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5.0étoiles sur 5
Obsessions in trust, Jui 12 2008
They say you never really get over the important exes in your life. But Soames Forsyte takes that to weird, creepy levels.
In fact, his obsession with his estranged wife Irene is the one aspect of "In Chancery," the second novel in the Forsyte Saga, that remains unchanged. The brilliant John Galsworthy changes just about everything else for the noveau riche Forsytes, as the older generations pass away and younger ones take their place -- and he also crams it with plenty of scandal, love and obsession.
It's been twelve years since Irene left Soames. When Dartie runs off to Buenos Aires with a dancer, Soames advises his cousin Winifred to divorce her wayward husband.
Soames has a similar problem: he desperately wants a son, and has a new wife lined up, but is still technically married to Irene. Though he hasn't been faithful himself, he's determined to ferret out imagined love affairs of hers as grounds for divorce. So he sends his cousin Young Jolyon over to Irene -- but it isn't long before his possessive passion toward Irene is rekindled.
And to make things more complicated, a mutual attraction has sprung up between Jolyon and Irene, infuriating Soames further. But Jolyon has caused scandal before for love, and he's willing to do it again, shocking the entire Forsyte clan with his new romance -- and what comes from it. And as Soames chases the life he feels he's been cheated of, his time with Annette isn't going to be the way he wanted...
John Galsworthy once stated that the Forsytes never change. But twelve years in a rapidly-shifting era is a long time, and there's been a lot of changes since "A Man of Property." Younger Forsytes are replacing the dying elders, and the stuffy, male, money-centric focus of the big respectable clan is starting to fade away. Just about the only thing that hasn't changed is Soames, and his obsession with Irene.
Galsworthy's dignified, detailed prose is still very much here. He hadn't lost his knack for delicate, simple descriptions of beauty and suppressed emotion, and he can conjure exquisite images with only a few words (June is described as having "red-gold hair and her viking-coloured eyes, and that touch of the Berserker in her spirit"). It's like having the words painted with vivid colors.
Though the plot deals with scandalous sexual affairs, stalking, family infighting, divorce and other fun topics, Galsworthy never resorts to soppy, sordid melodrama to get the point across. But he also relaxed his style in "In Chancery" -- one entire chapter is from the jumbled, fragmented point of view of Soames' dying father, showing that Galsworthy definitely wasn't restricted to just one style.
Soames remains a fairly repellent creature in this book. His narrow vision of the world and his hypocrisies (it's okay for him to have lovers, but not Irene) keep him from ever realizing what drove his wife away. His obsession with what he considers "his" takes him to stalkerish heights -- and that obsession is more about wanting to "own" her, and being driven nuts because he can't have her.
Irene remains a complete mystery -- all that can be learned of her is through others' eyes. But the more likable Forsytes have grown and changed -- passionate June, the worm romantic Young Jolyon, the strong-willed Winifred and her wastrel husband, and Winifred's tormented teenage son Val. Poor Val ends up being the most three-dimensional character of all, since he's left ashamed and angry of his dad.
"In Chancery" shows that while some things change, a few never do -- including Soames' unhealthy obsession with his ex-wife. Dramatic, beautiful and striking.
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