Justice

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Justice Play by John Galsworthy

summary
John Galsworthy (1867 –1933) was an English novelist and playwright. 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. Justice published in 1910. It was part of a campaign to improve conditions in
British prisons
The play opens in the office of James How & Sons, solicitors. The senior clerk,
Robert Cokeson, discovers that a check he had issued for nine pounds has been
forged to ninety. By elimination, suspicion falls upon William Falder, the junior office
clerk. William Falder is in love with a married woman, the abused and ill-treated wife
of a brutal drunkard. Pressed by his employer, a severe unkindly man, Falder
confesses the forgery, pleading the dire necessity of his sweetheart, Ruth
Honeywill, with whom he had planned to escape to save her from the unbearable
brutality of her husband. Notwithstanding the entreaties of young Walter How, who
holds modern ideas, his father, a moral and law-respecting citizen, turns Falder over
to the police.
The second act, in the court room, shows Justice in the very process of manufacture.
The scene equals in dramatic power and psychological verity the great court scene
in "Resurrection." Young Falder, a youth of twenty-three, stands before the bar.
Ruth, his faithful sweetheart, full of love and devotion, burns with anxiety to save
the young man, whose affection for her has brought about his present predicament.
Falder is defended by Lawyer Frome, whose speech to the jury is a masterpiece of
social philosophy. He does not attempt to dispute the mere fact that his client had
altered the check; and though he pleads temporary aberration in his defense, the
argument is based on a social consciousness as fundamental and all-embracing as the
roots of our social ills. He shows Falder to have faced the alternative of seeing the
beloved woman murdered by her brutal husband, whom she cannot divorce, or of
taking the law into his own hands. He pleads with the jury not to turn the weak young
man into a criminal by condemning him to prison.
In prison the young, inexperienced convict soon finds himself the victim of the
terrible "system." The authorities admit that young Falder is mentally and physically
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"in bad shape," but nothing can be done in the matter: many others are in a similar
position, and "the quarters are inadequate."
The third scene of the third act takes place in Falder's prison.
Falder leaves the prison, a broken man. Thanks to Ruth's pleading, the firm of James
How & Son is willing to take Falder back in their employ, on condition that he give up
Ruth. Falder resents this.
It is then that Falder learns the awful news that the woman he loves had been driven
by the chariot wheel of Justice to sell herself. At this moment the police appear to
drag Falder back to prison for failing to report to the authorities as ticket-of-leave
man. Completely overcome by the inexorability of his fate, Falder throws himself
down the stairs, breaking his neck.
The socio-revolutionary significance of "Justice" consists not only in the portrayal

of the in-human system which grinds the Falders and Honeywills, but even more so
in the utter helplessness of society as expressed in the words of the Senior Clerk,
Cokeson, "No one'll touch him now! Never again! He's safe with gentle Jesus!"
The play opens in the office of the managing clerk at the firm of James and Walter
How. Robert Cokeson, the managing clerk is sitting at his table adding up figures in
a pass- book when Sweedle, the office boy appears to inform that a lady wants to
see Falder, a junior clerk in the office. The lady is called in. Introducing herself as
Ruth Honeywell, she tells Cokeson that she wants to see Falder on personal business.
Cokeson replies that it is against rules to allow private callers in the office, but when
she insists that it is a matter of life and death, he reluctantly allows her to meet
Falder who has just come in.
Ruth informs Falder that her husband in a drunken state had tried to kill her and
she fled with the children while her husband was asleep. As Falder reveals his plan
to go away from England, they must pretend to be husband and wife. Ruth needs
some money to make some purchases. Thinking that Falder is hesitant to go away
with her, she offers to stay back with her husband and be killed rather than go away
with him against his will. But Falder assures her that they will go and tells her to be
at the booking office at 11:45 that night.
But meanwhile James How, the senior partner, points out a discrepancy in the balance

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amount in the pass- book and soon it is found that a cheque drawn for nine pounds
has been cashed for ninety pounds. Walter says that he had given the cheque to
Cokeson. But as it was his lunch time, Cokeson had given the cheque to Davis, a junior
clerk to cash it. Cokeson is upset and draws the conclusion that Davis who has just
left for Australia had forged the cheque.
Meanwhile, Cowley, the cashier of the bank who had encashed the cheque is called in
so that he will be able to identify the person who had encashed the cheque. The
cashier identifies Falder who has just come to James How’s room as the person who
had encashed the cheque for ninety pounds. When the cashier leaves, James calls in
Falder and asks him about the cheque. Falder admits that Davis gave him the cheque
to encash it. He did encash it but it was for ninety pounds. Falder suggests that
possibly Davis altered the cheque before giving it to him. But James How tells him
that the counterfoil of the cheque was with Walter till Tuesday and hence it was not
possible for Davis to alter the figures in the counterfoil as he had already left for
Australia on Monday. Being thus cornered, Falder admits his guilt and begs to be
excused, pleading that he has committed the offence in a fit of madness. Besides,
he even promises to return the money.
Both Walter and Cokeson request James How to be lenient as this is his first
offence. Walter would like to give Falder a chance for the sake of his future. But
James is of the view that such persons are to be kept in prison. Meanwhile, Detective
Sergeant Wister arrives and Falder is taken away on the charge of felony.
Act II opens in the Court of Justice. The Court-room is crowded with barristers,
reporters, ushers and jurymen. The trial of Falder is in progress.
Falder is seen at the dock with a warden on either side of him. He is being tried for
an offence he had committed on 7th July. On that day, he had forged a cheque. The
offence was discovered on the 18th of July. He was arrested on the same day and
was taken away to prison. He remained as an under-trial prisoner till October when
the trial took place. In the trial, Falder is represented by Hector Frome, a tall young
man in a very white wig. Harold Cleaver, the counsel for the Crown, is a dried,
yellowish man, of more than middle-age in a yellowing wig.
Falder’s counsel Frome does not dispute the fact of forgery of the cheque but takes

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up the plea that he had committed the offence “in a moment of aberration, amounting
to temporary insanity” caused by violent distress under which he was labouring. He
presents to the court the circumstances of his love for a woman married to a brutal
drunkard and how he had planned to rescue her. He appeals to the jury to consider
the fact that the unfortunate woman has no other means to save herself and her
children, except by escaping with Falder to a foreign country. For that they require
money. Driven by a desperate impulse to obtain the much- needed money, Falder
altered the figures in the cheque. Frome argued that as Falder was not in a sane
state of mind, he could not be held responsible for his action and to prove his
contention, he cites the evidence, first of Cokeson, and next of Honeywill.
After Frome, the defence counsel had examined both Cokeson and Ruth. Cleaver, the
prosecution counsel, cross- examines Falder. In his evidence, Falder had taken the
plea that he was off his mind when he forged the cheque and for four minutes, he
knew nothing except that he ran to the bank. Cleaver’s contention is that since Falder
knew that he ran, he could not by any means have been unconscious of what he did
or did not do when altering the cheque. Cleaver’s view is summed up in this extract:
Cleaver: Divested of the romantic glamour which my friend is casting over the case,
is this anything but an ordinary forgery? Come.
Falder: I was half frantic all that morning, sir.

