers a tool to perceive the relationships and differences among society, history, and culture. The Forsyte Saga is a comedy with the sense of tragedy and irony. It is in a U-shaped pattern which is marked out by some archetypal images. At the same time, absolutely different from the Iliad, a tragedy, in narrative pattern, The Forsyte Saga inherits some characteristics of the great epic.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +86-3108576526; fax: +86-3108576526. E-mail address: [email protected]
1877-7058 © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2011.08.017
2
SUO Juanjuan /al/ Procedia Engineering 15 00 (2011) 80 000–000 – 84 SUO Juanjuan,et Procedia Engineering (2011)
Narrative pattern of the Iliad is an inverted U-shape, while that of The Forsyte Saga is U-shaped, which is just contrary to the Iliad’s. A tragic or comic plot is not a straight line. Comedy has a U-shaped plot, with the action sinking into deep and often potentially tragic complications, and then suddenly turning upward into a happy ending. Tragedy has an inverted U, with the action rising in crisis to a peripety and then plunging downward to catastrophe through a series of recognitions, usually of the inevitable consequences of previous acts. But in both cases what is recognized is seldom anything new; it is something that has been there all along, and that, by its reappearance or manifestation, brings the end into line with the beginning [2]. The Forsyte Saga inherits an important point of Iliad, the possession instinct. In the two works, a series of events centered on the possession instinct show amazing similarities. 1. Myth and Archetypal Narrative Pattern Myth and Archetypal narrative pattern have close relationship. In Galsworthy’s narrative pattern, similarities with the story of Tory can be seen. In other words, from the view of narrative pattern, The Forsyte Saga is a modern edition of Trojan. 1.1. Narrative Pattern of the Iliad According to Northrop Frye’s theory, the coherence of the Iliad’s narrative structure as a whole is created by an “inverted U-shaped pattern” typical of tragedy. In fact, Iliad makes extensive use of inherited mythic materials. But it is not merely a retelling of traditional stories. Literary devices such as the use of dialogue and of an omniscient narrator allow the poet to impose his own perspective on the myths. Further, the author has shaped the received material into a specific literary form, the epic. The choice of the epic form — traditionally, for the Greeks, the highest of the genres ― establishes the author’s conviction of the seriousness and grandeur of his subject. A long narrative poem celebrating the achievements of a culture and the deeds of a hero who protects it, the epic is itself an expression of pride in one’s civilization. Besides, the repetition of epithets, of phrases, of verses and passages, of standard themes and motifs gives the Iliad a distinctive flavour that will become enervating if carried too far. Throughout the whole poem, the repetition of three recurring motifs, such as the dual destinies, the image of the scales, and the two urns, indicates the essential freedom of individuals.Homer centers the Iliad squarely in the human world in this extraordinary poem that tells a story which ends where it starts. It is in an inverted U shape. It is a great tragedy. 1.2. Narrative Pattern of The Forsyte Saga For The Forsyte Saga, its narrative pattern is opposite to the Iliad: a roughly U shape. The entire Forsyte Saga which can be viewed as a divine comedy is contained within a U-shaped story of this sort. The whole trilogy has three parts: The Man of Property, In chancery, and To let. In the first part, Galsworthy tells of the conjugal misfortunes of a wealthy London notary, Soames Forsyte whose sensual passions are frustrated by his young wife’s coldness. Her love is awakened when she meets Philip Bosinney, the architect commissioned by Soames to build him a luxury house at Robin Hill. Soames’ efforts to assert his rights over his wife drive her into adultery. Bosinney is so disturbed at learning that Irene has been raped by her husband that he is knocked down and killed by a cab in the fog. This is a climax in The Forsyte Saga. Then, in the second part, In chancery, Soames wants a child to whom he can leave his fortune. He has to divorce first. He needs proof of Irene’s adultery, and goes to see her. But once
