When Arthur, having finished his work, left, slamming the door, Ada shrank all over, curled up into a ball. The screams made my throat go hoarse, and tears blurred my eyes.
She didn’t want to move, but she pulled the edge of the blanket over herself. And she spent the whole night trying to comprehend what she had experienced. Her husband, her own husband…
In April 1891, Ada Nemesis Pearson married Major Arthur Galsworthy, a British military man and gentleman. Looking at her husband, Ada more than once wondered: does she love him? Or is she walking down the aisle just because her mother passionately dreamed of seeing her daughter as a bride?
In the upper middle class, marriages were rarely concluded for love. Feelings are an absurd and reckless thing. “And is it time to think about feelings if you are already 27 years old?! – Ada’s mother scolded her. – If you delay a little, you run the risk of remaining an old maid. Such a humiliating situation!”
Although Ada was given a good dowry, crowds of suitors did not flock to her doorstep. Many were aware of the rumors circulating in society. About the fact that Ada’s parent, Anne, gave birth to her out of wedlock, became pregnant by an unknown rogue, and then married a man 40 years older than herself. Dr. Cooper, who was already well over 60, received a young beautiful wife and, out of the kindness of his soul, adopted an illegitimate baby. And when he died, he left his women a very decent inheritance, which allowed them to live mostly in Europe. After all, no one there knew about their little secrets.
So Arthur Galsworthy, having met Ada at a French resort, did not make inquiries about her origin. The wonderful sea air was too dizzying.
Soon after his marriage, Arthur went to South Africa on official business, leaving Ada in the care of his large family. And soon the female half was already whispering that little Ada was very unhappy in her marriage. The details were too juicy to discuss directly. However, some “rudeness” of the major in the bedroom was blamed for everything. But what was allowed with available girls was absolutely not allowed with a wife!
However, complaining about a husband’s “rudeness” was also not accepted. Firstly, the spouse has his rights, and secondly, they preferred to hide such stories. After all, a scandal in society is so shameful! Ada could only remain silent and endure, and wait in horror for Arthur’s return from Africa.
At one of the dinner parties to which the Galsworthys gathered with the whole large family, Ada was seated next to John, her husband’s cousin, who turned out to be so sweet and courteous… Soon there was another meeting, then another and another… In September 1896, the a passionate and stormy romance. And in love, John turned out to be the complete opposite of Arthur: Ada did not fall asleep with him in tears.
However, an open relationship with John was impossible. An aspiring writer, he lived on a generous allowance from his father, who adhered to very strict rules. If it had become known that John was discrediting the name of the family by being carried away by his cousin’s wife… If Ada had filed for divorce… Galsworthy Sr. would not have tolerated this.
In 1901, Arthur returned from Africa, but, having learned about his wife’s infidelity, he was also in no hurry to begin the divorce process. The “possible scandal” and the stain on his reputation worried him more than the infidelity.
Ada and John continued their relationship in secret, and at this time John Galsworthy wrote his novel “The Forsyte Saga,” where he portrayed Ada as the golden-haired Irene, and her husband as Soames Forsyte.
In 1904, John's father died, leaving him an inheritance, and the couple could now marry. They publicly announced the affair, thereby forcing Arthur to demand a divorce. A year later, Ada was officially free of her obligations, and her offended – now ex-husband – received £400 in damages.
The scandal that broke out did not prevent the marriage: Ada went to the altar again. At a respectable age for those times – 41 years old! – she became a bride again.
However, probably, during the long road to marriage, Galsworthy’s feelings faded somewhat: after a few years, the couple acquired separate bedrooms, as befitted decent people from society. And in 1910, John began an affair with nineteen-year-old dancer Margaret Morris. True, this relationship turned out to be short-lived: a year later, Galsworthy broke up with the girl at the insistence of his wife.
In 1933, John Galsworthy, the writer who received the Nobel Prize in Literature for his novel The Forsyte Saga, passed away. Ada had a hard time with her husband’s departure: “she almost went crazy,” friends said. She also had a lot of worries – she caught the Second World War, fled from London to the village… And died in 1956 at the venerable age of ninety.
