Upholding the Spiritual Aspects of Craftsmanship in Galsworthy's "Quality" Avani Mittal 12th Grade

John Galsworthy, a winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, was born in England. He came from an upper-middle-class family and having observed the social differences prevalent in the society at that time, his works naturally revolved around these differences- the lower class' grievances and the superior attitude of the upper class.

Quality is a prose that deals with these differences, and how a man true to his trade suffers at the hands of greedy industrialists, whose only motive for trading is to gain profit. The Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century affected thousands of such artisans and craftsmen and snatched away their means of livelihood and income. The craftsmen, who valued their craft, designed every piece meticulously taking care of the finest details, were eventually less preferred by people over the stylish, ready-made pieces provided by big firms. Craftsmanship slowly died out.

The Gessler brothers, the protagonists of the story, were such craftsmen. They were known for the boots they made. Even the narrator, at the age of fourteen, sensed the aura of dignity surrounding them for they and their workshop invoked the feeling of a sanctum sanctorum, where leather and boots were proclaimed the holy idols...