Acknowledgement

I have taken efforts in this project. However, it would

not have been possible without the kind support and
help of many individuals. I would like to extend my
sincere thanks to all of them. I thank God for
providing me with everything that I required in
completing this project. I am highly indebted to the
physical education teacher
Mr. VISHNU DHAR TIWARI for his guidance and
constant supervision as well as for providing
necessary information regarding the project and also
for his support in completing the project. I would like
to express my gratitude towards my parents for their
kind co-operation and encouragement which helped
me in the completion of this project. My thanks and
appreciations also go to my classmates in developing
the project and to the people who have willingly
helped me out with their abilities.
 Introduction
The fiction “Quality” written by John Galsworthy in
1912 is a touching and sad story of Gessler Brothers
and their exceptional honesty, resolution, humility and
commitment towards their art of shoemaking. They
used to dedicate their complete energy in making
boots. According to the author, the boots would never
tear for years and hence in spite of his desire, he could
not go to the Gessler Brothers. With time, new
factories emerged that manufactured cheaper boots
though they were not durable. This affected the
Gessler Brothers‘ business and they died.
The title of the story “Quality” implies in the context
of the story that in today’s world there is a decline of
quality in work due to industrialisation. It took away
the bread and butter of artists, artisans, craftsmen and
those who loved doing their work.
Thus, the title of the story is intended to emphasize
the importance of values and principles in life. Gessler
sticks to one principle through the thick in thin of life
without compromising oh his standards which he has
set for himself.
Gessler‘s devotion to one single virtue is so intense
and single-minded that he not only loses his business
and clientele but his life. In a way Gessler is a martyr
to upholding values in life and symbolizes idealistic
principles. However, the title is also ironical because a
minor adjustment in what Gessler so staunchly
believes to be his driving principle would have saved
him and his brother from penury and misery.
Artist: An artist is a person who is skilled at some
activity related to art. Any artisan who loves his art
and immersed in it can be respectfully called as an
artist. Therefore, we can call a Carpenter, a Sculptor, a
Shoemaker, a Pottery maker as an artist.
 CHARACTER
1) Gessler Brothers:Mr.Gessler (Younger brother)
is the central character (protagonist) in the story. He
stands for a high degree of passion in his art of
shoemaking. Both the brothers died due to financial
loss in the business.
2) The Narrator:The narrator is a very loyal
customer and fan of Mr Gessler’s shoemaking. There
is deep bonding between Mr Gessler (Younger
brother) and the narrator. The story unfolds to the
readers through the narrator’s action in the story.
3) The Englishman:The Englishman took over
Mr.Gessler’s shop who told the narrator about Mr
Gessler’s struggle and his failure due to lack of
advertisement, ultimately his death due to starvation.
 Main Themes
• Commitment to one’s work. Every worker is an artist
if he loves his work and immersed in it.

• Competition between small business and big firms.

• The tragedy of Gessler brothers signified that human

values are threatened by material gain.