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in her presence his old passion reawakens. He offers to forgive her. But Irene is no longer the defenceless creature he had known. She resists him and appeals to young Jolyon. Soames’ rage brings them together. Soames obtains a divorce, and remarries with a young Frenchgirl, Annette. The whole story ends with the wedding ceremony of Michael Mont and Fleur, while Jon and his mother, Irene, prepares to go abroad. Since neither Soames nor Irene dies, the whole story has a happy ending, and it ends where it starts. It is in a U shape. It is a divine comedy. Just as the images of the sales and the two urns run through the inverted U-shaped Iliad, the U-shaped narrative pattern of The Forsyte Saga is outlined by a series of archetypal images such as the cab and the tree. 2. Archetypal Image 2.1. Archetypal Image of Cab The image of cab appears early in Chapter Two, Part One of The Man of Property. It is by a Hansom cab that Old Jolyon goes to the opera. As a class distinction of social status, the cab is the most significant vehicle often used by the upper classes at the end of 19th century in London. The images of cab run through the whole trilogy. Besides the symbol of the traditional power, the cab acts as a role of a boundary. In the evening at Richmond, there is the long drive home. The long drive, the warm dark and the pleasant closeness of the hansom cab arouse Dartie’s inordinate ambitions to Irene. It is in this small space where the irrational factors will dominate the mind of human beings. Boundaries are physical, tangible lines drawn around places people live. These external boundaries can mirror internal boundaries and indicate a movement from one level of consciousness to the unconsciousness. Actually, the boundary between the inner and the outer world of cab serves to keep the inners within and make outsiders be afraid to enter. In the outer world, one must pay attention to his words and deeds, and wears a mask of civility; while in the cab, he can do what he wants at will. Boundary serves either to enclose or to separate one thing from another. 2.2. Archetypal Image of Oak Tree Another important image in The Forsyte Saga is the oak tree.The story of oak tree can be traced to the relics of tree-worship. The worship of the oak tree or of the oak god appears to have been shared by all the branches of the Aryan stock in Europe. Both Greeks and Italians associated the tree with their highest god, Zeus or Jupiter, the divinity of the sky, the rain, and the thunder. Thus among the Celts of Gaul, the Druids esteemed nothing more sacred than the mistletoe and the oak on which it grew; they chose groves of oaks for the scene of their solemn service, and they performed none of their rites without oak leaves. “The Celts worship Zeus, and the Celtic image of Zeus is a tall oak.” says a Greek writer[3]. Influenced by the oak tree myth, Galsworthy uses this image as a thread of his story, which combines The Man of Property, In Chancery, and To Let into a whole. From the significant work, The Golden Bough, written by Sir James Frazer, the origin of the worship for oak tree can be found. Undoubtedly, it will help people to do further research in other literary works. The oak tree in The Forsyte Saga represents the years past, simultaneously, represents the future. It implies the eternal spirit in life. For Galsworthy, this image not only shows the integrated plot, but also reveals the effect of religious rites on modern life and its significance. 3. Comparison of Narrative Pattern between Iliad and The Forsyte Saga
3
SUO Juanjuan /al/ Procedia Engineering 15 00 (2011) 80 000–000 – 84 SUO Juanjuan,et Procedia Engineering (2011)
4
Besides the special archetypal images running through the trilogy, some similarities of narrative pattern between the Iliad and The Forsyte Saga can be shown in the table 1. Tab. 1 Similarities of narrative patterns between Iliad and The Forsyte Saga Factors
Iliad
The Forsyte Saga
Narrative pattern
an epic (inverted U-shaped plot)
a family saga (U-shaped plot)
Nature of war
for property and honour
for property and honour
Source of war
Helen ( between two kingdoms)
Beginning
the wrath of Achilles
the angry of Soames
Climax
the killing of Hector
the death of Bosinney
Reversal
Achilles back into the fight
the leaving of Irene
Arbitration tribunal
the gods
the court
Conclusion
Troy ― doomed
Robin Hill ― to let
Irene (between two branches of a family)
This table can be explained as follows. Although the Iliad is an epic, and The Forsyte Saga is a family saga, they are both monumental works. They share some characteristics in some aspects. Epic refers to a poem that celebrates in the form of a continuous narrative the achievements of one or more heroic personages of history or tradition [4]. Saga refers to an Old Norse word meaning “story”, applied to narrative compositions from Iceland and Norway in Middle Ages. There are three main types of sagas: family sagas, dealing with the first settles of Iceland and their descendants; king’s sagas, historical works about the king of Norway; and legendary or heroic sagas, fantastic adventure stories about legendary heroes[4]. Epic is similar to saga in that both narrative forms look back to an age of heroic endeavour. The two works are devoted to one theme: disturbing Beauty impinging on a possessive world. The reason of Trojan War is that Menelaus’s wife, Helen, has been stolen away by the Trojan prince Paris. In The Forsyte Saga, the contradictions between two branches of the Forsytes are further intensified by Irene. She has been stolen away by young Jolyon, which is the source of the family rivalry. The two cases are both wars, though one is a true war, filled with blood and terror, the other is a peaceful war, filled simply with agony of hearts. As the victims, women have no rights to choose their lives, and they are simply as