Fantasy and Prophecy in E.M. Forster

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"Fantasy" and "Prophecy" in E.M. ForsterRaymond Kar-Man Ng

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Recommended CitationNg, Raymond Kar-Man, ""Fantasy" and "Prophecy" in E.M. Forster" (1982). Open Access Dissertations and Teses. Paper 4445.
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FANTASY A ND P RGFHE G L N u E T M . F G R ~ I E R


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FANTASY ND PROPHECYN

E M FORSTER

yR YMOND K R IVI N NG B

A ThesisSubmitted to the School of Graduate Studiesin Part ia l Fulfilment of the Requirements

for the egreeMaster of rts

McMaster UniversitySeptember 98


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MASTER OF ARTS 1982English) McMASTER UNIVERSITYHamilton, OntarioFantasy and Prophecy in E.M. ForsterITLE:

AUTHOR Raymond Kar-Man Ng, B.A. c a s t e ~ University)SUPERVISORS Dr. A Bishop and Dr. M AzizNUM R OF PAGES vi, 122


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STR CT

In Aspects of the Novel Forster discusses thefunction and importance of fantasy and prophecyf ic t ional elements that play an essential role his ownworks. The object of this study to provide a defin-i t ion of these two terms and to apply them to an evaluation of Forster s two most renowned novels--Howards nd and Passage to India.


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r rents


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CKNOWLEDGEMENTS

wish to thank Dr Bishop and Dr M ziz whosadvice and guidance in their jo int supervision have beendeeply appreciated

v


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T B L E O F INTRODUCTION

Notes to Chapter II I HOlpJARDS END

Notes to Chapter I II I I A PASSAGE INDIA

Notes to Chapter I I ICONCLUDING NOTEBIBLIOGRAPHY

v i

C O N T E N T S

69596

11712


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INTRO U TION

The r ich and complex nature of F o rs te r s f ic ti o n

has stimulated numerous c r i t i c a l commentaries which sub-s t a n t i a l l y add to the n o v e l i s t s fascinat ion. Seeking af a i r appraisal o f F o r s t e r s a r t many scholars turn toAspects of the Novel 1927), a ser ies of lectures prepared by the novel is t to discuss the various ways of exploring as well as judging the works of his fellow writers--and implic i t ly his own But oddly, though c r i t i c s f r e -quently employ these diverse approaches as touchstonesfor F o r s t e r s own novels, two s ignif icant aspects - fantasy and prophecy --have not r eceiv ed the closeand careful conside ra tion tha t they deserve. Thus, theobject of this study i s to provide a defini t ion of thesetwo terms and to apply them to F o r s t e r s career , withpa rt icu la r a tt en tion to his two most acclaimed novels--Howards End 1910) and A Passage to India 1924).

That the two terms, fantasy and prophecy havefai led to receive due attention i s par t ly F o r s t e r sf a u l t . He c i t e s one l i t e r a r y example a f t e r another without, however, adequately explaining his underlying terminology. His nebulous conception in fact const i tu tes the


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chief blemish of Aspects of the Novel, a c r i t i c a l workoften praised for i t s wit and panache. Consequently,scholars notions of fantasy and prophecy widelydiverge. I t i s then both requis i te and beneficial toperuse F o r s t e r s i l l u s t r a t i o n s in conjunction with c r i t i c sin terpreta t ions to a t t a i n a f u l l comprehension of thesetwo f i c t i o n a l elements.

Fantasy, writes Forster , implies the supernat-ural , and y be expressed by the i nt roduc ti on o f gods(Fauns and Dryads), ghosts, angels, monkeys, monsters,midgets, witches into ordinary l i f e or the introductionof ordinary men into no man s land, the future, the past ,the i n t e r i o r of the earth, the fourth dimension; or divingsinto and dividings of personali ty [ s l i p s of the memoryverbal coincidences and puns); or f i n a l l y the device ofparody or adaPtation. i Indeed, his short s t o r i e s andnovels are replete with these numinous instances, and Gilomen s e f f o r t to enumerate them i s admirable. Indoing so, however, he neglects to ask, in an a r t i c l e in -tended to shed l i g h t on fantasy , the simple yet v i t a lquestion of i t s purpose and function. Let us now attemptto remedy his omission.

2.In Aspects of the Novel, Forster begins his dis

cussion of the two terms wi th the following hazy thoughoft-quoted passage:


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There i s more in the nevel than time or people orlogic or any of the derivatives, more even than Fate.And by more I o not mean something that excludesthese aspects nor something that includes them, em-braces them. I mean something that cuts across theml ike a bar of l ight , tha t is intimately connectedwith them a t one place and patient ly i l lumines a l ltheir problems, and a t another place shoots over orthrough them as i f they did not exis t . shal l ~ vthat bar of l igh t two names, fantasy and prophecy.

Though censuring the novel is t for fai l ing to elucidatehis definit ion of fantasy , Rudolf B. Schmerl finds tha tFors te r s chapter on fantasy i l luminates almost a l li t s relevant elements .4 And he deduces from these components that fantasy consists in what contradicts ourexperience, not the l imited experience w can at ta in asindividuals , but the to ta l i ty of our knowledge of whatour culture regards as real ,5 and that i t s aim is to

th t t f t d d t 6llow the au or oppor unl les or sa lre or l ac lClsm.Wilfred Stone s ta tes in the more precise terms of Freudianc ritic ism th at fantasy , as a l i te rary phenomenon is aneat record of an imaginary achievement-- the fulf i l lmentof a wish, a corre ctio n o f unsat is f ied real i ty .? Further,cal l ing Fors ter s short s tor ies pure fantasies ,8 he con-cludes his discussion of the ta les thus: Forster had out-grown the pueri l i ty implici t in the form, and t was timefor him to be moving on. 9 There i s , of course, a certaintru th in both these arguments. But since they are largelyrooted in the commentators individual hypotheses and cr i t -ica l at t i tudes rather than Fors ter s own their validi ty isquestionable. And Sena Je te r Naslund s objection to Stone


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Thus in plain terms th is special technique

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seems just , for indeed the novel i s t s in teres t in fantasypersisted and matured .10 Yet strangely in his endeavourto demonstrate tha t the prophetic and philosophical ambi-ence of A Passage to India i s develope d through fantasyNaslund overlooks the main function of the l a t t e r form: no-where in his analysis does he clear ly indicate why Forsterse le cts th is p artic ula r mo to present his metaPhysics. 11James McConkey i s more direct and helpful in this respect .Fantasy he expgunds i s a device by which the writerachieves the creat ion of a backdrop dis t inct from phenomenal

-........... - _ .n.< _ , . ~ _ __ . .. __ .............

real i ty , a mythology s u r t a b I e t ~ ~ . ~ 9 Q . r i J ~ ~ - l . - ; - - ~ 9 : - - ~ ~ _ ~ ~ : . s t , his .m 12own values supplies the author with s ~ ~ o ~ i c framework Which p r ~ ~ sand reinforces h is thematic intent . s t i l l , the method . . . ._requires thorough scrutiny.

