Symbolism in The Japanese Quince
Although there is very little exterior action in John Galsworthy's very short, short story, "The Japanese Quince," the perceptive reader knows that an opportunity has been passed by, and that the protagonist has chosen to stay closed to the beauty of life rather than risk change. Some readers may not understand this "action," that consists entirely of not choosing and not responding; indeed, the protagonist himself is "unaccountably upset" at the end of the story, completely unaware of the choice he has made. Yet the author has, through subtle symbolism, made it clear to his readers. Galsworthy's use of symbolism, especially the technique of the double or mirror image, functions to define the restrictive lifestyle of Mr. Nilson, to illuminate the exciting potentiality of a new life, and to explain Mr. Nilson's retreat from rebirth.Galsworthy carefully builds the impression that Mr. Nilson's life is an empty, rigid, sterile conformity, all of which is summarized by his name. Nilson, literally "the son of nothing," may have wealth (he has a dressing room and, presumably, a servant to lay out his morning paper on the sideboard) and reputation (he is "well known in the City"), but through his name Galsworthy signals that these are
Tandrum's name, suggesting both humdrum and tandem) suggests that the protagonist is caught in a mold of conformity. About the same height, they both have "firm, well-colored cheeks, neat brown mustaches, and round, wellopened clear grey eyes," as well as black frock coats and morning papers clasped behind their backs. Nilson wants to be unique in his appreciation of the beauty of the little tree, he is "rather taken aback" when he sees his neighbor respond as he had. " Although they "bear fruit" in terms of material wealth, the two men are less alive than the tree. Nilson's judgment of his neighbor and is what keeps him from breaking out of his sterile lifestyle, mirrored in his symbolic relationship to his double. The technique of the double, then, serves two purposes: to indicate the mold of conformity in which Mr. Nilson from breaking out of that mold. Nilson's first words to his neighbor, "Can you give me the name of that tree?" are just what Mr. The loveliness of the Japanese quince and the vitality of the bird are rich symbols of the quality of life missed by the two men, wanting to be unique but caught in lives of repetitious conventionality, effectively expressed by the symbol of the double. He wears his formal, black frock coat to the office every day.
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