Cleaver: Now, now! You don’t deny that the ‘ty’ and the ‘nought’ were so like the rest
of the handwriting as to thoroughly deceive the cashier?
Falder: It was an accident.
Cleaver: (cheerfully) Queer sort of accident, wasn’t it?......
Cleaver attempted to prove that Falder was not at all off his mind but had done
everything deliberately in a planned way including going back to work in the afternoon
after encashing the cheque and depositing nine pounds and changing the figures in
the counterfoil five days later.
Frome, the defence counsel, next addresses the jury by expressing his belief that
the jury has already been convinced that the offence was committed in “a moment
of mental and moral avcuity” arising from intense emotional excitement. He appealed
to the jury that his objective was not to invest the case with “romantic glamour” but
to show the background of “life” that had led to the offence. The act of forging the

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cheque was the work of four mad moments during which this weak and nervous young
man had slipped into the cage of the Law. He had already passed two months in the
prison as an under-trial prisoner and that had been punishment enough for him.
However, Cleaver, the prosecution counsel, crushes Frome’s plea of temporary

insanity by quoting the managing clerk and the woman’s statements that the accused
was not mad, however excited or “jumpy” he might have been. Besides the
seriousness of the offence, two other points needed consideration to prosecute
Falder: his action that would shift the suspicion to Davis, the clerk who was on tour
and his relations with a married woman.
At the direction of the judge, the jury who had left the court room for a private
discussion returns and announces that they have found Falder guilty. The judge
agrees with the verdict of the jury that Falder is guilty of forgery. While agreeing
that Falder was overcome by emotions, the judge clarified the immoral nature of the
emotions for which any plea for mercy could not be considered. He observed: “The
Law is what it is- a majestic edifice, sheltering all of us, each stone of which rests
on another. I am concerned only with its administration………You will go to penal
servitude for three years”.
Act III opens in the prison Governor’s room. The date is 24th December. We recall
that Falder was arrested on 18th July, was tried in October and sentenced to three
years of penal servitude.
The chief jail-warder, Wooder, has discovered a small, rough, handmade saw made
by a prisoner named Moaney and who has cut his window bar with it. Moaney is an old
jail- bird serving his fourth term. The warder reports to the governor that there is
a general unrest among the prisoners, though they are in separate cells. The prisoner
named O’ Cleary began banging on his door that morning. The governor is worried at
the discontentment of the prisoners. However, the prison chaplain is all for breaking
the will power of these prisoners.
Presently Cokeson, the managing clerk of the solicitors’ firm where Falder worked,
enters and meets the governor. He tells the governor that he has come to talk about
Falder who was his junior clerk. Falder’s sister had requested him to enquire about

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Falder. But the governor explains to him that as Falder is on a month’s separate
confinement, he is not allowed any visitors. Cokeson is upset to hear this and
remembers how it had affected Falder’s mind when he was an under-trial prisoner.
Cokeson relates to the governor Falder’s love with a married woman whose husband
was a nasty and spiteful fellow. He refers to her desire to wait for him till he comes
out. He tells the governor: “He’s got three years to serve. I want things to be
pleasant with him. He sees no good in solitary imprisonment.” The Chaplain however
doesn’t seem to agree with Cokeson’s views.
Meanwhile, the jail-doctor arrives and reports that solitary confinement is doing him
no harm. But Cokeson refers to the great mental suffering of the young man. He
then asks if the woman could be permitted to see Falder; that would do well to both
of them. However, the governor tells him that such visits are against rules. Cokeson
turns back sadly.
Scene ii of Act III presents a vivid picture of the effect of solitary imprisonment
on the prisoners by bringing out the episode of the inspection of the prison governor
of the prisoners undergoing solitary confinement. First, the governor sees Moaney,
inquires of him about the saw that he has made and whether he would give him his
word not to try it again. But when Moaney does not wish to give his word, he is given
two days’ cell with bread and water. Next, the governor sees Clipton who is suffering
from age complaints and is a nervous wreck for whom sleep is the only comfort. He
complains about the noise from the adjacent cell. The governor then sees O’ Cleary,
the Irish prisoner who banged on the door in the morning. Being asked why he banged
on the door, he says that the impulse to make noise seizes him; he cannot be steady.
The noise that he makes with his hands will be conversation to him. The governor
then goes to Falder’s cell. He asks Falder to settle down to prison life calmly and not
break down in nervousness. Falder says that he cannot sleep in the early hours of
the morning and has the apprehension that he will not be able to come out of prison.
The governor asks him to strengthen his mind and not to think of private troubles.
Meanwhile, when the prison-doctor arrives, the governor asks him to examine
Falder’s health. After examining Falder, the doctor reports that there is nothing
wrong with him except his nervousness.
Scene iii of Act III takes us to Falder’s cell, a whitewashed space thirteen feet

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broad by seven deep- and nine feet high, with a rounded ceiling. His bedding lies
rolled up in a corner. On a shelf above, lie several books. The novel Lorna Doone lies
open on a small table. Above the table is hanging a shirt from a nail, his set work
being to make button- holes in the shirt. There is a gas jet in a corner by the window
covered by a thick glass.
Falder is seen standing motionless trying hard to hear something, any little sound
outside the silent prison cell. He paces the cell like an animal in a cage. There is a
sharp tap and a click. A sound from far away terrifies him at first. But when the
banging sound travels from cell to cell, his weak brain is overpowered. He swings his
hand in a sort of unconscious response to the sound and at last begins to beat the
door.
Act IV opens in Cokeson’s room on a March evening two years later. This point is
interesting. We know that Falder was imprisoned in October for three years. But
now we see that he has been released in about two years. Obviously, he has got
partial remission of the three year term as we understand from Ruth Honeywill’s
discussion with Cokeson. She tells Cokeson that she met Falder the day before; he
is all skin and bone. Falder had got a job but he could keep it for only three weeks.
Cokeson asks her if she can do something for him, till he finds his feet. But she tells
Cokeson of her difficulty in that matter as the money she earns is not enough for
the two children. Then her employer kept her as his mistress and treated her well.
But now that she has seen Falder released from prison, she will no more return to
her employer and asks Cokeson if Falder could be employed back by the firm. Cokeson
does not promise anything but tells her that he will speak to the partners. Then Ruth
goes out.
Presently, Falder enters the room. Cokeson shakes hands with him and tells him that
he intends to speak to the partners about him. Falder then relates to him how, after
his release, he found employment but when the other clerks came to know of his
past, he gave up the job in shame. He then got another job, but could not stick to it.
He did something wrong by giving false references and being afraid he left the job.
He also tells Cokeson about his ill- treatment at the hands of his sister’s husband
who wanted to pay him twenty- five pounds to see that he left for Canada for good.

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Cokeson too wanted to offer him the money but Falder declines the offer.
Falder next relates his meeting with Ruth and his love for her inspite of the fact
that it has caused him so much misery. Falder remarks with bitter irony that
everyone seems to be sorry for him but all are afraid to associate with him.
Presently, when the partners of the firm, James and Walter How, arrive Cokeson
sends Falder to retire into the clerk’s office in order to talk about him to the
partners.
Cokeson pleads with James on behalf of Falder by saying that he is quite repentant.
He requests the partners to take him to fill a vacancy which happens to exist in the
firm. James, the senior partner, is rather unwilling to have an ex- convict in the
office. But Walter feels that they ought to help Falder.
James tells Falder that he may have a chance in the office, but he must guard against
two things. First, he must get rid of the notion that he is unjustly treated. But Falder
states that if first offenders like him are treated differently and somebody could
take care of them instead of sending them to prison, most of the confirmed jail-
birds would not have been in jail at all. James, however, has his doubts about so much
goodness in human nature. He tells Falder that he must put all his past behind him
and build himself up a steady reputation.
Secondly, James asks Falder to give up his connections with Ruth. Unless he does so,
he would not be able to keep straight. But to Falder, his love for Ruth is the only
thing that he looks forward to all the time. James thinks that the reputation of the
firm cannot allow him to have a clerk who is not morally strong. If Falder agrees to
give up Ruth, he can come, otherwise not. However, Falder declares that they cannot
give up each other. James adds that he might overlook if Falder had any chance of
marrying her. Walter offers to see if their firm can manage a divorce. With James’
permission, Falder beckons Ruth to come up. Ruth comes in and stands calmly by
Falder. James tells her about Falder and wants her to have courage enough to give
him up if she wants Falder to be taken in the office again. But Falder is not prepared
to give her up. However, at James’ insistence, Ruth agrees to leave Falder alone. At
that moment, Falder realizes that Ruth had behaved immorally during his absence.
He almost breaks down in despair.