A close view of Fors ter s chapter on fantasyll dis-covers tha t the term does not solely represent what defiesreason but denotes the welding of the rea l and the super-natural . Hence he says: The power of fantasy penetratesinto every corner of the universe but not into the forcesthat govern i t - - the stars tha t are the brain of heaven the

f a l t bl I . t h d II 13 EI hrmy 0 un era e aw r e m ~ n un ouc sew erein h is jo urn alistic writ ings the novel is t adds that hel ikes the idea o f fan tasy o f mUddling up the actual andthe impossible unt i l the reader i s n t sure which i s which. 14The significance of this genre i s a t l eas t two-fold. I ts


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5pecul iar i ty , which often demands that the reader make anaddit ional adjustment, enables the writer both to surpriseand delight. But more importantly, epitomizing the s p i r i t -ual , the ideal , offers the a r t i s t the objective distancefrom which to perceive the absurdit ies and imperfections ofr e a l i t y Sometimes, fantasy assumes a close re la t ionshipwith the set t ing, characters and action of the plot , and i sstraightforwardly employed to uncover men s deficiencies, to illumine a l l their problems , as man if es ted i n F o r s t e r sThe Curate , s Friend 1907) .16 Embedded in th is ta le i s ashort sto ry i ronical ly told by a clergyman to dramatize hishumanistic principles . The protagonis t s aspirat ions-merely to appear congenial and to tend h is daily duty as apriest - -subt ly betray his s u p e r f i c i a l i t y The turningpoint of his l i f e occurs in h is chance meeting with a faun,which induces him to recogn ize the i n t r i n s i c value of loveand passion, a quali ty generally overlooked or ignored i na society f u l l of deceit and conventionali ty. But insome cases, fantasy works independently, bearing no apparent connection with IItime or people or logic playing through them as i f they did not exist , the r e s u l t beingtha t i n t e n s i f i e s the welter of existence, notably inliThe Other Side of the Hedge (1904). This story describesa boy s discovery of a utopia exemplifying the spontaneityand freedom absent in a generation plagued by the monotony and pet t iness of meChanization and materialism. Mainly


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fantasy i s a l i t e r a r y technique distinguished by i t s

double vision, i t s direct or indi rect p re senta tion o f twodifferent worlds--the vis ible and the visionary--the cont r a s t between which invariably exposes human fol ly . Suchan e f f e c t also manifests i t s e l f in novels that Fors terjudges as belonging to this form, especial ly Sterne s Trist ram Shandy (1760-67) , where in Muddle i s almost incarnateand Joyce s Ulysses (1922), a modern paral le l to Homer sOdyssey. Altogether, embodying a union of the kingdoms ofmagic and ommon sense ,17 of moral cri t icism and humour, fantasy provides the mythology, the symbolic structurecompatible and consistent with the n o v e l i s t s trenchantvision of human experience.

S t i l l we need to be f a i r l y scrupulous and s tr ingentIn our applicat ion of what i s r e a l l y a rather broad andabstract theory. Although many fantast ic novels are discussed in Aspects as parodies or adaptations--Ulysses i s aprime examp le--Forster s postulat ion tha t Joseph Andrews(1742) f i t s the fantast ic mo e i s perhaps too arbi t rary .Indeed, the l a t t e r novel originated from Fielding s wish toparody Richardson s Pamela (1740-41); i t s aut hor begins byplaying the fool in a Richardsonian world and ends by beingserious in a world of his own .18 Yet, Fors ter does notseem to rea lize that the world delineated in both ofthese works i s an attempt a t a r e a l i s t i c portrayal of eight-eenth cen tury Engl ish society. Thus, fantasy and social


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sat i re are not always i n ~ e r c h n g e b l e A faci le acceptanceof Forster s definit ion is inexpedient and unprofi table.

Forster s def in iti on o f prophecy i s no lessabstruse. Construed far from i t s ordinary meaning, serves neither as an agent of forete l l ing the future noras an appeal for righteousness .19 Rather, i s a musicl ike quali ty , an accent in the novel is t s voice ; i t s themeis the universe, or some thing universal , and may imply ~any of the fa iths that have haunted humanity--Christianity,Buddhism, dualism, Satanism, or the mere ra is ing of human . .... , . , , . _ , ~ , . , . _ . __ .. , . < - . c ~ . _ ._. _....... love and hatred to such a power that their normal receptaclesno longer contain them ,,20 Understandably, such an ar-cane description el ic i t s d ispara te scho la rly responses.W Gilomen and Edwin Nierenberg are alike in the i r misunderstanding of prophecy . The former s imply assumes to bethe novel is t s central message, h is p ersiste nt oppositionof reali ty and .. sham .21 Similarly, de spi te his sensibleanalysis of the Forsterian theme of friendship and humanbro therhood, the l a t te r fa i ls to perceive that prophecyis quintessential ly a l i te rary technique. Naslund correctly points out that cr i t ics usually reduce prophecy toth f t t f . 22 d . f. eme n terms 0 pa erns 0 1.magery. But n 1. ent1. y-ing this aesthetic style with a tone of voice expressingFors te r s spi r i tual vision, he omits to specify preciselythe manner in which the novelist conveys this moral percept-


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ion. His re ady espousal of Fors te r s terminology that theprophet sings does not help to clar i fy the issue. Stonetakes prophecyll to be the ba rd ic inf luence that conjointly works with Fors te r s comic s t ra in to at ta in a IInoumenalllvision, to realize the sp i r i t embedded in [the phenomenalworld] II the effect of which argues the compatibili ty ofhuman and absolute values, and provides meeting-places forthe dualisms of his esthetics and h is art . 24 Stone s ex-plicat ion is unfailingly elaborate and learned, but alsoegregiously contrived and ponderous, causing us to wonderhow germane h is theory is to Forster s notion of prophecy .McConkey is equally shaky in suggesting that prophecy isthe representation of a mythology based on a mingling ofphysical rea l i ty with some universal element , and tha t theprophetic writer does so not by making a direct statementabout the world he conceives, but by merging both his char-acters and readers into i t IIthrough the power of his voice ,through the mystical qUality of that voice and the accent possesses. 5 Here the cr i t ic gives l i t t l e indication as tothe true nature, cause and effect of Forster s term. Thesequestions, crucial to our understanding of IIprophecyll be-come our immediate concern.

can best understand IIprophecy by considering in association with i t s kin-- fantasyll. The enliveningsp i r i t of these two modes is prominent in Forste r s description: liAs I said of the fantas is t , [the proPhet] manip-


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9ulates a beam of l i g h t which occasionally touches the ob-j e c t so sedulously dusted by the hand of common sense, andrenders them more vivid than they can ever be in domestici ty. 6 Yet, the two perform their roles in signif icantlydif ferent ways. he one shocks introducing the improb-able; the other does so in terms of the strangeness ofsong aris ing i n the halls of fiction .27 he prophet sl y r i c a l turn i s rooted in the nature of the material hewishes to convey. y and large, prophecy i s a superiors tyle to fantasy . he l a t t e r i l lumines, but i n a l imitedfashion ( i .e . , glances about,,).28 Though graphicallyunfolds man s inadequacy by juxtaposing the spheres of theactual and the ideal , lacks a comprehensive view of hum-anity, of i t s value and posit ion in the universe. heformer, composed i n an even remoter emotional sta te than fantasy , tends towards an unifying vis ion i .e. reachesback,,):29 endeavours to express the n o v e l i s t s outlookon l i f e by portraying the relat ionship between the mortalworld and the i n f i n i t e , between human experience and i t slarger ramifications. Like fantasy , the prophetics p i r i t sometimes expresses i t s e l f in the landscape, cha racters and their interact ions , as evident in the impact ofAziz s a r r e s t (for a ttempted rape) on Fielding in A Passageto India. he episode depicts Fielding s view of theMarabar H i l l s , the spot where the incident occurs, whichleads to the schoolmaster s questioning of his personal


