The Forsyte Saga/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: Soames, when he realises that having a baby daughter instead of a son is really not so very bad after all.
  • Narm: The actress who plays Heléne in the 1967 version is notable for her over-the-top attempts at melodrama, which some may find both annoying and funny. There are many scenes, especially in the first episodes where her hysterical crying brushes dangerously against Large Ham territory. However, as Heléne is supposed to have severe mental and emotional issues, some may argue that this is justified considering the public's vague perception of mental illness at the time, where hysteria would be widely accepted as an accurate representation of mentally ill behaviour.
  • Unintentionally Sympathetic: Galsworthy himself acknowledges in a later preface to The Forsyte Saga that Soames, originally cast in a fairly villainous light, has actually attracted the sympathies of most readers of the Saga.
  • Values Dissonance: In the book, Irene's main personality trait, and the one which was described as her most attractive feature, was her extreme passivity. This hasn't aged well.