E.M. Forster’s book “Howards End” is a symbolic exploration of the philosophical, social and economic forces that existed in England during the early twentieth Century. Cast in the characters of people from three families belonging to different social classes, the book explores the point of crisis and that of merging between people from the different social classes that lived in England during this period of time. It seeks to answer the age old question asked by Lionel Trilling’s “who shall inherit England?”The book analyses the above question by pitting the characters in this three groups against each other with an aim of trying to show the diverse owners of the England nation. It “demonstrates a vivid expression of the coexistence between different classes of people in the English Nation despite their diverse values, attitudes, beliefs and practices.”
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“Howards End” is set in England where three families; the wealthy Wilcoxes with an imperialist attitude; the literary creative, artistic and cultural Schlegel; and the lower middle class Bast. While the Wilcoxes represent the conventional ‘English’ social morality and work ethics, the Schlegel symbolizes the aesthetic nature of upper class idealism and their intellectual aspect, while Bast represent the economic unsecure lower middle class and the social-economic struggle experienced by them. Although different characters from this three groups clash at some point their lives are linked beyond their control and they have to forge a way of dealing with each other.
The Wilcoxes and Schegel meet for the first time while on a tour in Germany. Margaret Schegel and her sister Hellen are eventually invited to visit the Wilcox farm house called Howards place. Only Hellen manages to visit the house and she creatively describes this magnificent house through her letters to Margaret who has stayed back home to take care of Tibby their youngest brother who is suffering from hay fever. It is through such a letter that Hellen reveals about her romance with Paul, the Wilcox youngest son. She says, “….Paul and I are in love-The younger son who came here Wednesday.”(1, 7).It is also through Helen’s letters that we discover the symbolic opulence of “Howards End”. Her description of the house can be contrasted with the apartment where the Schegel lived and further with the basement house occupied by Bast(6, 38).A house in this book sets apart the different lifestyle enjoyed by different classes an brings out the theme of class identity .
Forster has also used the technique of contrast to demonstrate the attitudes of people from the different classes. For Instance Hellen compares how Tibby reacts to his hay fever compared to Charles Wilcox. While Tibby is displaying sickly symptoms that prod Margaret to take care of him instead of visiting Howards End with Hellen, Charles is forced by his background to face the disease like a man. He is not even supposed to accept sympathy for such a trivial condition (1, 5).The upper class practice of spoiling children is unacceptable among the wealthy families where one is trained to face the public as a strong person and personal ties are kept at their minimal. This different attitude bring out the theme of connection between private and public life. While the Schegels value personal relationships more than public life the Wilcoxes value social formalities above close interpersonal relationships and they highly respects the rules of the business world.
When the affair between Paul and Hellen is accidentally revealed to Charles by Helen’s aunty Mrs. Munty, Charles reaction is that of class prejudice. Instead of being happy for his brother he insists that Paul should first go to the British colony of Nigeria and makes a fortune for himself. According to him the romance between the two is a stupid idea and he argues that even when Paul will be ready to marry, he shall marry a girl of different kind (3, 18).Consequently, Mrs. Munty does also not agree with the wedding because she feels that Paul won’t be able to appreciate Hellen who according to her is exceptionally gifted. Eventually Hellen has to give up her dream o f marrying Paul and returns to London with her auntie.
All the Wilcoxes apart from Ruth, Henrys wife, are unable to appreciate the value of Howards End. They instead decide to move to an apartment opposite Buckham place where the Schegel are living. When Ruth invites Margaret to her house, Margaret is not comfortable due to the stir caused by Paul and Hellen’s short romance (7, 52).Ruth intervenes by informing Margaret that Paul has already gone to Nigeria. This information leads to a new friendship between Ruth and Margaret. It’s through this friendship and the characterization of Ruth as a warm friendly person that Forster reveals that she is the real owner of Howards End Having inherited it from her parent.
The theme of friendship is seen between the two families and further demonstrated when Ruth while in her death bed writes a note leaving Howards End to Margaret whom she knows will appreciate and take care of it (11, 73).The theme of friendship is further demonstrated by the friendship between Hellen and Leonard Bast. When Bast leaves his job at an insurance company due to the wrong advice given by Henry and later looses his lower paying bank job, Hellen mobilizes people to demonstrate in protest of Henry’s advice and even lobbies him to give Leonard a job. Even when Leonard Bast is unable to get a job Hellen is willing to give him money since she feels that it her fault that the man lost his job.
Gender is a central part of this book as demonstrated by the hyperboled strength of women in this text. For instance, although her husband is a prejudiced man whose attitude toward the upper and middle class is that of contempt, Ruth Wilcox is a friendly genuine woman (4, 22) who readily initiates friendship with others regardless of their background. She is even able to sit through events organized by the intellectual and artistic community that the Schegel belong to (9, 57-58).Margaret on the other hand decides to be humble and submissive to her husband Henry Wilcox despite her excellent intellectual capabilities. She is the force that is seen as a problem solver in the book and she ends up taking care of not only her husband but even her siblings and friends.
In contrast, the men in this book are depicted with flaws some of them easily unforgivable. Henry Wilcox is a self conceited stubborn man while his son Charles is shown to have a short temper and ends up being responsible for Leonard Basts Death. Both Leonard and Henry Wilcox are shown as Philanderers with Henry keeping a mistress in Cyprus and Leonard impregnating Hellen. This characterization of different people helped bring out the theme of gender.
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Howards End was written at a time when many changes were sweeping through England. At this period there was a fight between modernity and retaining the old ways of doing things. The text brings out this modernizing aspect of England. The Wilcox are not willing to continue staying in their of farm house but instead choose the going trend of renting town apartment. The houses at Buckham place are also being demolished to put up flats (10, 64). Despite this popular modernist mood of the novel, Ruth chooses to see things in a traditional perspective and ancestral knowledge. She does not only withdraw from her family’s modern way of seeing things but she is also spiritual, intuitive and not at all intellectual. She and Miss Avery, the caretaker of Howards End represent the connection of human being to both the earth and nature. The Wych elm tree with big pig’s teeth, the hayfield and vines at Howards End emphasize this connection.
Consequently, the rhythm of nature and movement of the seasons are contrasted with the senseless motion of the modern London. The modern industrialized cities are symbolized by the emergence of motor cars. The writer says that “the road smelt more strongly of petrol and was more difficult to cross, while human beings …breathed less of the air and saw less of the sky (13, 115) .At this point in history there were protests from the traditionalists on the polluting effect of the automobiles. The modernist view in the text has succeeded in looking at modernity as an inevitable process. The Schegel have no choice but to vacate their house when their lease ends so as to allow for the demolition of that property and the building of new modern apartments.
At the end of the book there occurs a tragedy in the death of Leonard whose heart give way when a shelf of books falls on him while he is trying to escape a beating from Charles Wilcox as a punishment for making Hellen pregnant. This tragedy is symbolic of the suppression and death of the dreams belonging to the lower middle class people who do not possess the money and powers held by the wealthy class.Atlhough the three families have conflicting perspective, the strength of Margaret character manages to reconcile the Wilcoxes and Schegel and the book ends with Henry, Margaret, Hellen and her child with Leonard living together cordially at the Howard’s End which Henry has decided to give to Margaret at his death. Indeed the book succeeds in “demonstrating a vivid expression of the coexistence between different classes of people in the English Nation despite their diverse values, attitudes, beliefs and practices.”
Work Cited
Forster, E.M.Howards End.Arc Manor LLC, 2008.
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