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achievement as a human being, and h is r ea liz at ion of humanVulnerability and puniness. At other times, this revelatoryforce assumes dominance i n the foreground, rendering thepeople and events almost i rrelevant. Mrs Moore s departure from Chandrapore in A Passage i s i l l u s t r a t i v e hscene of Asirgarh imparts to her the expansiveness of India,hinting that her jUdgement of existence based on the Marabar incident i s not f inal . Such a mystical landscape alsobespeaks the awesomeness of the elemental domain, and consequently man s p a r t i a l understanding, his incapabili ty offully comprehending the ultimate r e a l i t y

I t i s thus obvious that poetic representationchimes in with the nature of prophecy , a serious andl o f t y form which often incurs the reader s humility --hisrespect--and the suspension of the sense of humour .3Even more remarkably, serves a forceful medium prompting the reader s intui t ive ident i f icat ion of the w r i t e r suniversal perspective, e l i c i t i n g the sensation of sinkinginto a transparent globe and seeing our experience f l o a t -ing far above us on i t s surface, t iny, remote, yet ours .:31This subtle influence, emanating from the novel is t s comprehensive vision, his attempt to capture a glimpse of thepurpose of l i f e through exploring beyond physical r e a l i t yto the transcendental realm, i s a rare g i f t claimed by veryfew writers. In Aspects, Forster extensive ly a lludes toDostoyevsky, who shows us that unity through love and pity


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occurs in a region in fic tio n which can only be implied,,32and Melville, who demonstrates his conception of evi l byreaching straight back, a f ter the i n i t i a l roughness of hisrealism into the universal , to a blackness and sadness sotranscending our own that they are undistinguishable fromglory ... 33 Hardy and Conrad do not make the grade for , despite thei r poetic language, they are too moralist ic; theycast l imit ing philosophical re f lections on l i fe and things ,a role incongruous with the p rophet s natu re . 34 And inthis sense, they are infer ior to Lawrence who apar t fromhis moments of didacticism, i s able to evoke the individ-uali ty and vi ta l i ty of existence by i r radiat ing naturefrom thin 35 P r e ~ d o m i n a n t l y prophecyll provides the

/ . , _ . -

means by which the .n9vel is t creates a symbolic network, a- ,. -- .

mythology el ic i t ing the r eader s i ns ti nc ti ve grasp of Ii rs _. _ ~ . _ _ .. _ _ ... ~ ~ _ _world vision through poetic communication.

4.Crit ics have acknowledged Fors ter s s ty l i s t ic

evolvement--his sh i f t from the fantastic mode to the prophetic This development, however, does not implytha t he composes two altogether different types of novels,but tha t he gradually emphasizes the l a t t e r perspective morethan the former in his works. His short stories and pre-war novels (save for Howards End are basical ly fantast ic .Yet, the prophetic s tr ain la te n t in Fors ter s early f i c t -ional writings reveals i t s e l f more and more and develops


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into a dominant force i n A Passage to India. Further, wesee in this post-war novel not the elimination of fantasy ,but i t s maturation. Prior to A Passage--particularly in thet a l e s t h i s magical force figures almost obtrusively common-l y in the shape of a deity or some paradise), serving as acorrective to the defectiveness of society; i s superfici a l l y edifying but more often d idac tic . Dramatized i n amore r e a l i s t i c context, fantasy takes on a more subtleguise in A Passage, integrating with prophecy to presentF o r s t e r s ontological perception. y way of this numinousinfluence, the novelist handily discloses the relat ionshipbetween the human sphere and the transcendent r e a l i t y .Though l e s s sophist icated, the early novels prepare for thecomplexity of F o r s t e r s masterpiece--A Passage to India. Ab r i e f view of them i s thus worthwhile. With i t s theme ofhomosexual lo ve, su bject mat te r b road ly different from thatof the other novels, Maurice (1914, f i r s t published 1970)remains outside the province of our discussion. And though,in order of publication, A oom with a View (1908) i s Fors-teres third novel, i s perhaps the e a r l i e s t conceptually,since the novel is t drafted a large par t of i n 1903. 36For this reason, we shal l begin our survey with this comedy.

Widely regarded as the sunniest and most l i g h t -hearted of F o r s t e r s novels, A oom with a View shares thetheme of love and t ruth with many of the ta les such as TheCurate s Friend , The Eternal Moment (1905) and The


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Story of the Siren (1920). The novel centres upon LucyHoneychurch s struggle to perceive the import of marriagethrough her choice of George Emerson over Cecil Vyse, herpreference of passion and spontaneity to in te l lec tua l snobbery and conventional morality, values which her loversembody respectively. Of course, what deepens the books enchantment i s as both Stone and Lionel Tril l ing indicate,the prophetic element that lurks behind i t s simple, exhilarat ing story.3? Lucy s ultimate discovery of her truefeelings for George ensures her spi r i tual salvat ion; rescues her from the danger of damnation in the form ofcelibacy , f rom yielding to the armies of the benightedthat have sinned against passion and truth .3

But for a l l i t s gaiety and brightness, A Room witha View is not Wholly satisfying. I ts major problem l i es inFors te r s handling of the relat ionship between Lucy andGeorge, a connection on which the meaning of the novelres ts The nov elis t s crit icism of his age--his unmaskingof the superf ic ia l i ty and smugness of modern English society--mostly constructed around the interplay between Ceciland Lucy, emerges emphatically in the book. His t imidity(evidenced by the embarrassed kiss he offers Lucy a fewdays af ter their engagement), his intolerance shown in thesuperior att i tude he holds towards Lucy s mother and herfriends) and his misconception of culture and a r t (impliedin his complacent confession to Freddy, his f iancee s broth-


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er, that he i s an academic ra ther than an a t h l e t e - - a l lexemplify Cecil s asceticism , h is sel f-de fens iveness,sham respectabil i ty and s t e r i l e pedantry. The dissolutionof the betrothal symbolizes Lucy s f inal resolution to com-bat the vices corresponding to an essentia l ly bourgeoisculture, a repressive system of which Cecil is a victim.Conversely, Forster s ideal of sinceri ty and understanding,of the enlightenment and freedom of the soul, based on theunion of Lucy and George, only barely regis ters . dolearn of George s vibrancy and candour--but only meagrely.For the novelist f a i l s to develop his characters and actionto the f u l l e s t effect . George s divulging of his love forLucy i s a case in point:

You say Mr. Vyse wants me to l i s t e n to him, Mr.Emerson. Pardon me for suggesting that you havecaught the h a b i t .nd he took the shoddy reproof and touched intoimmortality. He said:Yes, I have, and sank down as i f suddenly weary.I m the same kind of brute a t bottom. This desireto govern a woman--it l i e s very deep, and men andwomen must f ight together before they shal l enterthe Garden. But I do love you--surely in a bet terway than he does. He thought. Yes--really in abetter way. I want you to have your own thoughtseven when I hold you in my arms. He stretched themtowards her. Lucy, be quick--there s no time for usto talk now come to me as you came in the spring,and afterwards I will be gentle and explain. I havecared for you since that man died. I cannot l ivewi thout you. No good, I thought: she is marryingsomeone else ; but I meet you again when a l l theworld i s glorious water and sun. s you came throughthe wood I saw that nothing else mattered. J9called.I wanted to l ive and have my chance of joy.For an individual desperately trying to dissuade his love


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fromcommit-ting herself to his r ival George is commendablyart iculate and persuasive. Yet, he is decidedly too f luent,too discriminating to be spontaneous. Highly admonitoryand somewhat overwrought , the passage represents George asnot so much an a rden t love r as an earnest preacher promulg-ating the fai th of Eros and Pallas Athene. In general, theattachment between Lucy and George i s in Leavis words, s tated but not convincingly cOnveyed .40 nd Forster srealism--his assessment of modern civi l iza t ion jars withhis symbolism--his conception of an orderly and meaningfulexistence. A oom with a View is ra ther callowly fantast ic .

