THE SILVER BOX BY JOHN GALSWORTHY

INTRODUCTION

John Galsworthy (14 August 1867 – 31 January 1933) was an English novelist and playwrighter. Notable works include The Forsyte Saga (1906–1921) and its sequels, A Modern Comedy and End of the Chapter. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1932.

Galsworthy was born at what is now known as Galsworthy House (then called Parkhurst) on Kingston Hill in Surrey, England, the son of John and Blanche Bailey Galsworthy. 

John Galsworthy (1867-1933) was educated at Harrow and studied law at New College, Oxford. He travelled widely and at the age of twenty-eight began to write, at first for his own amusement. 

Meanwhile he had written a considerable number of novels, short stories, and plays. The Forsyte Saga was continued by the three volumes of A Modern Comedy, The White Monkey (1924), The Silver Spoon (1926), Swan Song (1928), and its two interludes A Silent Wooing and Passersby (1927). To these should be added On Forsyte Change (1930), a collection of short stories.

THEME

The Silver Box is a three-act comedy, the first play by the English writer John Galsworthy. It was originally produced in London in 1906, and attracted much attention. In New York it was first seen in 1907.

In the play, the disappearance of a cigarette box (the silver box) leads to a comparison of the behavior of the son of a prosperous politician, with that of an unemployed man, and the exposure of attitudes of different social classes.

The Silver Box contains a social satire on unjust social partiality. The play is an appeal for compassion and sympathy for the poor who invariably suffer. It indicts the society for its contrasting treatment of two men, Jack and Jones, the one belonging to the affluent section and the other to the vertically opposite.

It is intended to focus on the partial treatment of the rich and poor in the play The Silver Box by John Galsworthy.

Law which is equal for all is ruthless and unjust towards the weak and helpless. The purpose of this paper is to portray both the characters with all their doings. However both the characters are found equally guilty in the play, then arise the role of wealth and social status in the court which makes Jack a respectable gentleman and the miserably poor Jones guilty. This paper will highlight the mastery of Galsworthy in portraying the reality of the 20th century English society and the Legal system and making the audience to be the real judges between Jack and Jones.

Character Sketches

Barthwick:

Barthwick, the father of Jack in “The Silver Box “ is a hypocrite. He belongs to the Liberal Party and is a Member of Parliament. He uses slogans expressing his sympathy for the poor and the downtrodden but backs out when he has to act. He is very keen on safeguarding the honor of his family. He is shocked to find that his son Jack has an illicit relationship with a disreputable woman, and also stolen her purse containing a little more than seven pounds. When the woman threatens to take action if the money is not restored to her, Barthwick gives her eight pounds which is much more than what his son owes her.

Mrs.Barthwick:

Mrs. Barthwick is similar to her husband in certain respects and dissimilar in certain other respects. Like her husband, she is harsh towards servants. She complaints that servants are no longer loyal but conspire against their masters.

 

Mrs. Barthwick is kind to her son Jack despite his misconduct. She pets him and lovingly enquires about his headache, even after coming to know about his liaison with a low woman. Mrs. Barthwick has a touch of humanity of which her husband is devoid. She hears the sound of Jones’s little son crying for his mother and is moved to tears. She asks her husband to withdraw the case against the Jones’ but he declines, saying that it is out of his hands. There is no love lost between the Barthwicks. After Roper leaves, they swear at each other.        Barthwick says that his wife has not the imagination even of a fly. Mrs. Barthwick retorts against him by saying that he is a coward and that his expression of sympathy for the poor is a mere pose.

Jack:

Jack, son of the Barthwicks, is irresponsible rogue (behaving differently from other similar people). He does not do any work to support himself. He has been educated at Oxford but does not seem to have acquired any skill. He is utterly dependent on his father. Even his tailoring expenses are met by his father. He gives a cheque to the tailor without enough money in his account. He contracts an illicit relationship with a disreputable woman. He knows the woman is too poor to pay rent for her house and yet steals her money. To justify his action, he says that he took her money merely to ‘score’ her off. When she comes to his house to recover the money, he first tries to shake her off by saying that he does not know her. Barthwick is worried about the need to safeguard the reputation of his family. Though he is the only child of the family, Jack does not realize it is his responsibility to protect his family. In the court, he does what he has been briefed to do by the solicitor Roper. He says that he has never seen Jones. He denies having admitted Jones into his room and encouraged him to drink whisky. He suppresses the truth about his affair with an unknown lady. Instead of admitting the truth that he spent the night with his mistress he says that he spent the time in the theatre and having drunk champagne excessively. Leaving the latchkey in the door, he fell asleep on the sofa. Jones or his wife might have taken ‘the things’. He does not specify what ‘the things’ are, for fear that it would lead him to admit his having stolen his mistress’s purse. While giving evidence, he hesitates some times, which indicates that his conscience is still alive. But though he feels uneasy to reel off lies, he never confesses the truth. When the trial is over and Jones is led to prison, Jack feels immensely relieved and walks out of the court with a triumphant air.

Jones

Jones represents the lower strata (a group of people in it who are similar in their education, income, or social status.) of society. Galsworthy deliberately avoids presenting him as model to be followed. In fact, he loads with most revolting vices. He is presented as an incorrigible drunkard, beating his wife and even suspecting her fidelity (quality). He drives her out of home late in the night and then follows her to find out if she has any lovers running after her. Jones’s drinking, which is the most cause of all his vices, is due to his not getting a job in spite of his ceaseless search. He is disgusted not only with rich employers who look at him most scornfully but also with trade unionists who arrange rallies and demonstrations of hordes of unemployed men and women only to get money out of them. He says that he would rather starve than search any more for a job. Does Jones love his wife and children?  Jones’s first argument is that he took the silver box when he was in a drunken state and that one is not responsible for what is done in a drunken state. The magistrate’s counter-argument is that if this trend continues unchecked one would deliberately get drunk and commit a crime afterwards and escape punishment. Jones’s second argument is that he did not steal the box but merely ‘took’ it. This explanation irritates the magistrate most. He says sarcastically that taking away the thing that does not belong to one is called stealing. Jones’s last argument is that Jack is also a drunkard and a womanizer; he also has stolen a poor woman’s purse but has escaped scot-free thanks to his father’s affluence, whereas his (Jones’s) crimes are magnified and nobody understands that the society which did not give him a job is primarily responsible for his crimes. The magistrate, influenced by the solicitor Roper, turns a deaf ear to Jones’s plea. Jones is sentenced to a month’s rigorous imprisonment. What will happen to him after release from prison? This theme is taken up by Galsworthy in his play Justice which shows a man released from prison not getting a job and finally committing suicide.

Mrs .Jones

Mrs. Jones is described by Jones as a very meek (quiet, and doing what other people say without asking questions) woman who does not have the spirit even of a louse (a small insect that lives on the bodies of animals and people). She is ill-treated by her husband who goes to the extent of suspecting her fidelity. Yet, she does not break with him. She is advised by a maidservant to divorce her husband but she never thinks along these lines. She is the only person in the play who traces effects to causes. She says that her husband drinks because he is employed and commits crimes because he is in a drunken state Mrs. Jones is deeply attached to her children. It is most painful to see her working as a charwoman in different houses to support her three children. She talks to the magistrate about her children, he says that this is an irrelevant matter and she meekly agrees with him. At the end of the play also she does not do anything violent to protest against her husband’s imprisonment. The magistrate acquits her alone. She knows how difficult it is to get a job. She makes a worthless appeal to Barthwick to help her but he makes a gesture of refusal and walks out of the court. What will be the fate of Mrs. Jones and her children?