In Chancery

“The only thing that matters is that one should be happy, and one isn't.”

— Irene Forsyte reflecting on her life and marriage.

“Property, of course, was the sacred thing, and the Forsytes knew how to worship.”

— Narrator's observation on the Forsyte family's core values.

“Love was a thing that came and went, but money stayed.”

— Soames Forsyte's cynical view on relationships.

“He belonged to that class of Englishmen who, without ever having read a line of poetry, are yet profoundly poetic in their love of the land.”

— Description of young Jolyon Forsyte's connection to nature.

“To possess a thing was to understand it; to understand it was to possess it.”

— Soames Forsyte's philosophy of ownership and comprehension.

“The Forsytes, indeed, were a force of nature, an elemental force, like the sea or the wind, or the earth itself.”

— Narrator's grand description of the family's pervasive influence.

“It was impossible for a Forsyte to be quite happy unless he had something to worry about.”

— An ironic insight into the Forsyte psyche.

“Youth had its rights, and it was a mistake to deny them.”

— Young Jolyon's progressive thoughts on the younger generation.

“The past was a foreign country; they did things differently there.”

— Reflecting on the changing times and social norms.

“One could not escape one's own nature, try as one might.”

— Soames's internal struggle with his inherent character.

“Marriage was a contract, and contracts were meant to be kept.”

— The traditional Forsyte view on the institution of marriage.

“He had always been haunted by the sense of something lost, something beautiful and irretrievable.”

— Soames's lingering feelings about Irene.

“The English upper middle class was a fort, and within it, the Forsytes were the keep.”

— A metaphor for the Forsyte family's social standing and resilience.

“Life was a matter of adjustments, of making the best of things.”

— A pragmatic view on coping with life's challenges.