Where Angels Fear to Tread 1905 is somewhat moresubtle. In theme, runs close to A Room, celebratingthe naturalness and creat ivi ty of passion, of elementallove, as opposed to the r ig id i ty and mechanicalness of aprudish morality. The dichotomy between appearance andrea l i ty the vi ta l confl ic t upon which A oom is structured,is similarly portrayed in Angels, only this time Cecil-- theepitome of the English middle-class mentali ty-- is supplantedby the Herritons of Sawston, and George--the image of animpassioned sp i r i t of an I talian temperament--is super-seded by Gino of Monteriano. Primarily, Where Angels Fearto Tread i s a story of the growth of Caroline Abbott andPhilip Herriton, as well as their quest through disi l lusioning and stul t i fying experience to the achievement of se l f -knowledge.


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16In so far as the real izat ion of the nov el ist s

thematic purpose i s concerned, Angels i s more effectivethan Room The tension between truthfulness and hypocrisy,dramatized through the jux taposi tion of Sawston and Monteriano, surfaces sharply in the novel. The inhibit ive and enervating effect of the Sawstonian culture i s subtly evokedthrough the Herritons warped sensibi l i ty. I t finds exp re ssion i n Phi l ip s priggishness--his general s co rn of the peopleand things around him--and in his mother s petty unselfishnesstl--her complacency and dogged adherence to decorumevidenced in her ludicrous attempt to retrieve the child ofGino, to whom L i l i a her l a t e daughter-in-law, was married.In much the same way he manages Room Forster furnishesAngels, principally a comedy of manners, with a philosophi ca l dimension--only more overtly and even brutal ly. Thedanger of modern alienation acutely betrays i t s e l f in theinsensi t ivi ty and bigotry of Harriet , Phi l ip s s i s t e r whobecomes the agent of death in executing her mother s planto Ilrescue --or kidnap--her nephew from Gino. Like RoomAngels dips into the larger concern of the principle ofexistence, of s p i r i t u a l rebi r th .

The world of Monteriano, the ant i thesis of Sawston,i s equally well-painted. appreciate this home of passionand v i t a l i t y mainly through our perception of Gino, andpart icular ly his relationship with Philip Herriton andCaroline Abbott, L i l i a s crony determined to discharge her


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moral obligation by bringing the I t a l i a n s baby to Englandto be properly re.ared. Surely Gino succeeds b e t t e r thanGeorge Emerson h is counterpart i n A Room in performingh is symbolic r ole; h is deeds are believable for they are nopure u n wo rld ly a ch ie ve me nts b ut those o f a human beinggraced with a divine g i f t . Beyond the fas:ade o f h is c r a ss -ness and v u l g a r i t y l i e s a fervent glowing young man capableo f profound l o v e . Upon the news o f h is so n s death her e l e a se s h i s rage by thrashing P h i l i p who assumes respons-i b i l i t y fo r the whole accident. Yet he gives way to compassion and forbearance in response to C a r o l i n e s remindero f the i n a n i t y o f h is cruel revenge. The tenderness whichC aroline h as previously discerned i n him as he bathed h isson again surges f o r t h inducing his r e c o n c i l i a t i o n withP h i l i p . Altogether Gino has a g r e a t impact on both o f theseEnglish characters:

The p e r i l was over a t l a s t . A g r e a t sob shook thewhole body another followed and then he gave apiercing cry o f woe and stumbled towards Miss Abbottl i k e a c h i l d and clung to her.A ll through the day Miss Abbott had seemed toPhilip l i k e a goddess and more than ever did she seemso now Her eyes were open f u l l o f i n f i n i t e pityand f u l l o f majesty He r hands were folded roundthe su f f e r e r stroking him l i g h t l y fo r even a god-dess can do no more than t h a t . And seemed f i t t i n gtoo t h a t she should bend h er head and touch h i sforehead with h er l i p s .Philip looked away as he sometimes looked awayfrom the g r e a t pictures where v i si b l e forms sudden-ly become inadequate for the things they have shownto us. He was happy; he was assured t h a t there wasgreatness in the world. There came to him an e a r n e s tdesire to be good through the example o f t h i s goodwoman. He would tr y h en cef or wa rd t o be worthy o f the


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things she had revealed. Quietly, without hyster ical prayers or banging drums, he underwent conversion. e was saved.The scene underlines Caroline s spi r i tual transfiguration,which would have been impossible without her meeting Gino.Their association, culminating in her real izat ion that theI ta l ian i s actually a loving father, serves to remove herfrom the bounds of parochial Saws ton to embrace the emotional vi t a l i ty characteristic of Monteriano. o longer areceiver but a giver, Caroline here matures and becomes inPhi l ip s eyes a charitable goddess. This metamorphosisaffirms Phil ip s spi r i tual regeneration. The vision ofCaroline s goodness marks his change from apathy to a deepawareness of the purpose of l i f e The characters growthin understanding, arising out of their aff i l ia t ion withGino, connotes Forster s l uc id int eg ra ti on of the real andthe symbolic. For the most part , Where Angels Fear toTread is credible Itfantasy .

Weighed against Forster s I ta l ian novels, The Longest Journey 1907 is incontestably more ambitious. TheForsterian concept of reality --the notion of se l f fu l f i l l-ment--again becomes the central preoccupation of what iscommonly considered the nov el ist s most autobiographicalbook. In demonstrating this principle, both A Room andAngels partake of a confl ic t , which expresses i t se l f inthe form of a search toward the dist inct ion between fa ls i tyand truthfulness, the choice of l igh t (a view) over darkness


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(a room), sentiment (of fools) over impersonality (of angels).The Longest Journey not only embodies this process, butseeks to explore i t s implications. Reality in th is bookthus assumes a more universal posture: comprises therecognition and acknowledgement of the flux and s tabi l i tyexemplifying the nature of existence, the knowledge not ofgood and evi l , but of good-and-evil. The Longest Journeyessent ial ly depicts the struggle of Rickie ll io t to l iveby the t ruth of the wine while being immersed in the know-ledge of the world .42

Fair ly obviously, Journey shows a stronger proph-e t ic dr i f t than the I ta l ian novels. Indeed, the violentdeath of Gino s baby in Angels, the outcome of Harr ie t sobduracy, betokens the per i l of modern s ter i l i ty Yet sucha menace hardly threatens utter ly to overturn the world ofthe novel. Representing a social error rather than a crime,the child s death is as an unlucky accident in what isotherwise a social comedy 43 The Longest Journey attemptsto demonstrate Forster s humanistic creed with even greaterurgency and intensi ty. The humbug of middle-class convention manifests i t se l f again through the world of Sawston, aplace distinguished by i t s mean-spiritedness, l i teral ismand barren intellectualism, wherein Rickie, the protagonist,becomes corrupted and abandons the Cambridge values heoriginal lyholds--fr iendship, intell igence and free thinking.His spir i tUal reawakening begins with his settlement in the


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Wiltshire countryside, an abode of vigour and spontaneityinto which Stephen Wonham Rickie s ha lf -b ro the r, i s integrated. Yet, the influence of Sawston i s damaging to theextent tha t Rickie not only f a i l s ful ly to recover but i sf i n a l l y destroyed. omingout of a ra ther weary sense ofduty ra ther than a burning desire to rescue his brotherfrom being h i t by a t r a i n Rickie s resolution to die forStephen indicates h is personal disi l lusionment with l i f e .Yet in a sense, the pro tagon is t s l os s i s an indefinitepromise of fulf i l lment. His death implies his submissionto a larger humanistic s p i r i t and generates the posit ivee f f e c t of redemption i n terms of R ickie s survival: ensures the continuance of man s i n t r i n s i c loving nature,the sole source o f re si stance to the threat of modern

4materialism, the hope of the future of our race . TheLongest Journey i s an origina l aes thet ic c rea tion ind ica tingF o r s t e r s new incl inat ion to prophecy .

