ñSaint's Progressî by John Galsworthy is a novel that explores the profound impact of World War I on individuals and society, focusing on themes of spiritual crisis, pacifism, and moral dilemmas. The story centers around John Lavender, a middle-aged clergyman. As the war rages on, John Lavender experiences a spiritual crisis, questioning the role of religion in a world torn apart by violence and destruction. His pacifist beliefs put him at odds with the prevailing sentiment of patriotism and duty to the nation.
Galsworthy uses John's journey to examine the broader spiritual and moral dilemmas faced by society in the aftermath of World War I. The novel reflects on the disillusionment and search for meaning that many experienced during this period. Family dynamics also play a critical role in social change and the once-clear distinctions between right and wrong, faith and doubt, are now blurred, reflecting a society in flux as it seeks to rebuild and redefine itself in the wake of profound upheaval.
ñSaint's Progressî is a thoughtful and introspective work that captures the emotional and spiritual turmoil of a world and the novel examines the impact of the war on individual and collective identity.
John Galsworthy OM was an English dramatist and novelist who lived from 14 August 1867 to 31 January 1933. His novels, “The Forsyte Saga” and two more trilogies, “A Modern Comedy” and “End of the Chapter” are his best-known works. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1932. Galsworthy, who came from a wealthy upper-middle-class family, was expected to become a lawyer, but, he found the profession unappealing, so he resorted to literature. Before his first book, “The Man of Property” about the Forsyte family, was released in 1897, he was thirty years old. It wasn't, until that book—the first of its kind—that he saw true popularity. His debut play, “The Silver Box” had its London premiere the same year. As a writer, he gained notoriety for his socially conscious plays that addressed issues such as the politics and morality of war, the persecution of women, the use of solitary confinement in prisons, the battle of workers against exploitation, and jingoism. The patriarch, Old Jolyon, is based on Galsworthy's father, and the Forsyte family in the collection of books and short tales known as “The Forsyte Chronicles” is comparable to Galsworthy's family in many aspects.
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