SELF DEVOTION TO ART AS A FORM OF HAPPINESS IN JOHN

GALWORTHY’S “QUALITY” 

I.  INTRODUCTION

John Galsworthy was born at Come, Surrey, Devonshire in August 1867. He

may be said to be one of the last representatives of Critical Realism in English
literature. Because his work gives the most complete and critical picture of English
bourgeois society at the beginning of the 20th century. John Galsworthy left behind
wonderful works, making a significant contribution to the English literature. 
The story “Quality” first published in 1912, is one of the most successful short
stories in John Galsworthy’s literary career. The plot is set on Gessler Brothers - two
traditional German shoemakers who made high quality shoes and considered
shoemaking as an art. For them, quality is the top priority. They always utilized high
quality material for customers’ ordered shoes and refused the mass production shoes
made by factories. The Gesslers, due to their standard in making shoes, had to struggle
to survive in the competition with the big firms in an age of marketing and
advertising. They had to sacrifice all their possessions and even their lives in order to
stay true to their crafts.
This paper present the analysis of self devotion to art as a form of happiness in
John Galworthy’s “Quality”. The term happiness is defined as the general desire to
attain a particular type of fulfillment (Wang, 2009, p. 243-244). The desire to keep
making high quality boots that meet the criteria and standard requirements of footwear
can be seen in “Quality”.  
We chose this topic because we ourselves really love and appreciate the art of
craftsmanship. We have also experienced the way people lose the feeling of art due to
the commercialization. They tend to be attracted to the virality of a product such as the
brand more than the quality of it. In contrast, “Quality” is a touching account of a
passionate shoemaker whose love and dedication towards his work. He considered his
commitment and self devotion to art as a form of happiness. Therefore, through the
topic chosen, we want to send a positive message about true art that there are still
people devoting themselves to create the best works for humans and we need to learn
from them.

II. ANALYSIS

The story starts with the portrayal of Gessler brothers’ shop that does not have
any sign upon its face as a reference to the Royal Family but “merely his own German
name of Gessler Brothers” (Nguyen, 2020, p. 95). Through the lens of the narrator,
we can also see the excellent craftsmanship of Mr. Gessler (the younger brother)
which makes the narrator wonder if he has seen the “Soul of Boot” (Nguyen, 2020, p.
95). However, he only made boots on order and never let anyone other than his
brother help in the process of making boots. It is because he wanted the boots to be
perfectly fit to each customer. Mr. Gessler focuses on the quality of the boots more
than any other elements. 
 Mr. Gessler was not just a shoemaker but an artist who dedicated his life to art.
Throughout the story, he spent all time in his shop which was compared to a place for
him to worship his creation. He utilized the best material for boots and handcrafted
them on his own. The boots made by him were beyond the temporary, as if the
“essence of boots” was stitched in them and they incarnated “the very spirit of all
foot-gear” (Nguyen, 2020, p. 95). For Mr. Gessler, boot is art which is beautiful and
gives people pleasure. When the narrator asked him if his work was hard, he replied
with a smile that “Id is an Ardt” (Nguyen, 2020, p. 96).  Whenever he saw his high
quality boots, he found pleasure. Making boots gave him happiness and made his life
worthy. He enjoyed making them. 
Besides quality, customer feedback also was Mr.Gessler’s concern. He was
willing to make changes in his boots or give the customer a refund if there was a need:
“Zome boods,” he said slowly, “are bad from birdt. If I can do noding wid dem, I
dake dem off your bill.” (Nguyen, 2020, p. 98). This shows the humility of the artist.
Different from big firms, whose work is driven by profit, Mr. Gessler gave priority to
the perfection of his work and customer satisfaction over the money. However, despite
the quality of his work, he was lost in the competition with big firms which produced
shoes in mass production and pursued aggressive advertisement.
“Dey get id all,” he said, “dey get id by advertisement, nod by word. Dey dake it
away from us, who lofe our boods.” (Nguyen, 2020, p. 99)
Mr. Gessler lost his customers. There were fewer and fewer orders on his boots. 
He did feel depressed about it; however, he kept maintaining his standard in making
boots. His pride was to make high quality boots and he did not want to lose it due to
the market demand. Mr. Gessler showed his self respect by his decision.
The sacrifice for boots of Mr. Gessler was costly. The loss of customers led to
his impoverishment. Slowly, he could not earn enough for living. At first, he had to
sacrifice one of his shops because it was too expensive. He sold it and lived together
with his brother in their small one. His elder brother can not get over the pain of losing
part of their shops and died. Despite that sorrow loss, he still did not give up. At last,
he had to sacrifice his own life for maintaining the quality of his boots. He was found
dead in starvation. He worked until the very last breath. 
Mr. Gessler lived his entire life in a small tenement where he created his art. He
dedicated his entire life to making high quality boots. His happiness lied on making
boots. Although he may be willing to sacrifice his customers, his business and even
his life, he was not ready at any moment in his struggle with the big firms, to
compromise the quality of his boots.  His love and self devotion made him a true
artist. In the end, the artist died but his art would continue to live through his admirers
who appreciate the true value of art, the quality. 
 
III. CONCLUSION
 
Happiness requires self-esteem and fulfillment which can be found in Mr.
Gessler. He had self-esteem in making high quality boots and found fulfillment in it.
Whenever good boots were made by himself for his customers, he found pleasure and
satisfaction, which brings him happiness. This made him eager to devote his life to
making outstanding boots. His utter commitment has even forced him to neglect one
 of his core needs that is food. He spent all his money on his leather boots, the material
of his boots, and the rent of his store, the place where he could do his business. His
love for his craft and commitment made him a true artist. Although the end of the
story is really sad when there is a feeling of suffering and sorrow, human ideals and
the nature of the spirit seem to be victorious. What happened to Mr. Gissler has
proven that self devotion to art can be considered as a form of happiness. Once a
person gets happiness in his life, he feels enough that he is willing to sacrifice other
things.
 
REFERENCES
Wang, S. (2009). Aquinas and Sartre on Freedom, Personal Identity and the Possibility of
Happiness. Washington DC: The Catholic University of America Press.
Nguyen, K. L. (2020). Trích giảng Văn học Anh English Literature. Hanoi University.