The novel, however, i s not an entire ly successfulwork of a r t . In general , misses the structural coherenceof Where Angels Fear to Tread. There are, of course, plenty of splendid moments in Journey, and they usually occuras a r e s u l t of F o r s t e r s prof icient mastery of social com-edy in evincing the oppressive morals of Saws ton. heessentia l ly unimaginative, constraining climate of theplace finds vivid expression in Herbert Pembroke--Rickie sbrother-in-law and headmaster of Saws ton school--par t icular-


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ly in his constant bat t le wIth the day-boys. Consider m ~broke s oration a t the school assembly. Deflating himfrom eloquence to banali ty, the scene, as John Harvey re -marks, at tes ts to Forster s genius as IImaster of irony byjuxtaposition,,:4.5

He told them that th is term, the second of his reign,was the term for Dunwood House; that behoovedevery boy to labour during for his house s honour,and through the house, for the honour of the school.Taking a wider range, he spoke of England, or ratherof Great Britain, and of her continental foes. Portra i t s of empire-builders hung on the wall , and hepointed to them. He quoted imperia l poets And seemed that only a short ladder lay between the preparatioij6room and the Anglo-Saxon hegemony of theglobe. .And Agnes El l io t s homespun exhortation to her husband isequally fe l ic i tous . I t exemplifies the grinding systemwith which the Pembrokes Agnes is Herbert s s is ter ) identi fy, a materialism that deprives the ind ividual o f hisidenti ty . By urging Rickie to pursue- the cause of harduncongenial work , Agnes actually directs him to the pathof alienation:

To do good For what other reason are we here?Let us give up our refined sensations, and our com-for ts , and our ar t , i f thereby we can make otherpeople happier and bet ter . The woman he loved hadurged him to do good With a ven7mence that surprisedher, he exclaimed, I l l do i t . In essence, Agnes imposition of her ideal pat tern uponRickie symbolizes an act of tyranny, a curb to freedom.And her rather Victorian interpretat ion of work as an endrather than as a means towards personal integri ty impliesher purblindnes s, her contorted percept ion of rea l i ty .


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But the most troublesome blemish of Journey i sForster s fai lure to su sta in h is novel on the same level ofverve and energy in conveying h is moral intention as he doesin demonstrating his insight into social i l l s . The noveli s t s v i ta l principle is never t ruly brought to imaginativel i f e . n the whole, Stephen onham is a pale embodiment ofthe norm against which the value of everyday l iving i s tes t -edt ndowed wi th coarse kindliness and rus t ic strength ,he figures as a model of sinceri ty, breaking through thepretenses, sordidness and humdrum of bourgeois mediocrity.48Yet, he functions not as a mere emblem but as a human character given to l i t t l e vices: Forster takes care to avoidthe danger of ideal izat ion by emphasizing his sur l iness,impetuosity and erra t ic insensi t ivi ty which, a t times, degenerates into bruta l i ty , as evident in Stephen s persis tentdesire to i n f l i c t torture upon a shepherd for his breach oft rus t . Of course, the churlish hero reminds us of Gino inWhere Angels Fear to Tread. But while the l a t t e r s barbarism springs from his passionate valu atio n o f l i fe and things- -par t icular ly his baby--and is tempered with a keen senseof sympathy,4 the former s is caused by his willfulness .Though Rickie s judgement is not always sound (a resu l t ofhis flawed sensibi l i ty) , we do acknowledge tha t there is ,a t lea s t , a certa in t ruth in the impression he conceives ofhis brother:

The boy had a l i t t l e reminded him of Gerald [a fe r ocious and caddish footballer]-- the Gerald of history,


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2}

not the Gerald of romance. He w s more genial , butthere w s the s me r u t l i t ~ ~ the s me peevish ins is t -ence on the pound of flesh.Stephen s obs tinacy shows Fors ter s piercing sense of goodand-evil , his penet ra tion into the complexity, and inconsistency of hum n nature. Nonetheless, the boorish ploughboyoutrages middle-class genti l i ty t the expense of his moralstatus, thus overturning the novel is t s original purpose.To some degree, Stephen s volat i le temper dims our visionof the positive values he embodies.

Likewise, Fors ter s confusing symbolism greatlyweakens the prophetic effec t that he desires to achievein Journey. In other words, the novel represents an abortiveattempt to reveal his ontological vision--human integri tythrough love and sympathy--through lIfantasy . John Harveyseverely censures the episode describing Rickie s suddenre ve la tion, h is insight into the worth of existence throughdiscerning the love that exis ts between Gerald and Agnes. Admittedly, Forster f i ls to do this mystical scene justiceby allowing Rickie to disclose i t s symbolic meaning throughspeculative rambling rather than genuine poetic evocation.Further, the generally affected and grandiose languageoverstates the import of the passage--the real izat ion of amoment of intense awareness of personal experience .5 Aneven more flagrant ex mple of this kind occurs in the concluding chapter of the middle section of the novel. tcomprises the narra tor s comment on the preceding incident


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--Rickie s mental breakdown a t the denunciation of him byAnsell, the Cambridge philosopher, for denying h is b rothe r.Dealing purely in abstractions, without making the s l ightes treference to the drama illuminating the moment of Rickie sself-awareness, the intervention of the authorial voiceappears awkward i f not ent i rely out of place:

he soul has her own currency. She mints herspir i tual coinage and stamps with the image ofsome beloved face. With she pays her debts, with she reckons, say ing, This man has worth, this manis worthless. nd in time she forge ts i t s origin; seems to her to be a thing unalterable, divine.But the soul can also have her bankruptcies. There i s indeed, another coinage that bears on not man s image but God s. I t is incorruptible,and the soul may t rus t safely; wil l serve herbeyond the s tars But cannot give us fr iends, orthe embrace of a lover, or the touch of child ren , forwith our fellow-mortals has no concernHave welearnt the true discipline of a bankruptcy i f we turnto such coinage as this? Will real ly prof i t usso m u ~ i f we save our souls and lose the wholeworld?

