# Jolly Forsyte — The Forsyte Saga character guide

> Jolly Forsyte in The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Jolly, little Jolly, Jolly Forsyte, Young Jolly Forsyte

**First appearance:** 0054-part-i-vi-no-longer-young-jolyon-at-home

## Snapshot

Young Jolyon's spirited son, raised on cherries eaten from one paper bag and his father's ironic equality, a boy who becomes a man the family will lose to empire.

## Who they are

Jolly grows up at Robin Hill as his father's perfect friend, the two of them careful and competitive together at the annual cricket match, never quite needing to talk about what they would do for each other. He carries the Forsyte self-consciousness without its acquisitiveness, more his father's son than the family's. His coming of age carries the saga forward into a generation that will spend itself in the Boer War, and his fate shadows the family's sense of its own permanence.

## In the story

### [Old Jolyon's Peccadillo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_forsyte_saga_se/chapters/part-i-vii-old-jolyon-s-peccadillo)

Present in the garden, trying to stand on his head to impress his grandfather.

### [Old Jolyon at the Zoo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_forsyte_saga_se/chapters/part-ii-vi-old-jolyon-at-the-zoo)

Walks with his grandfather and sister, carrying the umbrella in a mischievous way.

### [No-Longer-Young Jolyon at Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_forsyte_saga_se/chapters/part-i-vi-no-longer-young-jolyon-at-home)

Jolyon's son, away at Oxford (Christ Church), but expected to meet Val.

### [I: The Third Generation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_forsyte_saga_se/chapters/part-ii-i-the-third-generation)

A second-year Oxford man, recently elected to the Frying-Pan, who disapproves of gambling and finds Val showy.

### [Jolly Sits in Judgment](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_forsyte_saga_se/chapters/part-ii-v-jolly-sits-in-judgment)

Struggles with his stance on the Boer War, fights Val Dartie over being called a 'pro-Boer,' and discovers Holly's secret rides with Val.

### [Jolyon in Two Minds](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_forsyte_saga_se/chapters/part-ii-vi-jolyon-in-two-minds)

Enlists in the Imperial Yeomanry, prompting his father Jolyon to return to England.

### [The Challenge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_forsyte_saga_se/chapters/part-ii-viii-the-challenge)

Interrupts the couple, challenges Val to enlist as a test of character.

### [X: Death of the Dog Balthasar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_forsyte_saga_se/chapters/part-ii-x-death-of-the-dog-balthasar)

Helps bury Balthasar; reveals he enlisted after daring Val Dartie, and discusses God and altruism with his father.

### [Richmond Park](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_forsyte_saga_se/chapters/part-iii-iii-richmond-park)

Reported down with enteric in South Africa; his illness is a central concern.

### [Over the River](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_forsyte_saga_se/chapters/part-iii-iv-over-the-river)

Lying torpid and dying of enteric fever in a military hospital, Jolly drifts between memories of home and the present, unable to dream or move.

### [A Summer Night](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_forsyte_saga_se/chapters/part-iii-vii-a-summer-night)

Mentioned as having died peacefully on June 20th; his death deeply affects Jolyon.

### [Out of the Web](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_forsyte_saga_se/chapters/part-iii-ix-out-of-the-web)

Reported dead from disease while serving as a trooper; his death stirs mixed feelings among the Forsytes.

### [Jon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_forsyte_saga_se/chapters/part-i-vi-jon)

Jolly is remembered by Holly as her long-lost idol of childhood, and Jon is noted to resemble him.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_forsyte_saga_se/characters/jolly_forsyte
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_forsyte_saga_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_forsyte_saga_se/characters