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At that moment, the detective sergeant, Wister, comes in and says that he is looking
for the clerk named Falder whom he wants arrested here. He tells James and the
others present that Falder has failed to report himself regularly to the police and
lately he is wanted in connection with a forged reference with which he secured an
employment. Cokeson tries to put him off by asking him to come some other time.
James too does not show his inclination to help out Wister. But when Wister notices
Falder’s cap left behind on the table, he makes towards the room where Ruth and
Falder are waiting.
Wister catches hold of Falder and as they go downstairs together, Falder throws
himself down. His neck is broken and the dull thud of the fall is heard by James and
others in the room. Ruth is about to fall in a faint and as Walter and Cokeson take
care of Ruth, Sweadle rushes out and with Wister’s help, brings in Falder’s body to
the outer office. Ruth breaks down but Cokeson holds out his hand to Ruth saying
that no one would touch Falder now; he is safe with gentle Jesus.
A close look at the subject-matter is necessary in order to decide whether the title
‘Justice’ is appropriate for the play. The play can be seen as a commentary upon the
administration of criminal law in England during Galsworthy’s time. The basic issues
raised are:
1.Even if the law is justly administered, does it do real justice to the criminal?
2.While the law aspires to be just to all, is a person given the deserved justice?
3.Does Falder, who is sent to prison for a period of three years, suffer more than
he deserves at the hands of the harsh and unimaginative prison administration?
The solitary imprisonment administered to Falder for committing the offence of

tempering a cheque is an important angle in our attempt to find an answer to the
question whether Falder was dispensed the deserved justice. This whole effort is as
the chaplain says, “to break the perverted will of the prisoners”.
After his release from the prison, he finds that he has not been able to escape the
mental agony that he suffered during his solitary imprisonment. Justice was done to
him by sending him to jail. But “the rolling of the chariot wheels of justice” crushes
him and along with him, his beloved Ruth.

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Galsworthy brings out the social system of contemporary England which is so

indifferent to the individual. In the name of giving protection to them, the system
administers a kind of justice which lies at the root of the tragedy. Hence, the title
is quite justified in its implications of irony concerning the mechanisms of the legal
system.
Characters
William Falder, a junior clerk in a law firm who raises a company check from nine to
ninety pounds and is sent to prison for three years. When he is released on parole,
he is apprehended by the police for not reporting to the parole authorities. He
breaks away from the arresting officer and kills himself by jumping from an office
window.
Ruth Honeywell, the woman for whom Falder altered the check. He had intended to
take Ruth and her two children from her brutish husband, and he needed the money
for the expenses they would incur when they left London.
Robert Cokeson, a senior clerk in the firm. He supports Falder through the trial,
while he is in prison, and after his release.
James and Walter How, partners in a law firm and Falder’s employers. They cause
Falder’s arrest, but after his release from prison they are willing to discuss taking
him back into their employ.
Davis, a junior clerk first suspected of altering the check.

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Hector Frome, Falder’s attorney during the trial.
Harold Cleaver, the counselor for the prosecution at Falder’s trial.
Galsworthy's "Justice” : A Problem Play that Satirizes Crime Law

and Divorce Law at Force in Then England
No subject of equal social importance has received such thoughtful consideration in

recent years as the question of Crime and Punishment. A number of books by able
writers, both in Europe and this country discuss this topic from the historic,
psychological, and social standpoint, the consensus of opinion being that present
penal institutions and our methods of coping with crime have in every respect proved
inadequate as well as wasteful. This new attitude toward one of the gravest social
wrongs has also found dramatic interpretation in Galsworthy's "Justice.” It is a
problem play that satirizes crime law and divorce law at force in then England.
The play opens in the office of James How & Sons, solicitors. The senior clerk,
Robert Cokeson, discovers that a check he had issued for nine pounds has been
forged to ninety. By elimination, suspicion falls upon William Falder, the junior office
clerk. The latter is in love with a married woman, the abused and ill-treated wife of
a brutal drunkard. Pressed by his employer, a severe yet not unkindly man, Falder
confesses the forgery, pleading the dire necessity of his sweetheart, Ruth
Honeywill, with whom he had planned to escape to save her from the unbearable
brutality of her husband. Notwithstanding the entreaties of young Walter How, who
holds modern ideas, his father, a moral and law-respecting citizen, turns Falder over
to the police.

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The second act, in the court room, shows Justice in the very process of manufacture.
The scene equals in dramatic power and psychological verity the great court scene
in "Resurrection." Young Falder, a nervous and rather weakly youth of twenty-three,
stands before the bar. Ruth, his faithful sweetheart, full of love and devotion, burns
with anxiety to save the young man, whose affection for her has brought about his
present predicament. Falder is defended by Lawyer Frome, whose speech to the jury
is a masterpiece of social philosophy. He does not attempt to dispute the mere fact
that his client had altered the check; and though he pleads temporary aberration in
his defense.He pleads with the jury not to turn the weak young man into a criminal
by condemning him to prison.
But the chariot of Justice rolls mercilessly on, for--as the learned Judge says--
Judge: “Your counsel has made an attempt to trace your offense back to what he
seems to suggest is a defect in the marriage law; he has made an attempt also to
show that to punish you with further imprisonment would be unjust. …You will go to
penal servitude for three years.”
Thus the whole episode of judgment and punishment is hoax and inhumane. John
Galsworthy , not on by its theme , but also deliberately chose the title Justice in
order to satirise the contemporary social and legal systems of the country, which in
the name of ‘justice’ forced the helpless individuals like Falder and Ruth to suffer
and perish finally in the most inhuman way in a ‘civilised’ society. Ironically it is
injustice told in the justice drama.
Character of Ruth Honeywill: How is She Responsible for Falder’s

Death?
Introduction:
John Galsworthy’s Justice has a propaganda basis. While his fiction is concerned
principally with English upper middle-class life; his dramas frequently find their
themes in this stratum of society, but also often deal, sympathetically, with the
economically and socially oppressed and with questions of social justice. His Justice
also has two problems raised and recked in minute details – the rigorous system of
legal justice prevailing in the society and the other is the contemporary prison

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system. To portray these social hindrances Galsworthy has to device a plot. And here
is the story of a young man Falder who has been crunched under the wheel of fatal
social systems. And the person behind the Falder’s tragic catastrophe is a love and
sympathy personified Ruth Honeywill.
Only woman character in Justice:
In justice Ruth is the only woman character. A married and having two children, she
lives a miserable life under a cruel husband who tortures her both physically and
mentally. As a woman of destitute she earns sympathy and love from Falder. In fact,
in order to take her away from her cruel husband that Falder commits the crime
leading to the subsequent incidents of the play.
Ruth Honeywill’s problems as portrayed in the play Justice: Ruth, a destitute woman
in order to flee from her cruel tyrannical husband she needs a friend. In facts, by
marrying Falder who loves her and promises to rescue her from her cruel husband
she would somehow problems are not solved. Falder with the desperation of love
commits forgery and later imprisoned. Ruth is forced to lead an inglorious life with
her husband in Falder’s prison days. In the end when Falder commits suicides her
last ray of hope extinguishes.
Biographical Note:
The Ruth= Falder relationship is a biographical note regarding Galsworthy’s own life
who gets married to a woman who is the wife of his cousins like Ruth who also leads
on unhappy life. The kind and sympathetic Galsworthy rescue her and marries her
after obtaining divorce. But here in the case the divorcee is not conceived the
relationship turns to be tragic.
Ruth’s responsibility behind the death of Falder:

Apparently, Ruth is wholly responsible for the death of Falder. For it is for the sake
of his love for her that Falder committed this crime. To rescue her, again from her
cruel husband as soon as possible hastened the crime, because his sympathy for her
persuaded him to accept the first opportunity offered to him.