The ove ra ll a sser tive tone and the closing rhetorical questions ful ly betray the didacticism of this al legorical descr ipt ion. Here manifestly, Forster intrudes not as aprophet but as an eager moralist upholding the principle ofspir i tual well-being through mutual understanding. Besides,the discourse shares the s tyl is t ic defects of the formerlymentioned key passage. I ts expressions are so oftens t i l ted and strained that they sometimes slide into theludicrous, thereby perverting the nove lis t s intention topresent his metaphysical preoccupations. Conscious of thediff icul ty of mastering the technique of prophecy --the


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poetic evocation o f the a u t h o r s conception o f real i tythe r ep re se nt at io n o f the l i nk between the human world an dthe i n f i n i te For s te r laments in Aspects o f the Novel I tis a pi t y t h a t Man cannot be a t the same time impressiveand t r u t h f u l . 5 He fa i ls to real i ze this ide a l in TheL on ge st J ou rn ey . s t i l l he continues h is quest in HowardsEnd


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NOTES EM Forster , Aspects of the Novel (Middlesex:Pelican, 1970), pp. 117-118.2W Gilomen Fantasy and Prophecy in E.M. Forster sWork English Studies, XXVII (1946), 92-112.3Forster, Aspects, p. 112.4Rudolf B. Schmerl, F antasy as Technique , VirginiaQuarterly Review 43 (1966), 644.5Ibid p. 645.6Ibid p. 647.7Wilfred Stone, The Cave and the Mountain (Stanford:Stanford Universi ty Press , 1966), p. 124.8Ibid p. 160.9Ibid p. 161.

10Sena Jeter Naslund, Fantasy, Prophecy, and Pointof View in A Passage to India , SNNTS, 7 (1975), 259. Ibid p. 259.12James McConkey The Novels of EoM. Forster (Ithaca:Cornell University Press, 1957), p. 47013Forster, Aspects, p. 116. A Book that Influenced Me in TwoCheers for Democracy (Middlesex: Penguin, 1976), p:-230. Aspects, p. 114.16All the short s to ri es re fe rr ed to in this chapterare from The Collected Tales of E.M. Forster New York:Alfred A. Knopf, 1947).17Forster, Aspects, p. 121.18 Ibid p. 125.19 Ibid p. 129.

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2-J:bid., p. 20.21Gilomen, Fantasy and Prophecy in E.M. Forster s

Work , p. 106.22Naslund, Fantasy, Prophecy, and Point of View inA Passage to India , p. 259.23Ibid . p. 274.24Stone, The Cave and the Mountain, pp. 117-118.25McConkey, The Novels of E.M. Forster , pp. 46-47.26Forster, Aspects, p. 139.27 Ibid . p. 129.28Ibid . p. 14o.29 Ibid . p. 140.30Ibid., p. 13.31 Ibid . p. 138.32Ibid., p. 139.33Ibid . p. 137.34- b d 141L1:-.., p. 35Ibid . p. 147.36EM Forster, A Room with a View, ed. OliverStallybrass (Middlesex: Penguin, 1978), p. 8.37See Stone, The Cave and the Mountain, p. 217;

Lionel Tril l ing, E.Mo Forster New York: New Directions,1943), p. 97.38Forster, A Room p. 194.39 Ibid . pp. 186-187.40FR Leavis, The Common Pursuit (London: Chatto Windus, 1952), p. 263.41EM Forster, Where Angels Fear to Tread New York:Vin tage, 1920), pp. 172-173.42

The Longest Journey New York: Vintage,


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1962), p. 66.43Stone, The Cave and the Mountain, p. 162.44Forster , Journey, p. 310.45John Harvey, Imagination and Moral Theme in E MForster s The Longest Journey , Essays in Criticism, VI,No 4 (1956), 429.46Forster, Journey, p. 171. Ibid p. 166.48Ibid p. 208.9Tri l l ing, Forster, p. 73.50Forster, Journey, p. 115.51Harvey Imagination and Moral Theme in E MForster s The Longest Journeyll, p. 431.52Ibid. , p. 43153Forster, Journey, pp. 245-246.54 Aspects, p. 150.


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HOW R S END

Howards End i s c r u c i a l to our understanding o f For

s t e r s a r t . The significance o f the novel l i e s in i t s f a r reaching vis ion and s ophis ticated c r a f t unparalleled inF o r s t e r s work before Passage to India. The c o n f l i c t be-tween sp i r i t u a l i sm and materialism a r t and science passionan d i n t e l l e c t the outer physical world an d the inner l i f e - the n o v e l i s t s c e n t r a l preoccupation which in h is f i r s tthree novels r e s u l t s in the easy r e j e c t i o n o f one s e t ofvalues in favour o f another--resolves i t s e l f in Howards Endinto a r e c onc ilia tion o f these opposites. Such a development a r i s e s o ut o f F o r s t e r s mature re co gn iti on o f the comp l e x i t y o f r e a l i t y in which these seemingly a n t i t h e t i c a lmoral i ssu e s are not only r e l a t e d b u t i nt er de pe nd en t. Likewise Howards End i s s t y l i s t i c a l l y more i n t r i c a t e than i t spredecessors. The e a r l y novels share an a f f i n i t y in t h e i rattempt to underscore the F or s ter ian notion o f the human im -agination through a mythological framework in which fantasyplays a prominent r o l e . The s p i r i t o f the supernaturalthough pervasive in Howards End i s more s ub tl y p re se nt.F or s ter makes a considerable e f f o r t to transmit t h i s pecul-i a r force through an elaborate symbolism b u i l t around the


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set t ing, characters and c t i ~ n l l of which express thetheme of sympathy and love achieved through prophecy --anintui t ive grasp of transcendental experience. Our main concern here is to evaluate Forster s success or fai lure in hisattempt to render his message by integrating theme and technique--that i s whether he integrates the two elements of fantasy and prophecy with the central message of universa l brotherhood.The set t ing of Howards End--the house i tse lf--epi tomizes the clash between modern social conventions and freedomof the soul. The importance of this recurrent metaphor l iesprimarily in i t s unifying function: the novel commences tHowards End and concludes there. Even though the set t ingvaries in the course of the story, the house acts as a spi r that hovers over the moral landscape of the characters.Apart from creating st ructural symmetry this extended imagealso enables Forster to achieve thematic unity. Like theother major symbols in the novel, Howards End is expansive;every time reappears, i t encompasses an added meaning.The contrast between the visible and the invis ible embodiedin Howards End evolves, through the process of the charactersspir i tu l maturation, into a marriage of these contraries.Thus, the mysterious influence of the house transforms Mar-garet Schlegel from a theoris t of personal relat ions into anactive part ic ipant . The enchanted milieu of Howards Endprovides the background for the author s mythopoeic vision.


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The opening of Howards End a l e t t e r from HelenSchlegel to h e r s is ter Margaret vividly underlines thes teadf as tnes s and peace t h a t the old dwelling exemplifies.Reflecting the freshness and vi ta l i ty o f i t s p a st o r a l environment the house c ons titute s the source o f s tr ength andspontaneity t h a t i t s owner Ruth Wilcox embodies. She is ap a r t o f the landscape as organic to as the house o r thesurrounding hayfield:

The house i s covered with a vine. I looked outearl ier an d Mrs Wilcox was already n the garden.She evidently loves i t o wonder she sometimeslooked t i r e d . She was watching the lar ge re d poppie s . Then she walked o f f the lawn to the meadowwhose corner to the r i g h t I can jus t see. T r a i lt r a i l went h er long dress over the sopping grassand she came back with her hands fu l l o f ha y t h a twas c ut y es te rd ay -- I s u p p o s ~ fo r r a b b i t s o r somethingas she kept on smelling i tThis pictur e o f r u r a l s tabi l i ty of f e r s a sharp as w ell asdeliber ate c o n t r a st to the discordant image t h a t almost -mediately follows--the continual flux o f urban London Fors ter describes Wickham Place where the Schlegels r e s ide as

fa i r ly quie t fo r a l o f t y promontory o f buildingsseparated from .the main thoroughfare. ne had thesense of a backwater or r a t h e r of an estuary whosewaters flowed in from the i n v i s i b l e sea and ebbedinto a profound silence while the waves without weres t i l l beating. Though the promontory cons is ted off l a t s- - e x p e n si v e with cavernous entrance h a l l sfu l l o f concierges and palm s - - it ful f i l led i t s purpose an d gained for the older houses opposite ac e r t a i n measure o f peace. These too would be sweptaway n time an d another promontory would a r is e upont h e i r s i te as humanity p i l e d i t s ~ higher an d highe r on the precious s o i l o f LondonThus F o r s t e r s principal objective c l e a r from the o u t -set Not only does he intend to examine the nature of modern


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existence but Forster desires also to convey his visionwhich derives from the juxtaposition between ci ty and country from the dif f icu l t question whether the ideal of order

~ n old civil ization rooted in soil--can survive the barbar-ism of the Age of Property.