The story highlights the virtues of hard work, honesty,

resolution, compassion, humility and commitment.
The theme of loss and death is also woven into the
story with both Mr Gessler and his brother dying in
the story. However, the idea of honest work’s pay and
dedication to quality work is celebrated, both in times
of scarcity and plenty.
 Summary
The story starts with the description of the boot shop.
On top is the nameplate “Gessler Brothers” and a few
shoes displayed in the window. The Gesslers make
shoes on order. The narrator then narrates one of his
meetings with Mr Gessler. He says it has not been
possible to go to him much because the shoes he made
have lasted very long and are the best of their kind.
One day the narrator goes to their shop to get a pair of
Russian-leather shoes. Mr Gessler retreats upstairs
and comes back after some time holding a fine golden
Russian leather piece for the boots. One day the
narrator goes to their boot shop and tells him that the
shoes he got from them creaked. After a long pause,
Mr Gessler asks him to bring the shoes to him. He
assures that if he cannot repair them, he will give the
money back.
Another day he goes to the Gessler Brothers to order a
new pair, wearing a pair of shoes which he bought due
to some emergency from a big firm. Mr Gessler at
once recognizes that the shoes are not made by him.
He touches a particular spot on the narrator’s shoe
where it isn‘t comfortable for the narrator and says
that it hurts there. He expresses his contempt that
those large firms attract customers through shiny
impressive advertisements to sell their inferior quality
products. Then the author explains to him under what
circumstances he had to buy those shoes.
The new shoes lasted nearly two years. And in his
next visit, he receives quite a shock. When he enters
the shop, he sees the younger Gessler brother who
informs him of elder Gessler‘s death. That day he
orders several pairs. It takes longer to make them but
the quality is even better than the previous ones. Soon
after, the narrator leaves for abroad and returns after
over a year. The first shop he goes to is Mr Gessler’s.
Mr Gessler, now seventy-five, is unable to recognize
him at first. The narrator gives a huge order. The wait
is longer than ever but the quality only gets better.
After a week, while passing the little street, the
narrator thinks to go in and tell Mr Gessler that the
boots were perfect. But when he goes to the place
where the shop was, the name plate is no longer there.
He finds out that the shoemaker had died because of
starvation and lack of resources.
 Analysis
The story ‘Quality’ opens with the narrator’s deep
bonding with the Mr.Gessler (Younger brother). Mr
Gessler was a great and passionate artist. He would
make boots on order. The boots would last long. His
shop “Gessler Brothers” was like a church.
The setting of the story is in the fashionable part of
London. Gessler brothers basically were immigrants
from Germany. They had set up the shoe-making shop
in a small by-street of London for their livelihood.
The first meeting of the narrator was when Mr Gessler
made boots from Russian – leather. When the narrator
asked Mr.Gessler about the difficulties in his task of
making boots, he answered in his German accent, “Id
is an ardt!”(It is an art) As the story progresses, the
narrator familiarizes the readers with the ways of Mr
Gessler and this sense of familiarity is important in
understanding the story.
Once the narrator has had a small complaint regarding
the boots made by Mr Gessler, Mr Gessler promises to
take it back and cancel the charges.
This shows the humility of the artist. Art requires
humility and Mr Gessler’s humility helped him
improve his craft. Mr.Gessler believed in “work is
worship”.
Once the narrator absentmindedly enters the man’s
workplace wearing a pair of boots he bought at some
large firm. Mr Gessler quickly tells him those are not
his boots. Saying so, he presses his fingers on a part of
the boot where comfort was compromised in the
pursuit of style.
“It ‘urds you dere,” he said. “Dose big virms ‘ave no
self-respect.”……. “dey get id by advertisement, a
nod by work”.
The first time Mr Gessler spoke out his mental pain,
his struggle to compete against big firms which spread
their business with the help of advertisement. They
compromised with the quality of their product.
Therefore Gessler brothers suffered a lot. This scene
generates pathos in sensitive readers. Their small
business was crippled in front of the mall business
which was showy without quality.
But the passionate artist neither gave up nor
compromised with the quality of his work. Listening
Mr.Gessler’s heart, the narrator grew sympathetic and
gave a big order of boots. Thereafter the narrator
couldn’t visit him for two years.
The narrator very often visited his shop for placing
orders of boots.
Therefore the story is seen through the narrator’s point
of view. The narrator tells us what is going in in the
life of Mr Gessler…
The next time when the narrator went to Mr Gessler,
he received the sad news of his elder brother’s death.
Even then the younger brother continued to run the
shop with Great Spirit. The sympathetic narrator again
put a huge order of boots with Mr Gessler. He
prepared excellent boots. Every shoe he made spoke
for itself and therefore they didn’t require any name-
dropping.
As the story progresses still further the narrator went
abroad for a year. On arrival, he again placed the order
of boots to Mr Gessler. The narrator received the
boots and happily wrote a cheque and himself posted
the cheque.
On his last visit to Mr Gessler to thank him for the
splendid boots he made, the narrator shocked to see an
English man had taken over the shop. He informed the
narrator about the death of Mr.Gesssler due to
starvation. It is indeed the tragic end of the story.
Mr Gessler could not meet both ends, whatever he
earned went into leather and rent of the shop. The
tragedy is heightened by the fact that even the
Englishman agreed that he (Mr Gessler) made the best
boots in London. This acknowledgement was the
tribute to Mr Gessler and his art.
 Character of Mr Gessler
Mr Gessler is the younger of the two Gessler brothers
and the protagonist of the short story. We cannot help
but admire, as well as deeply sympathize with Mr
Gessler, for being an extremely skilled and committed
shoemaker. His skin is leathery, yellowish, crinkled
and his eyes are grey-blue and sombre with a look of
utter commitment and seriousness. He has crinkly,
curly, red hair, and a thick red beard. His voice is
deep, guttural, monotonous, and he speaks with a
heavy German accent. He seems a little stooped and
bent because of hard work.
A shoemaker by profession he has devoted his whole
life to making the best quality shoes for his customers.
Mr Gessler is a serious, sober person with no
inclination towards being frivolous or humorous. He
is a perfectionist and gives only the best to his
customers. He does not compromise on quality and is
unable to adjust with the changing times.
In spite of their popularity, the Gessler Brothers begin
to lose valued customers as they do not keep up with
the changing demands and trends.
Their rigid, fixed attitudes and work ethics see them
lose business gradually and steadily, resulting in their
ill health and starvation.
Towards the end of their lives, Mr Gessler and his
brother begin to look upon the big firms as the enemy
that would ultimately take away all their business.
It is hard not to sympathize with Mr Gessler and his
misfortune and tragic end. If only he and his brother
would have welcomed the technology and
accommodated new people while teaching them the
skill of shoemaking.

Conclusion
In Quality by John Galsworthy we have the
theme of commitment, determination, loyalty,
honesty, dedication and loss. Narrated in the
first person by an unnamed man the reader
realises after reading the story that Galsworthy
may be exploring the theme of commitment.