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But on further analysis it will be clear that social and legal system of his time was
no less responsible for his tragic death. It there were laws for easy divorce or
provision for rehabilitation of convicts after their release this tragedy would never
have happened. Hence Ruth as well as the special custom and legal system of the day
was responsible for the death of Falder.
Conclusion:
If it is a tragedy of Falder why not it’s a tragedy of Ruth? If Falder is crunched into
deadly system Ruth’s littered hopes, loves and dreams put into account must be a
tragedy of equal worth.
John Galsworthy as a Social Propagdandist: A Voice for

Economically and Socially Oppressed
Introduction:
John Galsworthy, the 1932 Nobel Laureate, is best known problem playwright and
novelist in the 20th century. His is the collections which treats of a particular social
or moral problems so as to make people think intelligently about it. It is usually
somewhat tragic in tone in that it naturally deals with painful human dilemmas. It is
a kind of writings that, by implication, asks a definite question and either supplies an
answer or leave it to us to find. One of his best known plays The Silver Box deals
with the inequality of Justice, Strife with the struggle between capital and
labour, Justice with the cruelty of solitary confinement, The Skin Game with the
different values of the old aristocracy and the newly rich
businessman, Loyalties with class loyalties and prejudices and Escape with the
inadequacy of the administration of justice and attitude of different types of people
toward an escaped prisoner. His dramas frequently find their themes in this stratum
of society, but also often deal, sympathetically, with the economically and socially
oppressed and with questions of social justice.

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Meanwhile, his fiction is concerned principally with English upper middle-class

life;Most of his novels deal with the history, from Victorian times through the first
quarter of the 20th century, of an upper middle-class English family, the
Forsytes(class for the accumulation of material wealth, a drive that often conflicts
with human values).The Forsyte series includes The Man of Property, the novelette
“Indian Summer of a Forsyte” (pub. in the collection Five Tales, In
Chancery, Awakening, and To Let). These five titles were published as The Forsyte
Saga. The Forsyte story was continued by Galsworthy in The White Monkey, The
Silver Spoon, and Swan Song, which were published together under the title A
Modern Comedy. These were followed in turn by Maid in Waiting, Flowering
Wilderness, and Over the River, published together posthumously as End of the
Chapter.
John Galsworthy as a Social Reformer:

Galsworthy was a social reformer, objectively and impartially posting a problem,
showing always both sides of the question, and leaving his audience to think out the
answer. His chief protagonists are usually social forces in conflict with each other,
and the human features in his drama, though real enough and very true to ordinary
life, are studies more as products of these force than an individuals who are of
interest for their own sake.
General Features of Galsworthy’s Writings:

All the plays of Galsworthy exhibit the same features the omnipresence of a
fundamental social problem expressed in a severely natural manner, without straining
of situation or exaggeration of final issues, a corresponding naturalism of dialogue,
leading at times to an apparent ordinariness, a native kindness of heart added to the
sternness of the true tragic artist, and a complete absence of sentimentalism even
when pitiful scenes are introduced. About the effectiveness of his naturalistic
technique Galsworthy has no doubt, and this is why he says, “The aim of the
dramatist employing naturalistic technique is obviously to create such an illusion of
actual life passing on the stage as to compel the spectator to pass through an
experience of his own, to think and talk and move with the people he sees thinking,
talking, moving in front of him”.

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Evaluation of Justice:
Justice is a propaganda and seems to have been conceived on an ecstasy of rage
against human oppression. The hero is not unjustly imprisoned because he altered
the figures of a cheque. In this play the real criminal is not the Falder but civilized
people, society and its prison system. Galsworthy in his play Justice does everything
to draw the attention of his audience to the evil of solitary confinement and its
shattering effect on the prisoners. Justice made a great impact not only on the
audience but it created a sensation in the British Parliament and official circles. The
government was given a Jolt and the prison commission was appointed to revise the
prison laws. If not for anything else, on this score alone Justice can be considered
as one of the most successful and important sociological plays of the first half of
this century. All of Galsworthy’s collections are realistic approaches to social
problems and in his Justice the entire social fabric, the legal system and the prison
administration stand exposed as the play finds it’s denouement in the death of Falder
who is more sinned against than sinning.
Significance of the Dumb Scene (Act III Sc. III) in John

Galsworthy’s "Justice"
In John Galsworthy’s play Justice the exercise of social injustice in the name of
legal justice has been criticized. And in the dramatic action of the Dumb Scene (Act
III Sc. III) of his play, Galsworthy has portrayed the deep agency of a sensitive
prisoner kept in a solitary confinement. With a cudgel in hand here Galsworthy is
merciless in his criticism of prison administration that treats prisoners not as
humans but as dumb inhabitants of dungeon.
Here is the description of the small cell that brings out the indifference of the
prison authority to the emotional needs of a prisoner. The scene shows Falder, the
convict, hasten to catch a sound from the world outside. But nothing except the
sound of a lid of tin falling from his hand or that of an occasional banging travelling
from cell to cell is heard. He has no companion but his image reflected on the tin lid.

17
The only activity in which he may engage himself is the stitching of a shirt in which
he sometimes seen to fancy something else or somebody. In a fit of depression he
prowls about, listens eagerly to sounds incoming. The solitariness crushes him beyond
reorganization. The simile of a caged animal has been appropriately used to describe
the impact of a terrible confinement on Falder’s psyche. No wonder he would gasp
for breath or engage himself in meaningless activities like the beating of the door.
Thus the Dumb Scene intensifies the tragedy of Falder arousing pity and fear in the
audience. It is a faithful depiction of the terrible or hell experienced by Falder as
well as by prisoners of that time during the period of solitary confinement in yearly
20th century. Galsworthy has made the scene eloquent without using dialogues or
lengthy speeches. In it, he has effectively attacked the system of solitary
confinement prevailing in his time. The scene could well be the catastrophe of
Falder’s tragedy.
The catastrophic scene should have aroused pity and fear in the audience.
But Falder fails to arouse their admiration, which is characteristic of a tragic hero.
Replacing the blind, relentless fate of the Greek tragedy, social determinism crushes
him under its chariot wheels. In stead of struggling stoically with the hostile society,
like a classical tragic hero, he is subsumed to its forces. His end is rather pathetic
than tragic. So, he cannot be called a tragic hero in the Aristotelian sense of the
term. But his unequal struggle with the social forces and his ultimate end represent
the tragedy of modern man struggling against an antagonistic society which holds an
individual in its power yet perishes him. That is why, Falder should be regarded as a
tragic hero in the modern sense of the terms and the Dumb Scene the height of his
tragic plight.

18
John Galsworthy's Falder in "Justice": How does his Tragedy Prove

Social Injustice?
Introduction:
John Galsworthy's Falder in Justice is not a hero in the Aristotalian or
Shakespearean sense. The dramatic action of Justice by Galsworthy revolves around
Falder. He is in the middle of our attention of sympathy and pity. He is the tragic
hero and the victims of social injustice which we all resent. He is the character of a
man who is in the machinery of social injustice.
A Young Man:
A young clerk of twenty three, Falder is pale, good looking soft spoken and nice. He
is timid and nervous. He is in love to a married woman Ruth Honeywill. Ruth is in
desperate situation, destined to live with her cruel husband. Falder gives her sincere
love and tries to assuage her agonies. He gives her a dream of a new happy home with
him. His love is a precious pledge and he is eager almost to build a happy home for
Ruth. He is no dishonest but when he has no alternative but to forgery of cheque he
sacrificed his honesty and integrity at the alter of this love for Ruth. Thus it is clear
that he is even prepared to sacrifice his life for the happiness of the Ruth.
Good Natured:
In his office he is praised for his meekness and sincerity. Though he is accused to
have committed for goes deliberately in a planed way, he is not such a guilty. As love
is fanatically imbibed spirit he alters the counter foils of cheque he has forged.
A Broken Man:
As he is sentenced to penal servitude we find him in his solitary cell a broken man.
Only for the sake of the love he is made to pay too heavy. The pitiful condition with
which he is seen in the solitary cell, is enough for him to loss the faith in life. After