goods or properties of men. The two works ironically prove that beauty is one of the properties. In addition, the heroes appeared in the two works fight for honour. In Iliad, the warriors such as Achilles, Patroclus and Odysseus fight for their lord’s honour, or fight for their countries; in The Forsyte Saga, Soames and young Jolyon are all concerns for their own honour and their family’s honour. It is typical that Soames should offer money to try and hush matters up. The beginnings of the two works are all centred on the wrath of one side that is reduced to inferiority. The opening of Iliad describes the great quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon. Moreover, the wrath of Achilles runs through the whole Iliad. In The Forsyte Saga, Soames nurses a grievance for the excessive association between his wife and Bosinney. He is violently angry. The climaxes of the two works display the extreme form: death. In Iliad, Achilles determines to avenge Patroclus’s death, and kills his friend’s enemy, Hector. While in The Forsyte Saga, Soames sues Bosinney and asserts his rights over his wife in a combination of thwarted passion, which leads Bosinney
83
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SUO Juanjuan / Procedia Engineering 15 (2011) 80 – 84 SUO Juanjuan / Procedia Engineering 00 (2011) 000–000
into death and drives Irene into adultery. The death of Hector and Bosinney undoubtedly propels the plot forward, and makes the confliction reach the extreme. The arbitration tribunal determines the dispute in the two works. In Iliad, the gods have participated in the war. They took sides, notably Hera, Athena, and Poseidon for the Greeks, and Aphrodite, Apollo, and Ares for the Trojans. The gods have power to make decisions on the outcome of a war and the fate of the people. In The Forsyte Saga, the function of court is mentioned three times. The first time is that, Bosinney is charged by Soames because he spent a sum considerably in advance of the amount Soames had originally contemplated in the matter of Somes’s house. The last one is about the lawsuit of “Forsyte v. Fosyte and Forsyte”, which makes Soames divorce Irene whom he never wants to lose. Actually, through the displacement, the god’s will in Iliad is changed into the court’s will in The Forsyte Saga, and both of them can determine the disputes. Though the endings of the two works are different, there are some similarities between fate of the Troy and the Robin Hill. In Iliad, at all events, the monumental poet leads his great construction into a powerful and unexpected conclusion. Troy, with Hector’s death, is doomed. In the The Forsyte Saga, the fate of Robin Hill constructed by Bosinney using great efforts is to let. In spite that the plot of “to let” contains some hopes, like Troy, the Robin Hill is full of a sense of tragedy. 4. Conclusion In short, restraint, delicacy, lightness, variety and lyricism are Galsworthy’s essential qualities as a novelist, and contribute to the mellowness and soft charm of his novel. The Forsyte Saga is not accidental, but is deliberately cultivated by him. By using mythological archetypes in his novel, Galsworthy makes his imaginative narratives serve for providing a cognitive, unbroken connection of the present with the past and the future. Galsworthy’s method of using mythological archetypes is the result of his philosophical approach to the Greek myth, Arthurian legends and their usage in novel.It shows that Galsworthy is deeply influenced by the western culture. Acknowledgements The work was supported by the Youth Foundation of Hebei University of Engineering, and the Social Science Development Program of Hebei Province. References [1] Galsworthy, John. The Forsyte Saga. Hamondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd., 1978. [2] Frye Northrop. Myth, Fiction, and Displacemen. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.; 1970. [3] Frazer James. The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. Ware: Wordsworth Editions Limited; 1993. [4]Drabble Margaret. Ed. The Oxford Companion to English Literature, 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1985.
5
Procedia Engineering
Procedia Procedia Engineering 00 (2011) Engineering 15000–000 (2011) 80 – 84 www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia
Advanced in Control Engineeringand Information Science
Study of archetypal narrative pattern in The Forsyte Saga SUO Juanjuan* College of Arts,Hebei University of Engineering,Handan056038, China
Abstract The paper deals with the archetypal narrative pattern and illustrates the development of U-shaped plot in The Forsyte Saga and inverted U-shaped plot in the Iliad, which is supported by the displacement ideas of Northrop Frye. By analyzing the archetypal narrative pattern of The Forsyte Saga and comparing the structures of the two works, the inner connection between the ancient Greek tragedy and the modern novel is dug out, and the primeval, collective unconscious shared in the psychic inheritance of all members of the human family are illustrated. The Forsyte Saga is inevitably a mirror that reflects the culture of the ancient Greek society.
