June's Treat explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Love vs. Marriage as a Contract

  June's passionate love for Bosinney clashes with the Forsyte sense of marriage as a social and property contract. Her jealousy and his evasiveness underscore the tension between emotional bonds and societal expectations.

• Possessiveness and the Sense of Property

  June's possessive jealousy over Bosinney's attention mirrors the Forsyte trait of treating relationships as possessions. Old Jolyon's concern about Bosinney 'jilting' June reflects this proprietary view of love.

Characters to notice

• June Forsyte

  June is deeply troubled by Bosinney's emotional withdrawal. She confronts him at the theater, suspecting he is prioritizing Irene over her, and ends the evening in tears of rage and heartbreak.

• Philip Bosinney

  Bosinney is evasive and defensive when June presses him about his Sunday plans. He admits to an engagement that prevents him from taking her to see the house, fueling her jealousy.

• Old Jolyon Forsyte

  Old Jolyon notices June's distress upon her return and suspects Bosinney may be unfaithful. He worries about his granddaughter's future but feels unable to intervene directly.

• Euphemia Forsyte

  Euphemia observes June's emotional outburst at the theater and later gossips about it at Timothy's, noting June's 'thunder and lightningy' demeanor and her act of kicking a man's hat.

• Tweetyman

  Mrs. Tweetyman, Euphemia's married sister, accompanies her at the theater and participates in the gossip about June's behavior.

Key passages

• “Those countless figures, going their ways under the lamps and the moving sky, had one and all received some restless blessing from the stir of spring. And one and all, like those clubmen with their opened coats, had shed something of caste, and creed, and custom, and by the cock of their hats, the pace of their walk, their laughter, or their silence, revealed their common kinship under the passionate heavens.”

  The spring evening stirs a sense of shared humanity among the passersby, who momentarily shed their social distinctions and reveal their common nature.

  This passage sets the scene with a poetic observation of the crowd, contrasting the universal human experience with the Forsyte preoccupation with social status.

• “June had never before been in the upper boxes. From the age of fifteen she had habitually accompanied her grandfather to the stalls, and not common stalls, but the best seats in the house, towards the centre of the third row, booked by old Jolyon, at Grogan and Boyne’s, on his way home from the City, long before the day; carried in his overcoat pocket, together with his cigar-case and his old kid gloves, and handed to June to keep till the appointed night.”

  June is unaccustomed to the upper boxes, having always sat with her grandfather in the finest stalls, which he meticulously reserved well in advance.

  This detail underscores the Forsyte family's emphasis on tradition, status, and meticulous planning, even in leisure activities.

• “A swarm of jealous suspicions stung and stung her.”

  June is overwhelmed by a series of jealous thoughts that torment her.

  This concise line captures June's emotional state and the central conflict of the chapter.

• “June bit her lip till the blood came, and walked back to her seat without another word, but she could not help the tears of rage rolling down her face.”

  June's anger and hurt are so intense that she bites her lip until it bleeds, and she returns to her seat in silent tears of fury.

  This vivid description illustrates June's passionate and volatile nature, as well as her inability to hide her feelings.

• “Yet in this world of Forsytes let no man think himself immune from observation.”

  In the Forsyte family, no one can escape being watched and judged by others.

  This line highlights the pervasive surveillance and gossip within the Forsyte clan, a recurring theme in the novel.