Fall Of Giants

Billy’s father, Dai Union, is established as a staunch unionist with a passion for reform and social justice. As Billy eats breakfast before his first day of work, Dai Union reads aloud from The Mail, which he characterizes as a “right wing rag” (6). Dai Union mockingly reads an article that critiques a member of the aristocracy for wearing the same dress to two events. Dai Union then reads to his family about the daughter of a duke who won 250 guineas for winning “best lady’s costume” at a ball (6). He dryly tells his son that “that’s at least five year’s wages for you, Billy boy” (7). The costumes of aristocratic socialites are intentionally contrasted with Billy’s Ma, who wears “an old brown wool dress with patched elbows and stains under the armpit” (7). This jarring contrast establishes the extremity of the societal divide that existed in Britain at this time between members of the aristocracy and the working class. Follett invites readers to sympathize with Dai Union’s critique of the decadence of the aristocracy by emphasizing his family’s relative poverty. The family eats a simple breakfast of bread and dripping, and Billy refers to three sisters who died: one of measles, another from whooping cough, and another from diphtheria. These deaths allude to the family’s scant resources and to a lack of access to healthcare.

The family’s frustration is exacerbated by dangerous working conditions and poor pay. The dangers inherent with coal mining at this time are established in the fact that Billy’s grandfather was killed by a “runaway dram” (5). Furthermore, Rhys Price cruelly taunts Billy that he will have to be alert down in the mine to avoid getting “killed down here like your brother” (20). The antipathy that exists between workers, who reasonably advocate for safer working conditions, and management, who are focused on profit, is established in Perceval Jones’s conversation with Billy and Tommy. Jones looks at the boys with “distaste” and intentionally intimidates them into obedient submission (13). Jones’s suspicions are based on the fact that the two boys are the sons of “revolutionary socialists'' and union leaders; He is concerned they will be “troublemakers” who “stand up for [their] rights” (13).

Fitz, aristocratic and a staunch traditionalist, is established as the antithesis to all that Billy’s father, Dai Union, stands for. Fitz reflects with confidence that with his inherited titles, money, and land, “clearly God intended the Fitzherberts to rule over their fellow men” (29). Fitz “cherished traditions” above all else and is politically conservative (30). He perceives socialists and republicanism as dangerous threats to the established order. A conflict is foreshadowed between Ethel and her father in Ethel and Fitz’s affair.

Follett suggests that wealthy landowners like Fitz and wealthy company managers like Perceval Jones (chairman of Celtic Minerals) benefited from the wealth produced by mines through the exploitation of poor workers. Billy frantically tries to help save lives, but lockers that were supposed to contain breathing apparatuses down in the mine tunnels were empty. Furthermore, a legal stipulation about ventilation being reversible was being contested by Jones, leading to further loss of life. The company’s decision to evict recent widows of the mine explosion exemplifies the company’s ruthlessness. The reader is positioned to feel sympathy for the anger of the miners and resentment for the cost-cutting measures of the wealthy company owners. Furthermore, Fitz’s irritation—“why did a pit disaster happen just when he was entertaining the king?”—is intentionally jarring (69). This comment is intended to emphasize Fitz’s selfishness and his lack of empathy for the people in his earldom who risk their lives for minimal pay to produce his enormous wealth.

Russia is also ruled by a strict and unjust social hierarchy. The anecdotes from Grigori’s past and present life illustrate the brutality of life in Russia for those not belonging to the aristocratic minority. The boys’ father is hanged for the seemingly small crime of grazing his cattle on land belonging to Princess Bea’s family. Their mother is shot in the face when she tries to peacefully petition the tsar for reform. The reader is invited to sympathize with Grigori and Lev’s anger and devastation at these unjust events. The policemen beating Katerina in the street further exemplify the brutality of Russia for country peasants and poor city workers. Gus Dewar’s “outraged” reaction to this behavior is contrasted against the Russian characters’ lack of surprise, which implies that a woman being beaten by authority figures is a commonplace event. There is little recourse for justice against corrupt individuals in positions of power, and in these events the Russian Revolution is foreshadowed.

Ethel Williams, who Fitz finds surprising and alluring, represents the emergence of confident, articulate women from lower and middle class who wish to rise within society. Ethel surprises Fitz with her confidence and candor, and he notes the “impudent” way she lifts her chin and grins at him unashamedly (38). In the cellar, Ethel is characteristically nonplussed with Fitz’s social superiority; She giggles at Fitz’s jumpiness and compares him to a guilty schoolboy. In this behavior, she flouts societal standards that expect house staff to be demure and respectful towards gentry.

Similarly, Maud is characterized as confident and outspoken; Ethel has long admired Maud for being “radical” (52). Fitz worries about Maud airing her socialist views, including her involvement in the suffragette movement, in front of the extremely conservative King George. Like Ethel, Maud is a rebel who seeks to disrupt the established power structures that favor the aristocracy and men; Unlike Ethel, Maud’s origins are in the established upper class. A budding romance is revealed between the outspoken Maud and Fitz’s school friend Walter von Ulrich. Their compatibility is clear in Walter’s characterization as “not so conservative” and “very clever,” which are both traits he shares with Maud (49).

The conversation the men have over dinner during the king’s stay at Ty Gwyn foreshadows the coming devastation of war. Their discussion of instability in the Balkans and European territorial ambitions alludes to the causes of the devastating Great War, which will be declared only a few months after the dinner party takes place. The impending international conflict is further foreshadowed in Germany’s arms deal with Mexico and America’s subsequent occupation of Veracruz