CAUSES OF SOCIAL DETERIORATION IN JOHN GALSWORTHY'S THE FUGITIVE

Abstract

This paper attempts to depict the causes of social deterioration in John Galsworthy's The Fugitive. In The Fugitive, Galsworthy portrays the role of the mechanistic model and its polarising influences in various public and private institutions, including the judicial system, industry, and marriage. The inclination of the Western culture to conceive in terms of dualities, which many feminists acknowledge as the ultimate source of class and sex segregation, is the most potent manifestation of this concept. The power-driven nature of this style of mind leads to moral ambiguity because tasks carried out inside it tend to serve their ends rather than a unified moral purpose. The Fugitive is a candid, analytical examination of the challenges women face who are divided between the ideals of liberty, marital commitment, and society's harsh laws.