Although there is very little exterior action in John Galsworthy's very short, short story, "The Japanese Quince," the perceptive reader knows that an opportunity has been passed by, and that the protagonist has chosen to stay closed to the beauty of life rather than risk change. Some readers may not understand this "action," that consists entirely of not choosing and not responding; indeed, the protagonist himself is "unaccountably upset" at the end of the story, …showed first 75 words of 840 total…

…showed last 75 words of 840 total…indicate the mold of conformity in which Mr. Nilson exists and to keep Mr. Nilson from breaking out of that mold. Galsworthy has implied a great deal in this brief story. The loveliness of the Japanese quince and the vitality of the bird are rich symbols of the quality of life missed by the two men, wanting to be unique but caught in lives of repetitious conventionality, effectively expressed by the symbol of the double.