Critical Analysis of the Story:
Introduction:
The story “Quality” written by John Galsworthy in 1912 is about the German shoemakers, Gessler Brothers. It was first published in The Inn of Tranquility: Studies and Essays in 1912. The story focuses on the bitter struggle for the existence of the Gessler Brothers in the days of competition and advertisement from which they entirely remained away for lack of resources and their old - fashioned ideals. Consequently the skilled and experienced workers have to suffer starvation and yield to those more resourceful and enterprising, however unskilled they may be but prosper by compromising with quality and principles. The story also shows what our business world has become now: more the advertising, more the earning. No one pays attention to the poor traditional craftsmen who value art and quality of products. They have to suffer even though they don't deserve it.
Plot of the Story:
Exposition:
The story begins with the description of two Gessler brothers whose profession is shoe making. They live and work in a nondescript shop in an alley in the fashionable West End area of London. Their shop has no flashy signage, no bight light, except a dull - looking name board that reads Gessler Brothers. The name seems German, so does the accent of the two artisans. In the window, the two brothers keep a pair of shoes. The narrator describes them as the personification of the ideals of quality and excellence in the field of shoemaking. For them shoemaking is not just a craft but a sublime art. Mr. Gessler makes each pair of shoes to be a custom fit to each individual using the best leather. The narrator is acquainted with the Gessler Brothers from the age of fourteen when he used to visit them to get his father's shoes made by them.
Rising Action:
In the story, the Gessler Brothers have to face the tough competition from big firms which mass - produce goods using machines and sell them in the market by luring the customers with advertisements. But the Gessler Brothers are not willing to compromise on quality and they find it difficult to exist in the industrialised world, marked by mass production and cut - throat competition. Since they make everything by hand, without using any machine or help, they take a pretty time and in the process lose their customers. Whatever money they get, they use it to pay the rent and to buy the best quality leather. So there exists an external conflict between the Gessler Brothers and the big firms. There is also an internal conflict within the Gessler Brothers. They are in a dilemma to choose either between their traditional mode of shoemaking without compromising on quality or to shift to the modern commercialized way, investing more on advertisements than on quality. The Gessler Brothers, instead of making any compromise to the quality of shoes, are inclined to their ideals and principles and thus they have to endure great loss by losing one half of their shop.
Climax:
When the narrator again visits the Gessler Brothers after many months, he gets the shocking news that the Elder Gessler has died. Worries borne out of the slack business and the resulting difficulties force the two brothers to give up one shop. The loss of one shop apparently drives the elder brother to death. Due to losing his elder brother as well as a part of his shop, Mr. Gessler also suffers. After this happening the reader becomes curious to know whether Mr. Gessler would bring any change in his business or keep on the same mode and thus would sacrifice his life for the love of his work and for the sake of quality of shoes.
Falling Action:
The narrator returns to London after a year and goes to see his favourite shoe - maker, but his encounter with Mr. Gessler is not very pleasant. Mr. Gessler battles poor business, loss of his brother and despondency. The continuing distress takes a toll of his physical and mental condition. He looks so haggard and broken. He looks much older than his age. The narrator places an order for several pairs of shoes and goes away without any hope of getting those shoes as Mr. Gessler has become too old and feeble. But the four pairs of shoes arrive at the narrator's place one evening. The narrator tries them one by one and finds them perfect in fitting, finishing and workmanship. Strangely, although a long time has elapsed, the shoe man has charged the same old rate. The narrator pays off the amount.
Denouement:
A week later, the narrator goes to Gessler's place to talk about the excellent shoes he has made. But, what he discovers devastates him. He finds that a new shop has come up there. There is neither the shop nor Mr. Gessler. Gessler's name board has vanished, although other items are still there. With heart pounding, the narrator steps in. A completely different man meets him, not Gessler. He starts soliciting order in the usual salesmanship ways. When the narrator demands to know where Gessler is, the man discloses that he has died of slow starvation as he could not cope up with the stiff competition from big firms . It sends a chill down his (the narrator’s) spine.
Moral of the Story:
The story highlights the decline of handicrafts and cottage industry due to stiff competition from big firms in the backdrop of Industrial Revolution in England in the 20th century. The story shows that the big trading companies increase their trade and push the small traders back by advertisement, not by quality of work. They (the big companies) bring out cheap showy things on a large scale and succeed in driving the better and more durable products out of the market. Galsworthy has presented in this story the moving human tragedy resulting from the cut - throat business competition of today. In the story, Mr. Gessler not only maintains the quality of his boots but also improves it to the best of his ability. He spends all that he earns on buying the leather of best quality and makes artistic boots but never increases their price. The competition is so tough that there is no chance of increasing price. The result is that he has to starve himself to death.
Setting and Background:
The story has been presented in the background in industrial development of England. Galsworthy describes artistically how small and independent traders who were geniuses in their crafts were gradually eliminated by the rise of big industries and firms. The whole story takes place at the two little shops let into one, in a small by - street, in the West End, London. The shop is owned by Gessler Brothers, known for making high quality shoes. According to the financial status of the Gessler, the shop has been described as located in a tenement with ' no sign upon its face ' that they make shoes for the Royal Family. The author has so skilfully depicted the interior of the shop as the readers can actually visualise themselves sitting in the shop. The shop has been described as having a peaceful ambience as the one which is found in a church. There was just a single wooden chair for the customer to sit. The Gessler Brothers themselves had an area meant as their workplace, perhaps like an attic, reached by stairs. They made a tip - tap sound when they ascended or descended the stairs. Quite in conformity with a shoe shop, the place smelled of leather. The changes which were seen in their business and financial status is also indicated by the setting of the story. The place is described as more scented and darker than over when due to financial constraints; the Gessler Brothers had to give up one part of their shop. Even the display window had shoes huddled together unlike the old boots displayed in dignified isolation. The setting of the story shows a poignant picture of the lives of the traditional workers working against heavy odds in the background of industrial revolution.