19
the imprisonment when he is freed, he finds the world different. His sister abandons
him. So at the office, but at least, he is given a chance to take his office.
Conclusion:
Falder, thus, unlike the hero in a classical tragedy, enjoys neither reputation nor
‘prosperity’. He is in fact, weakling who passionately loves a married woman and
commits an act of forgery to save her from her tyrant husband. This is certainly his
‘error of judgement’ and he has to suffer both physically and mentally. He ultimately
commits suicide. Thus, his tragic flaw brings about him.
Compare and Contrast James How and Walter How in Galsworthy’s

"Justice"
In John Galsworthy’s Justice, James How and Walter How, the owners of a solicitors
firm are father and son. Both are educated, polished and reasonable persons. But
while the father is more conservative in his attitude to life, the son is rather liberal
in his views on the problems of life. Both agree that forgery by Falder is a serious
crime. But the son wishes to ignore it as the first crime by him and to give him a
second chance. The father, on the other hand, thinks that allowing this crime to go
unpunished will itself be a crime.
James How is a grand Victorian. His prudery may sound false, but his concern for
honesty and sanctity of institutions is very much genuine. He hates dishonesty and
immorality. It is difficult for him to forgive Falder, for he has not only swindled his
employer but has proved himself a hardened criminal by ensuring that everybody
suspects Davis. He appears to be custodian of the edifice of law, and his devotion to
and respect for it makes him very much conservative in his attitude to any offence.
Whether it is the first offence or the last, forgery is a crime which cannot go
without punishment. So he insists on letting law take its own course and refuses to
listen to his son’s and Cokeson’s plea for mercy. This attitude of his represents the
attitude of society itself, and it appears to be real not in the system that causes all

20
the suffering.
But James How is not really a heartless man in spite of all his principles and strict
adherence to social values when Falder is sentenced he is not quite happy. When as
Falder comes out of prison only to live as an outcast, he is generous enough to agree
to take him back and give him another chance. Even when the policeman comes to
inquire about Falder, the old man refuses to abide by law and tries to protect him.
Walter How is a modern man and a foil to his father. He does not have much faith in
the system he serves. When Falder is found guilty of forgery he is all for forgiving
him. He even scours his father and insists that human values are more previous than
callousness of a commercial society. When Falder is taken back he seems to be very
happy and when Falder is dead he vainly tries to revive him and then, completely
defeated only looks on, sharing the grief of Ruth. He is no longer skeptical of the
good thing in the world; even in the death of Falder and the grief of Ruth he sees a
meaning.
Significance of the Mute Scene in John Galsworthy's "Justice"
John Galsworthy’s notes in The Mute Scene is an integral part of the

drama, Justice which, not to be read as added material, but to be read as material
that comments upon and deconstructs the core theme Justice. The Mute Scene (Act
III, scene iii) is very important from the theatrical point of view since through this
Galsworthy presents the deep agony of a helpless man, Falder in the solitary
confinement. The scene arouses not only our pity and fear, but also our hatred for
the system. It is heart-gripping in its silent force. The whole scene is a pantomime,
taking place in Falder's prison cell.
By scrutinizing John Galsworthy’s notes in The Mute Scene in the use of the prison
cell, the silent verse, the romantic quest for freedom and the silence of life for his
theatre public, we find Galsworthy’s own subversion and questioning of his native

21
land laws and civic cultures. Now let find what happens in The Mute Scene. In fast-
falling daylight, Falder, in his stockings, is seen standing motionless, with his head
inclined towards the door, listening. He moves a little closer to the door, his stocking
feet making no noise.
He stops at the door. He is trying harder and harder to hear something, any little
thing that is going on outside. He springs suddenly upright--as if at a sound--and
remains perfectly motionless. Then, with a heavy sigh, he moves to his work, and
stands looking at it, with his head down; he does a stitch or two, having the air of a
man so lost in sadness that each stitch is, as it were, a coming to life. Then, turning
abruptly, he begins pacing his cell, moving his head, like an animal pacing its cage. He
stops again at the door, listens, and, placing the palms of his hands against it, with
his fingers spread out, leans his forehead against the iron.
Turning from it, presently, he moves slowly back towards the window, tracing his
way with his finger along the top line of the distemper that runs round the wall. He
stops under the window, and, picking up the lid of one of the tins, peers into it. It
has grown very nearly dark. Suddenly the lid falls out of his hand with a clatter--the
only sound that has broken the silence--and he stands staring intently at the wall
where the stuff of the shirt is hanging rather white in the darkness-he seems to be
seeing somebody or something there. There is a sharp tap and click; the cell light
behind the glass screen has been turned up. The cell is brightly lighted. Falder is
seen gasping for breath.
A sound from far away, as of distant, dull beating on thick metal, is suddenly audible.
Falder shrinks back, not able to bear this sudden clamor. But the sounds grow, as
though some great tumbrel were rolling towards the cell. And gradually it seems to
hypnotize him. He begins creeping inch by inch nearer to the door. The banging sound,
traveling from cell to cell, draws closer and closer; Falder's hands are seen moving
as if his spirit had already joined in this beating; and the sound swells until it seems
to have entered the very cell. He suddenly raises his clenched fists. Panting violently,
he flings himself at his door, and beats on it. At last, Falder leaves the prison, a

22
broken ticket-of-leave man, the stamp of the convict upon his brow, the iron of
misery in his soul.
The Mute Scene is Justice Galsworthy’s fame and charismatic personality

encouraged readers to conflate him with his dramatic characters; his notes
emphasized his voice in the creation of his point of view and in the questioning of his
own argument in favour of real justice abolishing the diabolic prison law and solitary
confinement. Thus, this assessment of existing social system is quite accurate in
determining the plight of civil society and particularly the poor.
Explain the Significance of the Title of John Galsworthy's Play,"

Justice"
The title of the play is a deliberate choice of Galsworthy who intends to make it
sound ironical. In fact, the main tune of the play deals with the crux of justice, or
rather the edifice of justice that appears majestic and awe-inspiring, but in the
name of justice it crushes the poor under its wheel. The title is an impassioned
commentary on the legal system and the prison administration in a commercial
society in which hypocrisy and false values heap injustices on the Falders and
make them find peace in death.
Falder and Ruth are two representatives of those who are outcasts in a society
only because they are poor. Neither the court of justice nor the inhuman society
comes forward to protect them from the humiliating experiences and
helplessness. Falder’s heart is large enough to bleed for Ruth who suffers all
humiliations, miseries, ignominy, and atrocities of an unhappy life. His sympathy for
her develops into passionate love and he is prepared to do anything to help her out
of the hell, promising her a new life and a happy home away from that hell. But a
poor clerk is too poor to realize this dream. So in his desperate bid to get money
he commits forgery which is an immoral act in the eyes of the society and the
custodians of law. Nobody pays any heed to the plea that to save Ruth Falder could
not but forge the cheque. James How does not accept the plea of his son, Walter

23
that Falder should be given a chance. In his blind adherence to the moral values of
a decadent, oppressive society he hands Falder over to the guardians of Justice.
Ironically the judge and the jury find Falder guilty of two offences – forgery and
immoral relation with a married woman, and sentence him to a solitary
imprisonment. The society and the legal system have little interest in human
passion and sympathy for suffering; the wheel of justice has no eyes to see the
wounds it inflicts on the trapped. Nobody is interested in knowing what led Falder
to forge and why Ruth found her life with her husband unbearable. In fact, Justice
puts the judge and the jury in the dock because they never cared to stem the rot
in the system.
The title of the play actually sneers at the law that only too often nurtures the
forces of injustice and hurls Falders down the precipice to their death. Falder
wants to save Ruth from hell, but he finds himself in hell when he is thrown into
prison. The frustrating experiences leave Falder demoralized and desperate, and
failing to clutch at the straw he loses faith in life itself. Even in the prison cell the
fate of Ruth haunts him, for he knows that there is none to help his Ruth. But then
Falder is a human. James How and the judge do not see thing in his light. They, in
their anxiety to save the majestic edifice of law and society forget to temper
their judgment with mercy, though they are very much keen in praising the
Christian piety. The consequences of all these are extremely horrifying.
With Falder we all are prisoners in our cells and we all suffer and share the
shame of the victims, for we are all equally helpless before the majestic
institutions that hold our world to ransom. As Falder is bewildered in his defeat, he
despairs of a future, for his alienation of the society and his nightmarish
experiences make him stray even from Ruth. And it is in that angle of this the
significance of the title should be read. When he comes out of the cell and finds
himself free, he still clings to life and tries once again to share it with Ruth. But
‘Justice’ doesn’t give him respite. So he jumps to his death and gives law the slip,
saving himself from further onslaught of ‘justice’. Thus the circle of irony is
complete.

