Act III Of The Silver Box (Summary)

Author:

   John Galsworthy is a well-known novelist and play writer. His work contains a great deal pf criticism of British society, particularly of the values of the well-to-do professional class. As a writer his greatest contribution to the philosophy of his period in his advocacy of solid ism. In plays, short stores as well as novels he has advocated on equitable distribution of wealth. He has great sympathics with the unfortunate, therefore the great novelist Joseph Con red calls him a "Humanitarian Novelist".

Summary: 

   Silver box is a powerful and bitter play. It is a criticism of the English legal system in which a distinction is made between the rich and the poor. The scene starts in London police court. Two little girls, there as lives and mand livens are presented before the magistrate. The charge against them was that they were found wondering about on the road. On enquiry it was found that their father is jobless and their mother had run away with a man leaving them to wonder about. The magistrate heard the statement of their father and the decision was postponed for the next hearing which was to be held after a week.

    After the case, the case of steeling a silver box came up for hearing. Mr. Jones was accused of theft. Mrs. Jones was a maid-servant in the house of Mr. Barth wick, a rich person and also a member of Parliament. His son, Jack is a carefree and dissolute young man. On Easter Monday, Jack reached at his home late at night in a drunken state. He was trying to open the door with the help of key, but failed to do so, On account of taking heavy quantity of wine. Mr. Jones was there, he helped him in opening the door. Jack invited him to his room for a drink. They drank together and jack fell a sleep. Jones was not in a condition to judge between right or wrong. He took the silver cigarette case as well as the purse with the money which was stolen by Jack of a women, and went home. In the morning the matter was reported to the police. A police man went to the house of Mr. Jones to find out the theft. The police man misbehaved Mrs. Jones, on account of this Mr. Jones assaulted the police man and was arrested for this ass ult. The police recovered the stolen things from the house. During the course of trail, it came to light that there was not only one theft. In fact there were two thefts of the same kind. Jack stole the purse of a woman in drunken state, similarly John took  the cigarette case and the stolen purse in a fit of drunkenness. Jones was not a thief because he did not enter the room to steal, but had an invitation from Jack for a drink. Mrs. Jones very strongly pleaded that her husband had never committed theft before.

    The case about Jack was hushed up by his influential father. He insisted that Jones might be tried simply of an ass ult to the police and creating hindrance in
the execution of official duty. So, after a long discussion, the magistrate set at Mrs. Jones free and orders one month imprisonment with hard labour for Mr. Jones, Jack went set free. Even the charge was not framed against him. Mrs. Jones also lost her job and thus a poor family completely destroyed.