Of course the city-country dichotomy is a commonnotion in l i terature essential ly descending from the classical models of Juvenal and Horace. But ra ther than merelyperpetuating this conception Forster endows with mystical significance. The key to Howards End l ies in our properunderstanding of the connection between the house and i t smistress. To Ruth Wilcox Howards End i s no ordinary abodebut a spir i tual home In her complete identif icat ion withthe place she resembles a goddess inhabiting the Holy ofHolies . Together they serve as a touchstone for the res tof the characters whose salvation hinges on t he ir r ea li za tionof the true worth of the house.

The author artfully--perhaps too arbi t rar i ly d is-tinguishes Ruth from the res t of the Wilcoxes whose incompat ib i l i ty with the bucolic set t ing i s i l lustrated throughan extensive symbol inseparable from the house--the hay.As E K rown suggests. response to the hay is an indexto value in a character. 3 I t i s mainly through this imagethat we see the mystical relationship between Ruth Wilcoxand her dwelling. Similarly the Wilcoxes betray their impenetrable l i teralness through their hay-fever. Business-


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minded, they l ive a world o. telegrams and anger , tot ally unsusceptible to the unseen. Their conventional, pract i ca l and commercial outlook emerges most conspicuously withthe death of Ruth Wilcox. Insensitive to her motives, theyignore her w ill that Howards End be bequeathed to MargaretSchlegel, whom they consider an outsider. The authorialvoice deliberately, and somewhat clumsily, intervenes toelaborate on t hei r supe rf ic ia li ty in contrast with the wholenuminous landscape:

Ought the Wilcoxes to have offered their home toMargaret?- I think not. The appeal was too flimsy.I t was not legal; i t had been written i l lnessand under the spel l of a sudden friendship; wascontrary to the dead woman s intentions the past ,contrary to her nature, so far as tha t nature was understood by them. To them Howards End was a house;they could not know that to her i t had been a spi r i tfor which she sought a spir i tual heir . And--pushingone step further these mists--may they not havedecided even better than they supposed? Is i t credible that the possessions of the sp i r i t can be beq u e t ~ e a t all? Has the soul offspring? A wych-elm t ree, a vine, a wisp of hay with dew on i t - -canpassion for such things be transmitted where theres no bond of blood? No; the Wilcoxes are not tobe blamed. The problem s too t er r i f ic and theycould not even perceive a problem. No; is natural and f i t t ing that af ter due debate they shouldtear the note up and throw on to their dining-room f i re . The pract ical moralist may acquit them absolutely. He who str ives to look deeper may acquitthem--almost. For one hard fact remains. They didneglect a personal appeal. The woman who had dieddid say t04them, Do th i s and they answered, Wewil l not .

This s the voice of the preacher, not the prophet. Rapt his mysterious vision of the inf ini te the prophet leaves i tto others to interpret his iconography. In Howards End,Forster a l l too eager ly unravels his own symbols. As the


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34passage above, much mythic resonance is lo s t in the courseof dilat ion.

f the Wilcoxes are the bu ilde rs o f Ruth s temple(having supplied the economic wherewithal), the Schlegelsare i t s worshippers. English descendants of a naturalizedGerman who turned against Germany s imperialism and mater-ial ism, the Schlegels have been brought up to be cultivatedintel lectuals deeply interested in art l i terature and humanrelations--Bloomsbury bel iefs to which Forster is seriouslycommitted. ore emancipated both morally and intel lectual lythan the Wilcoxes, the Schlegels readily fa l l under the spel lof Howards End. That Margaret and Helen are upholders oft ruth, of the inner l i f e i s seen in their app reci at ion o fboth the hay and i t s counterpart, the wych-elm.

During her stay a t Howards End, Helen never ceasesto marvel a t the beauty of i t s scenery. nd i s under thewych elm that she kisses Paul Wilcox, the youngest son ofthe family, against a landscape vaguely fabulous, ful l ofthe danger of surp rise and l ight . 5 The poetry of thatmoment her receptiveness to passion evoked through thetree of love, certainly place her among the saved . Yet,because of her reckless emotionalism and unthinking re jec t -ion of the material, she has to travel a long way beforeshe discovers the genuine meaning of Howards End.

A more balanced person than Helen is her s is terMargaret. nd i s she who eventually inherits Ruth s beni-


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f ice. Though not beautiful or supremely br i l l ian t Margareti s distinguished by her profound vivacity, a continual andsincere response to a l l that she encountered in her paththrough l i fe .6 A remarkable sobriety and judiciousnessco-exists with an equally remarkable sense of the inf ini tewhich draws her closer to Mrs Wilcox in spi r i t . The separation of Paul and Helen causes a r i f t between the two famil-ies . But Margaret soon resumes friendship with the Wilcoxeswhen they move to London shortly af ter the cr is is . AlthoughMargaret has not the opportunity to see Howards End unt i lla te in the novel, she is intui t ively well aware of and fam-i l i a r with the place. She has l i t t l e trouble accep tingRuth s curious story about the medicinal power of the pig steeth in the bark of the elm. Her t rust in the magical t ree,in turn, clears up her misunderstanding with Mrs Wilcox,so that she gains intimate knowledge of her friend and hersacred bond with the country home Their friendship culminates in Ruth s proposal that Margaret v is i t Howards EndYet, the t r ip never materializes. However highly she prizespersonal intercourse with Ruth, Margaret is inexperienced.She must develop both the prose and the passion in her ownl i fe . Like Helen, she needs to find her way to Howards End

The only Schlegel who does not participate in thispilgrimage is Tibby. Young inte l l igent , yet somewhat academic and effeminate, he reminds us of Philip Herriton inWhere Angels Fear to Tread. Caught up in h is schola stic pur-


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sui ts he l ives in some ivory tower remote from the worldof human affa i rs His tedious pedantry--his excessive com-mitment to the in te lle ct a t the expense of spontaneous em-otion--fosters in him a frame of mind jus t as limited ands ter i le as the Wilcoxes'. That Tibby is fundamental ly s imi l a r to his supposed opponents is shown by his allergy tohay. This symptom which most of the men in the novel suffer from, enhances the major theme--the tension betweenrat ionali ty and in tu i t ion.