Appropriateness of the Title:
The title of the story is very significant because the entire story moves round the quality of boots, the dream of quality boots and the quality of character of Mr. Gessler. The story comes to an end with Gessler's death for quality. It was the death not of Gessler but of quality of commodities forever. The story brings home to our minds the truth that the industrial competition has eliminated quality from mass production. What is needed in business today is not quality but show. Thus, the title of the story is meaningful.
Characterization:
In the story there are two main characters. The focus of attention is Mr. Gessler who is a man of peculiar quality. He is not an average man; he is rather a typical sort of person. He is a character by himself. Another character is the narrator. He is acquainted with Mr. Gessler since the age of fourteen when he used to visit Mr. Gessler to get his father's shoes. Later he starts visiting Mr. Gessler for getting his own shoes made by him. The narrator has been shown as a quality - conscious man. He is an admirer of art and the artists. It is suggested by the fact that he visits the Gessler Brothers’ shop a number of times as he admires the beauty and quality of shoes made by them. He seems to be awestruck by the beauty of shoes made by them to such an extent that he describes them as “too beautiful”; “making water come into one's mouth”. The narrator is compassionate and sympathetic by nature. He is deeply moved by the plight of the Gessler Brothers; hence he orders many pairs of shoes.
The Use of Imagery:
The author has employed apt imagery to depict the appearance of the Gessler Brothers and their attributes as traditional, slow and quality - conscious artists. The author has compared Mr. Gessler with leather to define both the artist and his art.
“Himself, he was a little as if made from leather; with his yellow crinkly face and crinkly reddish hair and beard; and neat folds slanting down his cheeks to the corners of his mouth, and his guttural and one - toned voice; for leather is a sardonic substance, and stiff and slow of purpose, And that was the character of his face , save that his eyes , which were gray - blue , had in them the simple gravity of one secretly possessed by the ideal.”
Gessler Brothers’ traditional working style has been shown through the ambience of their shop and their attitude towards their work:
“...... but restfully, as one enters a church; and sitting on the single wooden chair, waited - for there was never anybody there. Soon, over the top edge of that sort of well rather dark, and smelling soothingly of leather - which formed the shop , there would be seen his face , or that of his elder brother, peering down.”
Dedication, commitment and firm resolution of the Gessler Brothers can be seen through the imagery of dream and an owl who works throughout the night:
“A guttural sound and the tip - tap of bast slippers beating the narrow wooden stairs, apron, and he would stand before one without coat, a little bent, in leather turned back, blinking- as if awakened from some dream of boots, or like an owl surprised in daylight and annoyed at this interruption.”
The Use of Symbols:
In the story, the word “Quality” acquires a double meaning. In highly competitive commercial society, the Gessler Brothers maintain the quality of their boots. They display their quality of human nature. The basic symbols are the Gesslers, their boots and the leather they use. They form a compound symbol of an uncompromising ideal. Their boots made of the best leather and incarnating the very spirit of all footgear, is their ideal which stands for supreme quality of human nature. The Gessler Brothers stand for their type of human beings. Their personal moral victory reveals is the richness of human values. Their death symbolises the defeat of something larger than themselves. The Gessler Brothers’ tragedy signifies a moral decay in search for material civilization. Human values are threatened by material gain.
Narrative Technique:
The story, written in first person narrative from an unknown narrator's perspective, is a beautiful depiction of today's cruel reality. The first person narrative helps to provide a realistic picture of the struggle faced by the handicraft industry and the artisans during the Industrial Revolution by referring to the actual encounter between the narrator and the artisan (Gessler Brothers). The plot of story has been constructed in a rather conventional way. The plot is set on the two traditional German shoemakers who did not compromise with quality and craftsmanship but met the sad fate of extinction in an age of marketing where success is determined by advertisement, not by work.
Language Employed in the Story:
The narrator speaks English language but the Gessler Brothers’ English is fully contaminated with German as they are from Germany. The tone and accent of the Gesslers is half - English and half - German. There are following sentences which describe their German accent:
1. “I will ask my brudder.”
2. “Id shouldn'd 'ave greaked.”
3. "Zome boods’ are bad from birdt.”
4. “Dose big virms ‘ave no self - respect.”
Element of Pathos:
Tragic element pervades the story. The Gessler Brothers have to struggle a lot for their existence and survival while facing the competition from the big firms. The Elder Gessler dies as he cannot get over the shock of losing one of their two shops. Mr. Gessler dies of slow starvation as he cannot cope up with the stiff competition from big firms. The following passage shows the deep pathos over the sad plight of the life led by Gessler.
“Slow starvation, the doctor called it! You see he went to work in such a way! Would keep the shop on; wouldn't have a soul touch his boots except himself. When he got an order, it took him such a time. People won't wait. He lost everybody. And there he'd sit, goin’ on and on - I will say that for him - not a man in London made a better boot! But look at the competition. He never advertised! Would ‘ave the best leather, too, and do it all ‘imself. Well, there it is. What could you expect with his ideas?”