24
Importance of the character of Cokeson in the play, "Justice".

Galsworthy, "The humanitarian moralist" is very careful about the delineation of
his characters as he thinks that character is the most important element of his
dramatic technique. According to him, character is the foundation of the plot. He
feels that the plot is subservient to character. He opines, " The perfect dramatist
rounds up his characters and facts within the ring fence of a dominant idea which
fulfils the craving of his spirit..... Take care if character......with take care of
themselves." At another place, he says, "The dramatist who hangs his characters
to his plot, instead of hanging his plot to his characters is guilty of cardinal sin."
Galsworthy draws characters from his observation of persons around him.

"Justice", one of the most remarkable social tragedies and problem plays, is the
exact specimen of this. In it, he also draws characters from common place like
home, office, law court etc. "Justice" is the result of Galsworthy's grim experience
when he visited the convict prison of Dartmoor in September, 1907. In this play,
Cokeson plays a very important role to establish Galsworthy's tragic outlook on
society.
Cokeson is the man of "sixty, wearing spectacles, rather short, with a bald
head and an honest pug-dog face." He is a man full of humanity, sympathy, a strong
sense of justice, a timid impartiality and generosity. Cokeson is a law abiding and
disciplined person. He says about himself ---- "I'm a plain man -- never set myself
against authority." His honesty is shown in the 'Trial Scene', where he does not use
any single word of his own, rather he quotes the exact words told by Ruth i. e.
"It's a matter of life and death."
Here in the play, "Justice", Cokeson plays the role of the chorus. He is the
character who introduces the most important two characters of the play, Ruth and
Falder. He acts as the mediator and connects the characters of the play with the
audience or the reader. In this serious play, Cokeson is the only person who
provides fun and humour. The chief source of his humour is the misuse of words

25
and their wrong pronunciation. He uses the word 'eurotic' for 'neurotic'. He uses
the Latin phrase "Quite compos", but originally it is "noncompos mentis". He also
uses "sign quanonne" for "some qua non" and "prime facey" for "prima facie".
Through the character of Cokeson, Galsworthy also shows the problems of

the then society. Firstly, when Ruth comes to visit Falder, Cokeson firmly asserts,
"It's all against the rules" and "we don't allow private callers here." And when
Falder kisses Ruth, he says "This isn't right" and "It's an improper use of these
premises." Here he shows the hard rules of the solicitors' office. Again, in Act IV,
after the release of Falder from prison, when he comes to the office for a job,
Cokeson requests to James that, "I'm bound to tell you all about it. He's quite
penitent. But there's prejudice against him...."Actually, Galsworthy here very
authentically shows the problem of social and economic rehabilitation of the
prisoners after their release from the jail.
Thus, Cokeson's character is too important to avoid. Without Cokeson , the

plot of the play is not build up and the theme is not established. He is the
character who gives start to the play and it ends with his remark ---- "No one'll
touch him now! Never again! He's safe with gentle Jesus." Though he is a round
character and remains same from beginning to end "under the stress of
circumstances" (Skemp), Cokeson is an omnipotent character to fulfil Galsworthy's
ambition.
How does Galsworthy use Falder's death scene in "Justice" as a

vehicle to make a social point? Discuss.
"Justice" by John Galsworthy is, no doubt, a successful social propaganda that
was much effective to "strike a crushing blow at a custom which continues to
darken our humanity and good sense" of Galsworthy's time. "Justice" was not
written by him in any 'wanton spirit'. "It has been nothing but pain from beginning
to end." Galsworthy wants to show the burning problems of contemporary society
and he uses the death scene of Falder as a vehicle to make a social point.
In Act iv of the play, we see that Falder is released from the prison and comes

26
to the solicitors' office to get a job. But Detective Sergeant Wister comes here
to arrest him because "he's failed to report himself lately." In shame & despair &
agony of the coming tortures in the jail, "he throws up his head and goes out of the
outer office" and commits suicide by jumping down the stairs -- "There are sounds
of footsteps descending the stone stairs : suddenly a dull thud...." and a "dead
silence" rounds up the situation.
Galsworthy uses this death scene to show the problems of law and justic, legal
as well as social,, problem of social & economic rehabilitation of a former convict.
The the most burning problem of the then time is the problem of justice. Falder is
accused of forgery which he has done in "a momentary solace" but Mr. Cleaver
considers it as "one of the most serious known to our law" and yhe Judge also says
that "The crime you have committed is a very serious one."
Though, Mr. Frome pleads to jufge him not as 'a criminal' but as 'a patient', he
is imprisoned for thtee years. Galsworthy's criticism is vivid here as he says
through the dialogue of Mr. Frome that "Men, like the prisoners are destroyed
daily under our law for want of that human insight." Frome also considers justice
"as a machine when someone has once given it the starting push, rolls on of itself."
He also says, "the rolling of the chariot wheels of justice over this boy began when
it was decided to prosecute him."
Finally he has to face his tragic end. His death proves true the prediction of Mr.
Frome i.e. "Imprison him as a criminal and I affirm to you that he will be lost." Not
only that, but also Falder's death proves that "once a criminal, forever a criminal"
in the eye of justice & law. Though he becomes "penitent" for his work, society
cannot accept him as a perfectly good person. The stigma of criminality stands as a
bar to his security that leads him ultimately to his death.
Thus this death scene introduces sensational elements into the play, making it a
story of society, story of social probl,, story of unfortunate crime &
disproportionate punishment, rather than conventional high tragedy.

27
Is Falder a conventional tragic hero?
Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher in his famous book, "Poetics" deduces the
qualities of a tragic hero. From his point of view, ideal tragic hero "must be an
intermediate kind of person, a man not pre-eminently virtuous and just, whose
misfortune, however, is bought upon him not by vice or depravity but by some error
of judgement." This "error of judgement" is termed as 'hamartia'. He also asserts,
the tragic hero must occupy a position of lofty eminence in society. According to
him, "Higher the state the greater the fall that follows." This fall evokes the pity
and fear in the mind of the audience.
"Justice", a notable problem play and social tragedy by Galsworthy is the

result of Galsworthy's grim experience after visiting the convict prison of
Dartmoor in September, 1907. In this play, Folder is the tragic hero, but he is not
conventional. In some places, he distinguishes from the conventional or Aristotlian
tragic hero.
Falder, the tragic protagonist of the play, is a clerk in the firm form of
solicitors. Whereas the heroes of the Greek or the Shakespearean are grand,
sublime in conception, Titanic and superhuman in vigour and force, gigantic and
mammoth in dimensions, Falder belongs to the common rank of humanity. He does
not occupy any eminent place. Here he deviates from the concept of conventional
tragic hero like Oedipus, Macbeth, Hamlet.
Falder is not a person who is too good or too bad. He is an intermediate

kind of person. And he does not face his tragedy because of some 'hamartia' or
'tragic flaw' or 'error of judgement'. He only makes the offence of forgery from
nine to ninety. But he has done it not because of any bad intention, but because he
wants to save Ruth from the torture of her brutal husband. But before his flight
with Ruth, his crime is discovered and he is arrested. From this point of time, his
tragedy begins as Mr. Frome, the defence counsel says in the Trial Scene, "The
rolling of the chariot wheels of justice over this boy began when it was decided to
prosecute him."

