# The Dark Tune explained — The Forsyte Saga

> Chapter companion for The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy.

## What happens

Soames returns from Robin Hill with the devastating news that Jon Forsyte has ended his relationship with Fleur, honoring his father's dying wish. Fleur reacts with fury and despair, accusing Soames of betraying her. She roams the garden in the moonlight, and Soames watches helplessly, haunted by the past and the consequences of his failed marriage to Irene.

## Themes in this chapter

### Possessiveness and the Sense of Property

Soames' possessive love for Fleur and his sense of ownership over her happiness are central; he feels his past marriage to Irene as a property loss that now haunts him.

### Family and Duty

Jon's decision to honor his father's dying wish over his own desires exemplifies the conflict between personal happiness and family duty.

### Love vs. Marriage as a Contract

Soames reflects on his marriage to Irene, which was a contract without love, and its long-term consequences on his daughter's chance at love.

## Character check-ins

### Soames Forsyte

Returns from Robin Hill with news of Jon's rejection; feels dread and injustice; watches Fleur in anguish, reflecting on his past and his love for her.

### Fleur Forsyte

Devastated by Jon's decision; accuses Soames of betrayal; plays a dark tune repeatedly; roams the garden and stands by the river in despair.

### Jon Forsyte

Referenced as having ended the relationship with Fleur, obeying his father's dying wish.

### Irene Forsyte

Referenced as the woman who never loved Soames; her beauty and the past marriage are recalled as a source of nemesis.

### Annette Forsyte

Fleur's mother; Soames recalls seeing a similar expression of scorn and anger on Annette's face.

### Michael Mont

Mentioned as having visited Fleur earlier that evening, leaving on a motorcycle.

## Key lines

> Victory in defeat. His embassy had come to naught. But he was rid of those people, had regained his daughter at the expense of—her happiness.

Soames feels he has won back his daughter but at the cost of her happiness, a hollow victory.

_Soames reflects on the outcome of his visit to Robin Hill._

> Monstrous trick, that Fate had played him! Nemesis! That old unhappy marriage!

Soames sees his current suffering as a punishment for his failed marriage to Irene.

_Soames blames his past marriage for the present tragedy._

> What could he give her to make amends? Pearls, travel, horses, other young men—anything she wanted—that he might lose the memory of her young figure lonely by the water!

Soames desperately wants to buy Fleur's happiness with material gifts to erase the image of her despair.

_Soames' materialism as a response to emotional pain._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_forsyte_saga_se/chapters/part-iii-viii-the-dark-tune
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_forsyte_saga_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_forsyte_saga_se/chapters