© 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of [CEIS 2011] Keywords:John Galsworthy; The Forsyte Saga; Archetypal Narrative Pattern; Iliad
The narrative pattern in The Forsyte Saga a trilogy, written by John Galsworthy, who received the Nobel Prize in 1932 for his distinguished art of narration, is a characteristic of archetype[1]. There is a correspondent relationship in narrative patterns between The Forsyte Saga and the Iliad. Through the analysis on the archetypal narrative pattern of The Forsyte Saga and comparison between the structures of the two works, the inner connection between the ancient Greek tragedy and the modern novel will be dug out, and the primeval, collective unconscious shared in the psychic inheritance of all members of the human family will be illustrated. The Forsyte Saga is inevitably a mirror that reflects the culture of the ancient Greek society. This viewpoint offers a tool to perceive the relationships and differences among society, history, and culture. The Forsyte Saga is a comedy with the sense of tragedy and irony. It is in a U-shaped pattern which is marked out by some archetypal images. At the same time, absolutely different from the Iliad, a tragedy, in narrative pattern, The Forsyte Saga inherits some characteristics of the great epic.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +86-3108576526; fax: +86-3108576526. E-mail address: [email protected]
1877-7058 © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2011.08.017
2
SUO Juanjuan /al/ Procedia Engineering 15 00 (2011) 80 000–000 – 84 SUO Juanjuan,et Procedia Engineering (2011)
Narrative pattern of the Iliad is an inverted U-shape, while that of The Forsyte Saga is U-shaped, which is just contrary to the Iliad’s. A tragic or comic plot is not a straight line. Comedy has a U-shaped plot, with the action sinking into deep and often potentially tragic complications, and then suddenly turning upward into a happy ending. Tragedy has an inverted U, with the action rising in crisis to a peripety and then plunging downward to catastrophe through a series of recognitions, usually of the inevitable consequences of previous acts. But in both cases what is recognized is seldom anything new; it is something that has been there all along, and that, by its reappearance or manifestation, brings the end into line with the beginning [2]. The Forsyte Saga inherits an important point of Iliad, the possession instinct. In the two works, a series of events centered on the possession instinct show amazing similarities. 1. Myth and Archetypal Narrative Pattern Myth and Archetypal narrative pattern have close relationship. In Galsworthy’s narrative pattern, similarities with the story of Tory can be seen. In other words, from the view of narrative pattern, The Forsyte Saga is a modern edition of Trojan. 1.1. Narrative Pattern of the Iliad According to Northrop Frye’s theory, the coherence of the Iliad’s narrative structure as a whole is created by an “inverted U-shaped pattern” typical of tragedy. In fact, Iliad makes extensive use of inherited mythic materials. But it is not merely a retelling of traditional stories. Literary devices such as the use of dialogue and of an omniscient narrator allow the poet to impose his own perspective on the myths. Further, the author has shaped the received material into a specific literary form, the epic. The choice of the epic form — traditionally, for the Greeks, the highest of the genres ― establishes the author’s conviction of the seriousness and grandeur of his subject. A long narrative poem celebrating the achievements of a culture and the deeds of a hero who protects it, the epic is itself an expression of pride in one’s civilization. Besides, the repetition of epithets, of phrases, of verses and passages, of standard themes and motifs gives the Iliad a distinctive flavour that will become enervating if carried too far. Throughout the whole poem, the repetition of three recurring motifs, such as the dual destinies, the image of the scales, and the two urns, indicates the essential freedom of individuals.Homer centers the Iliad squarely in the human world in this extraordinary poem that tells a story which ends where it starts. It is in an inverted U shape. It is a great tragedy. 1.2. Narrative Pattern of The Forsyte Saga For The Forsyte Saga, its narrative pattern is opposite to the Iliad: a roughly U shape. The entire Forsyte Saga which can be viewed as a divine comedy is contained within a U-shaped story of this sort. The whole trilogy has three parts: The Man of Property, In chancery, and To let. In the first part, Galsworthy tells of the conjugal misfortunes of a wealthy London notary, Soames Forsyte whose sensual passions are frustrated by his young wife’s coldness. Her love is awakened when she meets Philip Bosinney, the architect commissioned by Soames to build him a luxury house at Robin Hill. Soames’ efforts to assert his rights over his wife drive her into adultery. Bosinney is so disturbed at learning that Irene has been raped by her husband that he is knocked down and killed by a cab in the fog. This is a climax in The Forsyte Saga. Then, in the second part, In chancery, Soames wants a child to whom he can leave his fortune. He has to divorce first. He needs proof of Irene’s adultery, and goes to see her. But once