28
Galsworthy is a realistic writer and he shows the problems of society and

law through the tragedy of Falder. In the Trial Scene, Mr. Frome considers Falder
as 'a patient' and not a criminal and compares 'justice' to a "machine that when
someone has once given it the starting push rolls on of itself." He also considers
'justice' as a 'chariot' and the "chariot wheels of justice" finish the life of Falder.
According to him, "Men, like the prisoners are destroyed daily under our law for
want of that human insight."
A conventional tragic hero suffers from his "tragic flaw". But in the case
of Falder, he is not dominated by any flaws. He does not work in a "momentary
solace", in a "moment of aberration." Falder is a weak-willed character as Mr.
Frome says to the Judge, "bred and born with a weak character." He is a victim of
the maligned force of society. Though Mr. Frome pleads to judge him from the
humanitarian point of view, Mr. Cleaver considers it as "one of the most serious
known to our law" and the Judge asserts, "The crime you have committed is a very
serious one." And finally he is sentenced to imprisonment.
Through the "Mute Scene", Galsworthy shows the deep rooted agony of a
prisoner during the time of his solitary confinement. Though the scene is without
any dialogue, it is capable enough to arouse pity for Falder Calder and fear for the
system of prison administration. However, after two years he has been released
from the prison, but he is ordered to report in the police station regularly. But he
does not do this. So he is again found by the Detective Sergeant Wister. And
finally he "throwd up his head and goes out through the outer office" and
surrenders to death and a "dead silence" swallows the situation.
Thus though Falder does not occupy any eminent place or higher state, his
death occurs pity and fear in the mind of of us and helps in bringing out the
catharsis of these emotions.

29
"No one'll touch him now! Never again! He's safe with gentle
Jesus!" - comment on this statement.
These words of Cokeson at the end of Galsworthy's famous problem play,
"Justice"(1910) shows his sane and sympathetic attitude toward Falder. He has
genuine affection and love for Falder. He visits the prison to see the poor condition
of him. He has pleaded for reinstatement of Falder, so that he may get a chance to
lead a decent normal life.
But finally Falder has to face the biggest punishment i. e. death and Ruth
cries out,"No, no! No, no!", Cokeson's heart melts with pity and is full of sorrow at
the harrowing sight of Falser dead and Ruth is bending over his body calling,
"pretty", "dear". Cokeson utters these words which bring out his warm- hearted
humanity. Falder has been hunted out of life by the blood-hounds of law. He is now
beyond the rich of law ans Society. They cannot touch him now.
Cokeson becomes philosophical in his speech. He means to say that Jesus is

the savior of all man. Jesus can save him from injustice which has meted out to
Falder in the name of justice in human society. Jesus gives shelter to all- the
virtuous and the vicious. He is merciful and loving. Cruelties of so-called justice
have completely crushed him. By committing suicide Falder has gone to heaven and
will get the love, mercy and shelter if he kind- hearted Jesus.
"The law is what it is" - Define law as interpreted by the Judge in

"Justice".
In Galsworthy's famous problem play, "Justice" Falder is accused of forgery from
nine to ninety and Frome is the defence counsel and pleads to the Judge for mercy
by bringing in the story of love between Falder and the married woman, Ruth
Honeywill and her distress under the torment of her husband. He emphasizes the
emotional background under which he has acted this forgery. He says that Falder
has done this under the "temporary insanity caused by the violent distress."
But the Judge tells Falder about his crime and law before giving the

30
final judgement. He says that, "I have to consider on the one hand the grave
nature of your offence, the deliberate way in which you subsequently altered the
counterfoil, the danger you caused to an innocent man - and that to my mind is a
very grave point - and finally I have to consider the necessity of deterring others
from following your example." He then defines law as "a majestic edifice,
sheltering all of us, each stone of which rests on another."
According to the Judge, law is not a cage but a magnificent building that
has been erected through ages by the efforts of civilized man. It is a system that
shelters all from vices and corruption. Those who violate the rules and principles of
civilized life, and thus threaten the order and security of social life and punished
by law. The Judge as a custordian of law, has thus the sacred responsibility not
only to Falder, 'but to the community', to the administration with right spirit of
reason and mortality.
The Judge through this concepttion of law takes an orthodox conservative

view of morality and law. He considers Falder's crime as 'a very serious one' and he
does not agree with Frome to release him because it is quite harmful to the
society, according to the Judge.
Why does Falder refuse to dissociate himself from Ruth Honeywill

in "Justice".
In Galsworthy's famous problem play, "Justice"(1910), Falder, the young fellow has
been arrested for the offence of forgery, but in Act IV, we see that he has been
released from the prison and comes to the solicitor's office to join the job again.
He says to Cokeson, "I just want a chance, Mr. Cokeson. I've paid for that job a
thousand times and more."
Cokeson appeals to James to give Falder the job back by saying that
"he's quite penitent" and "he's had his lesson". Though first James does not agree
with Cokeson, but after sometime, he is quite melted and gives Falder two
conditions. The 1st one is, "It's no good coming here as a victim" and the 2nd one is
that " this woman you are mixed up with - you must give us your word, you know, to

31
have done with that: There's no chance of your keeping straight if you're going to
begin your future with such a relationship."
But Falder refused to dissociate himself from Ruth because "it's the one
thing" he "looked forward to all that time." He also says, "I couldn't give her up. I
couldn't. .......I'm all she's got to look to. And I'm sure she's all I have got." He
adds that, "There's been nothing between us". He promised James that they will
keep apart till the affair of divorce is over. But he cannot fully depart from her at
any cost.
Here his deep attachment with Ruth is clearly suggested. His loyalty, his
deep and intense love is indicated in his words. He is quite serious in this matter
and he does not leave her because she is in a helpless condition.
"It's a matter of life and death" - What does Ruth Honeywill

refer by this statement
This is told by Ruth Honeywill, an unhappy married woman of twenty six years, to
Cokeson, the managing clerk of solicitors' office in John Galsworthy's famous
problem play, "Justice".
Ruth wants to visit Falder because of some 'personal matter', but Cokeson
does not permit her to meet with him. He says sternly that "we don't allow private
callers here" because "it is all against the rules". He also says that if one of the
employers come then it becomes a matter of problem Ruth "mustn't take up his
time in office hours". But Ruth is obstinate to meet with Falder and makes this
remark.
Through this short but significant remark, Galsworthy shows a problem

of the then society - the problem of the livelihood of those women whose marriage
prices unhappy and troublesome. Here he uses the character of Ruth as the
representative of those women. She is tortured everyday by her husband, cruel
and brutaland it has gone to the extreme limit as "he tried to cut" her "throat last
night". She comes to Falder to settle the matter of their elopement. She has come

32
with her children with readiness to leave her husband's house. If Cokeson does not
allow her. to meet it will be unfortunate for her.This remark also has an ironical
suggestion. She does not know what is waiting for her. The phrase "life and death"
indicates the coming misfortune of both Ruth and Falder.
Bring out the significance of the metaphor of the "wheels" of

justice in "Justice".
In Galsworthy's play, "Justice", a social tragedy, Falder, the hero of the story has
been arrested for the crime of forgery from nine to ninety. Frome, the councel for
the defence gives his evidences to make Falder free. He pleads to judge him as 'a
patient' and not as 'a criminal' because he is a young fellow and he has done this
act of forgery in 'a momentary solace', in 'a moment of aberration'.
He first compares justice to 'a machine', then with a cage out of which no
body comes out unhurt when one has fallen into it. Then he says that, "the rolling
of the chariot wheels of justice over this boy began when it was decided to
prosecute him." The contention of Frome is that the 'wheels' of justice have been
crushing and trampling Falder for the last two months. He means to say that he has
already suffered in the prison. When he was prosecuted and handed over to the
police, his misery began. The metaphor used here is that justice moves on in a
chariot as it were and its wheels roll on over the criminal and crush them at the
end. In Falder, the wheels of justice have already began to roll and he must be
finished, if he does not make himself free.
Goldsworthy is a realistic writer who writes plays with the deliberate

purpose to protest against the problems of society. Here he makes a campeign
against the system of justice, law, prison administration, particularly of solitary
confinement. Here Galsworthy is trying to elaborate the real meaning of justice
and he wants to make his readers understand that a man commits a crime 'out of a
moment' but he has to pay all throughout his life. This metaphor of 'wheel' strikes

