A Study On The Forsytes’ Aesthetic Taste In The Man Of Property

John Galsworthy (1867-1933), a famous British novelist and dramatist, sticks to thetraditionally humanistic criticism and inherits the main creative methods of realism. He is oneof three heroes of British realism, the others being Bennett and Wells. By the unique aestheticpursuit and exquisite style in The Forsyte Saga, Galsworthy won the1932Nobel Prize forliterature.The Man of Property is generally recognized as a documentation of the Britishupper-middle class of the early20thcentury. Galsworthy expresses his deep concern for thedisorder of social ethic in the transforming British society. The study of the aesthetic taste willcontribute to the reexamination of the artistic characteristics and the furtherance of the epochtheme of the fiction significantly. What characteristics do the Forsytes’ aesthetic tastes have?How do these characteristics of the Forsytes’ aesthetic taste reflect their class habitués? Andhow do their class habitués function on their aesthetic taste in return?The thesis attempts to probe into the characteristics of the Forsytes’ aesthetic taste in lateVictorian age with Bourdieu’s theory that the aesthetic taste is the main entry point for theanalysis of class habitués under historical, cultural backgrounds and the consumptionbackground. To begin with, the thesis gives a detailed literary review to The Man of Propertyand a brief introduction to Bourdieu’ theory about the aesthetic taste. The first part of the thesisanalyses the first trait of the Forsyte’s aesthetic taste, namely the narrow–mindedness of theiraesthetic pursuit, which is presented through the following two aspects: their conspicuousconsumption-directed aesthetic standard that is mainly incarnated through dressing and theirutility-oriented taste of artworks including their practical class habitués of appreciating andcollecting artworks and woman with high aesthetic value. The second part focuses on thecontradictoriness of the Forsytes’ aesthetic attitude. The aesthetic attitude is mainly thesubject’s psychological state to the aesthetic objects and it is confined by the objectiveconditions such as timing, location. Firstly, they are entangled with the adoption of themiddle-brow taste. On the one hand, the family distain to the middle-brow taste which doesnot accord with their identity; on the other hand, they cannot keep themselves free from itbecause of the limited cultural capital. Secondly, they remind ambivalent about appreciationand possession, which is reflected through their attitude to Irene. The last part dissects thelegitimacy in the family’s aesthetic practice, which is an outward and objective process ofmanufacture and appreciation under the guidance of aesthetic taste. In the first place, they dohave some elegant aesthetic pursuit such as opera, painting and drama. In the second place, they seek for the exquisite living conditions which include high requirements for goodlocation of their houses, the way to travel and the home decorations. On the basis of the aboveanalysis, the conclusion clarifies the new significances to the work with the analysis ofBourdieu’s theory of aesthetic taste. First of all, it is in favor of an objective and overallrelocation to the Forsytes; secondly, it’s a new step for the study of Galsworthy’s conceptionof class and aesthetics; last but not least, there must be some truth for the study of aesthetictaste in China at the present stage.