81
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SUO Juanjuan / Procedia Engineering 15 (2011) 80 – 84 SUO Juanjuan / Procedia Engineering 00 (2011) 000–000
in her presence his old passion reawakens. He offers to forgive her. But Irene is no longer the defenceless creature he had known. She resists him and appeals to young Jolyon. Soames’ rage brings them together. Soames obtains a divorce, and remarries with a young Frenchgirl, Annette. The whole story ends with the wedding ceremony of Michael Mont and Fleur, while Jon and his mother, Irene, prepares to go abroad. Since neither Soames nor Irene dies, the whole story has a happy ending, and it ends where it starts. It is in a U shape. It is a divine comedy. Just as the images of the sales and the two urns run through the inverted U-shaped Iliad, the U-shaped narrative pattern of The Forsyte Saga is outlined by a series of archetypal images such as the cab and the tree. 2. Archetypal Image 2.1. Archetypal Image of Cab The image of cab appears early in Chapter Two, Part One of The Man of Property. It is by a Hansom cab that Old Jolyon goes to the opera. As a class distinction of social status, the cab is the most significant vehicle often used by the upper classes at the end of 19th century in London. The images of cab run through the whole trilogy. Besides the symbol of the traditional power, the cab acts as a role of a boundary. In the evening at Richmond, there is the long drive home. The long drive, the warm dark and the pleasant closeness of the hansom cab arouse Dartie’s inordinate ambitions to Irene. It is in this small space where the irrational factors will dominate the mind of human beings. Boundaries are physical, tangible lines drawn around places people live. These external boundaries can mirror internal boundaries and indicate a movement from one level of consciousness to the unconsciousness. Actually, the boundary between the inner and the outer world of cab serves to keep the inners within and make outsiders be afraid to enter. In the outer world, one must pay attention to his words and deeds, and wears a mask of civility; while in the cab, he can do what he wants at will. Boundary serves either to enclose or to separate one thing from another. 2.2. Archetypal Image of Oak Tree Another important image in The Forsyte Saga is the oak tree.The story of oak tree can be traced to the relics of tree-worship. The worship of the oak tree or of the oak god appears to have been shared by all the branches of the Aryan stock in Europe. Both Greeks and Italians associated the tree with their highest god, Zeus or Jupiter, the divinity of the sky, the rain, and the thunder. Thus among the Celts of Gaul, the Druids esteemed nothing more sacred than the mistletoe and the oak on which it grew; they chose groves of oaks for the scene of their solemn service, and they performed none of their rites without oak leaves. “The Celts worship Zeus, and the Celtic image of Zeus is a tall oak.” says a Greek writer[3]. Influenced by the oak tree myth, Galsworthy uses this image as a thread of his story, which combines The Man of Property, In Chancery, and To Let into a whole. From the significant work, The Golden Bough, written by Sir James Frazer, the origin of the worship for oak tree can be found. Undoubtedly, it will help people to do further research in other literary works. The oak tree in The Forsyte Saga represents the years past, simultaneously, represents the future. It implies the eternal spirit in life. For Galsworthy, this image not only shows the integrated plot, but also reveals the effect of religious rites on modern life and its significance. 3. Comparison of Narrative Pattern between Iliad and The Forsyte Saga
3
SUO Juanjuan /al/ Procedia Engineering 15 00 (2011) 80 000–000 – 84 SUO Juanjuan,et Procedia Engineering (2011)
4
Besides the special archetypal images running through the trilogy, some similarities of narrative pattern between the Iliad and The Forsyte Saga can be shown in the table 1. Tab. 1 Similarities of narrative patterns between Iliad and The Forsyte Saga Factors
Iliad
The Forsyte Saga
Narrative pattern
an epic (inverted U-shaped plot)
a family saga (U-shaped plot)
Nature of war
for property and honour
for property and honour
Source of war
Helen ( between two kingdoms)
Beginning
the wrath of Achilles
the angry of Soames
Climax
the killing of Hector
the death of Bosinney
Reversal
Achilles back into the fight
the leaving of Irene
Arbitration tribunal
the gods
the court
Conclusion
Troy ― doomed
Robin Hill ― to let
Irene (between two branches of a family)