33
"a crushing blow at a custom which continues to darken our humanity and good
sense" of Galsworthy's time.
Short Questions
Q.What is the pseudonym that Galsworthy took? What kind of aesthetic theory
did he believe in?
Ans: Galsworthy took the pseudonym ‘John Sinjohn’. Galsworthy was a representative
of the literary tradition, which has regarded the art as an instrument of social
debate. He believed that it was the duty of an artist to examine a problem, but not
to provide a solution.
Q.Justify the significance of the title ‘Justice’. Read More Drama
Ans: John Galsworthy deliberately chose the title Justice in order to satirize the
contemporary social and legal systems of the country, which in the name of ‘justice’
forced the helpless individuals like Falder and Ruth to suffer and perish finally in
the most inhuman way in a ‘civilised’ society.
Q.Justify the sub-title of the drama ‘A tragedy’. Or, Do you think Justice a
social tragedy?
Ans: Justice is different from the other tragedies written in Aristotelian formula.
There is no conventional hero-villain conflict in the play. The central protagonist
Falder is not at all a heroic figure; rather he is of a weak-willed and nervous
personality. Again, the place of the villain has been taken by the inhuman social and
legal systems, to which the hero becomes a victim.
Q.Character of Falder/Falder as a tragic hero.
Ans: In Galsworthy’s Justice the central protagonist, Falder is a weak-willed and

nervous person with a good intention of providing relief to a suffering woman. In so
doing he commits a crime which leads him to prison and to death. Thus he becomes a
pathetic figure rather than a tragic one.

34
Q.Character of Ruth Honeywill
Ans: Ruth is a poor, unimpressive woman married to a brutish drunkard. Her suffering
makes her love Falder sincerely. Again, she does all this more for her children than
for herself. Like Ruth in the Old Testament she is sad and gloomy figure. All her
hopes, however, get shattered at the death of Falder.
Q.Who is James How? How and what does he declare about Falder?
Ans: James How is the embodiment of the cruel, inhuman social and legal system. It
is not, of course, that he is the villain of the piece. He judges and acts on the
prevalent conventional morality that makes him blind to the serious flaws in the
systems. He is the owner of the firm in which Falder is a junior clerk. When he comes
to know of the crime, he decides to send him to jail.
Q.Who is Walter How? What does he decide about Falder?
Ans: Walter How, the son of James How, stands as a foil to his father. Owing to
generosity and clear view of events, he judges everything on the human ground and
tries his best to dissuade his father from sending Falder to prison. While his father
represents conventional morality, Walter How represents the kind of morality
Galsworthy wants the social and the legal institutions to go by. When Walter comes
to know of the crime committ4ed by Falder, he decides not to send him to jail as it
is his first crime.
Q.The character of Cokeson
Ans: In Galsworthy’s Justice Cokeson, the head clerk of How’s firm, is a good-
natured person, but he has his limitations as a member of the lower middleclass. He

35
understands Falder and feels for him, but he cannot go against his employer. Finally,
he answers all fittingly at the end when Falder dies.
Q.“It is a matter of life and death”.Who says this and to whom and why?
Ans: Tortured by her drunkard husband almost to death, Ruth Honeywell comes to
meet Falder for being rescued from him. But in the office, Cokeson tells her that
such personal affairs are not entertained. This forces Ruth to entreat him with
these words.
Q.“Justice is a machine.” Who says this and why?
Ans: Falder’s defence counsel, Mr. Frome introduces the metaphor of machine in
order to convey the sense that the legal system operates in such an inhuman way
that it makes mockery of the concept of ‘justice’ and destroys the individual
completely. The end of the drama, the end of Falder’s life proves his words.
Q.“Law is what it is, a majestic edifice sheltering all f us” Who says this, when
and why?
Ans: In the course of sentencing Falder to imprisonment, the judge as a protector

and agent of the existing legal system asserts that the institution of law is a noble
one. It seeks to protect the good citizens from the bad ones, to protect the society.
The judge is the spokesman of the conventional concept of ‘justice’ in the
contemporary judicial system. Naturally, his opinions and views do not go by human
norms.
Q.“It must have been temptation of the moment” ...A man does not succumb
like this.” Who says this? Why does he say so? What do you think of his
character from the speech?
Ans: After the detection of Falder’s forgery and his confession, James How decides
upon prosecuting Falder. Walter How, his son, pleads for Falder’s case. He opines
that Falder, a gentleman, must have been tempted to do this. His words indicate that
he is a good-natured youth, who judges everything on the human ground.

36
Q.“The quality of mercy is not strained...” Where does the speaker quote the
line from? Why does he do so?
Ans: The speaker, Walter How, quotes the famous line from Portia’s speech in
Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, where she appeals to Shylock for Antonio’s
case. Walter How wants to convey that mercy is a greater virtue and, therefore,
greater justice, which makes everyone happy. He tries to convey his father that they
should pardon on this virtue.
Q.Significance of the Mute Scene in Justice.
Ans: The Mute Scene (Act III, scene iii) is very important from the theatrical point
of view since through this Galsworthy presents the deep agony of a helpless man,
Falder in the solitary confinement. The scene arouses not only our pity and fear, but
also our hatred for the system.
Q.Significance of the Trial Scene in Justice.
Ans: The Trial Scene in Justice sets the play in motion. The title of the play is
directly related to the Trial Scene which concretizes the conflict between two
abstract forces of antagonism—law versus humanity.

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Justice Play by John Galsworthy

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The socio-revolutionary significance of "Justice" consists not only in the portrayal

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Falder: I was half frantic all that morning, sir.

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However, Cleaver, the prosecution counsel, crushes Frome’s plea of temporary

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Facebook Page MA / BS English University of Sargodha Pakistan

Facebook Page MA / BS English University of Sargodha Pakistan

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The solitary imprisonment administered to Falder for committing the offence of

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Galsworthy brings out the social system of contemporary England which is so

Davis, a junior clerk first suspected of altering the check.

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Hector Frome, Falder’s attorney during the trial.

Harold Cleaver, the counselor for the prosecution at Falder’s trial.

Galsworthy's "Justice” : A Problem Play that Satirizes Crime Law

No subject of equal social importance has received such thoughtful consideration in

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Character of Ruth Honeywill: How is She Responsible for Falder’s

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Only woman character in Justice:

Ruth’s responsibility behind the death of Falder:

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John Galsworthy as a Social Propagdandist: A Voice for

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Meanwhile, his fiction is concerned principally with English upper middle-class

John Galsworthy as a Social Reformer:

General Features of Galsworthy’s Writings:

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Significance of the Dumb Scene (Act III Sc. III) in John

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John Galsworthy's Falder in "Justice": How does his Tragedy Prove

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Compare and Contrast James How and Walter How in Galsworthy’s

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Significance of the Mute Scene in John Galsworthy's "Justice"

John Galsworthy’s notes in The Mute Scene is an integral part of the

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The Mute Scene is Justice Galsworthy’s fame and charismatic personality

Explain the Significance of the Title of John Galsworthy's Play,"

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Importance of the character of Cokeson in the play, "Justice".

Galsworthy draws characters from his observation of persons around him.

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Through the character of Cokeson, Galsworthy also shows the problems of

Thus, Cokeson's character is too important to avoid. Without Cokeson , the

How does Galsworthy use Falder's death scene in "Justice" as a

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Is Falder a conventional tragic hero?

"Justice", a notable problem play and social tragedy by Galsworthy is the

Falder is not a person who is too good or too bad. He is an intermediate

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Galsworthy is a realistic writer and he shows the problems of society and

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Cokeson becomes philosophical in his speech. He means to say that Jesus is