John Galsworthy's Beloved Wife: A Tale of Love and Betrayal

World fame and the Nobel Prize brought John Galsworthy two trilogies: The Forsyte Saga and Modern Comedy, in which he recreated the life and customs of his class…

John Galsworthy’s The Forsyte Saga has been called the pre-eminent work of 20th-century English literature by critics. The author himself regarded the novel as his passport to the shores of eternity. However, it was not only a passport for him, but also for his adored wife Ada, to whom he dedicated this work.

Ada Cooper never loved her mother and she reciprocated her daughter. The girl was an illegitimate child and constantly reminded the woman of the sins of her youth. As Ada grew up and transformed from a clumsy teenager into a beautiful girl, relations with her mother heated up. To escape from the hated house, Ada married Major Arthur Galsworthy, a young man from a distinguished English family. And I immediately realized that I had made a fatal mistake. She wanted to break free from one addiction and got addicted to another. She felt no love for her husband, in the girl’s eyes he was a monster. The young man’s fault was that every night he claimed to be performing spousal duties.

John Galsworthy, Arthur’s cousin, met Ada at their wedding. By this time he had completed his law studies at Oxford. John was a very serious young man. Well brought up, rich, handsome. The legal profession did not appeal to him. He dreamed of becoming a writer but lacked confidence.

Their feelings were mutual and in 1891 they became lovers. This caused a scandal in the high society of Puritan England. John’s father, whom he loved very much, was in despair. John himself was no longer accepted in noble houses. And in a closed prestigious club, friends no longer helped him … But despite all this, John did not want to give up his happiness. He was rich and therefore independent.

Only one thought haunted him and brought him unbearable suffering. Ada was still Major Galsworthy’s wife, so he had every right to her.

Their illicit romance lasted for six years. John worshiped Ada to the point of pain, to the point of self-denial. And in 1902 she finally left her husband. Before the end of the divorce proceedings, the lovers went abroad. John began work on his first Forsyte novel, The Owner. It was a novel born of love and hate – love for Ada and hate for that philosophy of life which the author called Forsythism.

After ten years of a secret relationship, they married in 1906. Ada was still John’s main interest. She needed to be spoiled like a child, give in to her in everything. They even picked games where she could be a winner…

They had no children, but the spouses did not suffer at all. John thought Ada was in poor health. And she was fine too.

But love for Ada still did not cloud the writing. When the first part of the novel “Irene and Soames” was finished, the relatives, having read it, were horrified: the Galsworthy clan was so recognizable.

“Oh my god, this is a scandal. All characters are recognizable…

“I think you’re exaggerating,” John reassured her.

– Like… Irene alone is worth something. Only an idiot wouldn’t guess that’s Ada! — Relatives did not give up.

“I changed her hair color to gold,” joked John.

Well, Irene’s life story was indeed Ada’s, the story of her struggle to be freed from a hated marriage.

But the new marriage seemed ideal to Ada. After all, the docile and friendly John fulfilled all their requirements, even in spite of work. Meanwhile, John Galsworthy was to become an independent writer. Even from Ada.

But he couldn’t resist her. Their difference became more and more obvious. He is busy with himself, needs peace, solitude. She is a little frivolous, with an indefatigable desire for well-being and brilliance in society. “I’m just depressed by John’s love of relaxing in the wild,” she complained to her relatives. And he, afraid of hurting her, resisted his wishes. He taught himself to work amid the roar of the music and the laughter of the guests. Most importantly, Ada loved him!

Could a man like that cheat on his wife? Of course not. But life sometimes gives us such surprises…

In 1910, when John was 44, he met the young dancer Margaret Morris. She just turned 19 years old. Charming, lively, she was full of that youthful freshness which, for all her perfection, he had never seen in Hell. John saw Margaret at the premiere of Orpheus and Eurydice, was smitten with her dancing and wanted her to dance in one of his plays.

He invited the girl to visit him and Ada, and then without any ulterior motive invited her to have breakfast with him to talk about his play. Meetings have become more frequent. Margaret fell in love with John instantly, he was so charming. But John didn’t immediately understand what was happening to him.

The lovers met in Margaret’s apartment. But what kind of meetings were they… At John’s urging, they sat far apart, at opposite ends of the room, and talked about everything. It wasn’t easy for someone as pure and honest as John to choose otherwise.

Did he lie to Ada? Unfortunately, no. To lie, you have to go to a good school. John didn’t have it. It all ended with the fact that he himself told his wife about his feelings for Margaret. Ada wrote the girl a letter: she wished her happiness with John and asked her not to think about her and her serious illness, which literally crushed her. Of course, the letter caught John’s eye…

Ada’s “disease” decided everything. John decided to take Ada abroad to escape the temptation of love and despair. He sent a message to Margaret: “Forgive me…Neither I nor you can build our happiness on other people’s suffering and sickness…” They never saw each other again…

All of this history Ada felt was a betrayal of sacred mutual trust. Their union endured but completely lost its intimate basis… Galsworthy’s biographers believe that had John stayed with Margaret she would have given him the freedom so necessary for his talent. Life with Ada brought back to restless travel and the search for new adventures…

The Forsyte Saga brought Galsworthy worldwide fame, but he didn’t look like a happy man. John was always in excellent health, he never went to the doctor. And suddenly in 1932 he lost his speech. The doctors suggested a brain tumor. The symptoms became more and more pronounced. John couldn’t even go to Stockholm for the Nobel Prize…

The last two months have been terrible. But Ada didn’t allow morphine injections – John couldn’t regain consciousness after that. Finally she realized that her husband was dying. For her, this was his most terrible betrayal – how could he leave her! The first feeling was not sadness, but anger. When John died on January 31, 1933, Ada, in an extremely depressed state, tried to destroy everything dear to him, even shooting his beloved horses…

…By the will of John Galsworthy, his ashes were scattered over the hills, near the writer’s village house. Ada survived her husband by 23 years. Lonely, blind, almost forgotten by everyone, she died in 1956 at the age of over ninety…

Source: cluber.com.ua

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