This table can be explained as follows. Although the Iliad is an epic, and The Forsyte Saga is a family saga, they are both monumental works. They share some characteristics in some aspects. Epic refers to a poem that celebrates in the form of a continuous narrative the achievements of one or more heroic personages of history or tradition [4]. Saga refers to an Old Norse word meaning “story”, applied to narrative compositions from Iceland and Norway in Middle Ages. There are three main types of sagas: family sagas, dealing with the first settles of Iceland and their descendants; king’s sagas, historical works about the king of Norway; and legendary or heroic sagas, fantastic adventure stories about legendary heroes[4]. Epic is similar to saga in that both narrative forms look back to an age of heroic endeavour. The two works are devoted to one theme: disturbing Beauty impinging on a possessive world. The reason of Trojan War is that Menelaus’s wife, Helen, has been stolen away by the Trojan prince Paris. In The Forsyte Saga, the contradictions between two branches of the Forsytes are further intensified by Irene. She has been stolen away by young Jolyon, which is the source of the family rivalry. The two cases are both wars, though one is a true war, filled with blood and terror, the other is a peaceful war, filled simply with agony of hearts. As the victims, women have no rights to choose their lives, and they are simply as goods or properties of men. The two works ironically prove that beauty is one of the properties. In addition, the heroes appeared in the two works fight for honour. In Iliad, the warriors such as Achilles, Patroclus and Odysseus fight for their lord’s honour, or fight for their countries; in The Forsyte Saga, Soames and young Jolyon are all concerns for their own honour and their family’s honour. It is typical that Soames should offer money to try and hush matters up. The beginnings of the two works are all centred on the wrath of one side that is reduced to inferiority. The opening of Iliad describes the great quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon. Moreover, the wrath of Achilles runs through the whole Iliad. In The Forsyte Saga, Soames nurses a grievance for the excessive association between his wife and Bosinney. He is violently angry. The climaxes of the two works display the extreme form: death. In Iliad, Achilles determines to avenge Patroclus’s death, and kills his friend’s enemy, Hector. While in The Forsyte Saga, Soames sues Bosinney and asserts his rights over his wife in a combination of thwarted passion, which leads Bosinney
83
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SUO Juanjuan / Procedia Engineering 15 (2011) 80 – 84 SUO Juanjuan / Procedia Engineering 00 (2011) 000–000
into death and drives Irene into adultery. The death of Hector and Bosinney undoubtedly propels the plot forward, and makes the confliction reach the extreme. The arbitration tribunal determines the dispute in the two works. In Iliad, the gods have participated in the war. They took sides, notably Hera, Athena, and Poseidon for the Greeks, and Aphrodite, Apollo, and Ares for the Trojans. The gods have power to make decisions on the outcome of a war and the fate of the people. In The Forsyte Saga, the function of court is mentioned three times. The first time is that, Bosinney is charged by Soames because he spent a sum considerably in advance of the amount Soames had originally contemplated in the matter of Somes’s house. The last one is about the lawsuit of “Forsyte v. Fosyte and Forsyte”, which makes Soames divorce Irene whom he never wants to lose. Actually, through the displacement, the god’s will in Iliad is changed into the court’s will in The Forsyte Saga, and both of them can determine the disputes. Though the endings of the two works are different, there are some similarities between fate of the Troy and the Robin Hill. In Iliad, at all events, the monumental poet leads his great construction into a powerful and unexpected conclusion. Troy, with Hector’s death, is doomed. In the The Forsyte Saga, the fate of Robin Hill constructed by Bosinney using great efforts is to let. In spite that the plot of “to let” contains some hopes, like Troy, the Robin Hill is full of a sense of tragedy. 4. Conclusion In short, restraint, delicacy, lightness, variety and lyricism are Galsworthy’s essential qualities as a novelist, and contribute to the mellowness and soft charm of his novel. The Forsyte Saga is not accidental, but is deliberately cultivated by him. By using mythological archetypes in his novel, Galsworthy makes his imaginative narratives serve for providing a cognitive, unbroken connection of the present with the past and the future. Galsworthy’s method of using mythological archetypes is the result of his philosophical approach to the Greek myth, Arthurian legends and their usage in novel.It shows that Galsworthy is deeply influenced by the western culture. Acknowledgements The work was supported by the Youth Foundation of Hebei University of Engineering, and the Social Science Development Program of Hebei Province. References [1] Galsworthy, John. The Forsyte Saga. Hamondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd., 1978. [2] Frye Northrop. Myth, Fiction, and Displacemen. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.; 1970. [3] Frazer James. The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. Ware: Wordsworth Editions Limited; 1993. [4]Drabble Margaret. Ed. The Oxford Companion to English Literature, 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1985.
5