This conflict finds expression in Margaret's fu l f i l l -ment of her role as Ruth's spir i tua l successor. Through her,the ultimate purpose of Howards End i s revealed. Unquest-ionably, the house, l ike human existence, comprises morethan the merely physical. I t cannot stand without bricksand mortar; yet , does not stand by them alone. Such alesson Margaret learns from Mrs Wilcox before her death.Enlightened, the disciple sees tha t her responsibi l i ty inl i fe is as she advises Helen, not to brood too mu h on thesuperiori ty of the unseen to the seen , 7 and, above a l l notto different ia te the opposites, bu t integrate them:

Only connect That was the whole of her sermon.Only connect the prose and the passion, and bothwill be exalted, and human love wil l be seen a t i t shighest . Live in fragments no longer. Only connect,and the beast and the monk r o ~ of the i so la t ionthat is l i fe to either, wil l die.he house, however, is not l imited to the individual

level. I t s social dimension discovers i t se l f when Margaretsojourns a t Howards End for the f i r s t time. Admittance to


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37Ruth s shrine broadens her w ~ r perspective:

The sense of flux which had haunted her a l l the yeardisappeared fo r a time. She forgot the luggage andthe motor-cars, an d the hurrying men who know somuch and connect so l i t t l e She recaptured thesense of space, which is the b a sis o f a l l e a r thlybeauty, and, s t a r t i n g from Howards End she attempted to real i ze England. She fai l ed--vi si ons do notcome when we try, though they may come through t r y ing. But an unexpected love o f the is la nd awoke inher , connecting on t h i s side with the joys o f thef le s h, o n t h a t with the inconceivable. Helen and herf a the r ha d known this love, po or L eonar d Bast wasgroping af ter i t but had been hidden from Margare t t i l l this afternoon. I t had cert ai nl y come throughthe house an d old Miss Avery. Through them: thenotion of through p e r si st e d ; her mind trembled to wards a con9lus ion which only the unwise have putinto words.

Margaret s impression o f Howards End extends into a repre-s e nta tion of England firmly an d peacefully rooted in theearth where cl ass divisions no longer e x i s t , where Wilcoxis m an d Schlegelism harmoniously merge. The m a te r ia liz a tiono f t hi s utopia much depends on how well the two familiesinte gr a te under the shadow o f Howards End

Margaret saves her own marriage in much the same wayRuth Wilcox rescues Paul and Helen from panic and d i s a s t e r .With a wisp of hay in her hands, Ruth comes forward toterminate a quarrel between Charles her e l d e r son) andMrs Munt Helen s aunt) over the s i t u a t i o n o f the l o v e r s - the breaking o ff o f t h e i r engagement. Her p a ci fy in g c a pa c it yand empathy emanate from her a f f i n i t y with the countrysideand the past:

She seemed to belong not to the young people andt h e i r motor, but to the house, and to the tree t h a tovershadowed i t ne knew t h a t sh e worshipped the


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38past , and that the i n ~ t i n c t i v e wisdom the past canalone bestow had descended upon her--that wisdom towhich we give the clumsy name of a ris tocr acy. Highborn she might not be. But s s u r e d l i ~ h e cared abouther n c e s ~ o r s and l e t them help her.

This intui t ive wisdom in turn, descends upon Margaret, whofreely forgives r Wilcox the sexual transgressions of hispast . Deliberating in a garden where Margaret absent-mindedly plays with the fresh-mown hay, the betrothed couple r e -establish their t r u s t .

i i The episode terminates with Marg-a r e t s withdrawal to her chamber, leaving across the hal la long t r ickle of grass--a triumphant gesture characterist icof Ruth Wilcox whose presence the heiress feels through-

ut the t e t e a t e t e .Without a proper appreciat ion of Howards End--the

perpe tual spr ing of insight and new l i f e 12_-Margaret mightnot have been able to cope with the second al tercat ion between her and Mr. Wilcox. They have been married for sometime, but news of Helen s pregnancy--the outcome of an i l l -i c i t affair--puts their relationship in jeopardy. Enragedby r Wilcox s bourgeois fastidiousness and his egotism intolerat ing no one s misbehaviour but his own Margaret ref--uses to enter his house. Their showdown takes place in averdant terrain overlooking the Six Hil ls , enigmaticalmounts assumed by Margaret to be the buria l place of chiva l r i c warriors. A s o l d i e r s daughter, she val iant ly com-bats her husband against this backdrop of ancient honourand glory. The confrontation culminates in the simultaneous


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9mortification and enlightenment of Mr Wilcox. Margaret smilitary feat climaxes in another mys tica l gesture--sheruns her fingers through the grass and senses the Six Hillsmoving.

The f inal scenes are indeed, as E.K. Brown observes,more variously suggestive .13 But they also precisely betray the ultimate weakness of the novel. In his treatmentof the overriding symbol of Howards End Forster is perhapsguilty of a certain ar t i f ic ia l i ty . No doubt, he eventuallyfu l f i l l s his intention of equating the house with a heavenhaven . Yet, in doing so, he runs into diff icul t ies whichincur the criticism of an unconvincingly moral ending uponhis book. 14

The s is te rs reunion under the wych-elm af ter sever-al months symbolizes their ultimate salvation. The inspiri ted tree rust les in response to the hallowed moment whenthey reach mutual understanding, the instant when they seem to apprehend l i fe and at tain peace of the present .1 5Their grasp of the now also means hope for the future.For in the l a s t episode, se t in harvest time, Margaret assures Helen that the withered wisp of grass she i s holdingwill sweeten tomorrow .16 And Mr. Wilcox, more tolerantthan before, reveals his will that Howards End be bequeathedto Margaret, and, upon her death, to her nephew. Helen sson, who is playing on the lawn, represents the restorationof a t radit ional style of l iving--an agrarian civi l izat ion


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40

from which his father i s severed by the oppressive tide ofmodern imperialism. Hence, Howards End reverts to i t sr ightful beneficiary and i s as Brown comments, saved fromWilcoxism not for one but for two generations .17 Helen'sjubi lant announcement a t the close of the novel reinforcesthis a i r of f inali ty: The f i e l d s cut --the big meadowWe ve seen to the very end, and t ll be such a crop of hayas never. ,,18Yet, this reading holds true only on a sYmbolic level .I t appears rather too easy and simplistic, once we take intoaccount Forster ' s shrewd social observation projected throughHelen prior to her exul tant epilogue--his t roubled percept ionthat the pestilence of industrialization and expansionismhas become rampant in London, and vir tual ly a l l o v e r theworld. Howards End i s essent ial ly a r e t r e a t from these t e r -rors . There i s no expl ic i t indication as to how i t consti t -utes an adequate defence against .the modern: disease, or, in deed, why t should be spared. Margaret's resolution of suchfears i s dubious a t best:

This craze for motion has only se t in during thel a s t hundred years. I t may be followed by a c i v i l -izat ion that won't be a movement, because t wil lr e s t on the earth. All signs are against t now, butI c a n t help hoping, and very early in the morning inthe garden I eel that our house i s the future as wellas the past.The passage betrays the vagueness of vision for which F.R.Leavis indicts Howards n d ~ O But, as Malcolm Bradbury explicates , an ambiguous denouement i s Forster 's aim. 2 The


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4nov elist , o f course, realizes the seriousness of his f ieldof inquiry--a cultural problem concerning the continuationof those who wi l l kindle the l igh t wi th in that no facileanswer can satisfy.22 Skeptical that anyone bel ief maysingle-handedly embrace the impersona l forces of his toryand the inner l i f e he can only offer a solution which ismakeshift and temporal .23 Although the Schlegels f inal lyinher i t Howards End there is no guarantee of i t s perpetuation.Lionel Tril l ing pra is es For ste r for his perspicacityin Howards End his mature sense of responsibil i ty in a t-tempting both to fuse and qUalify the two opposing spheresof human in terest oversimplified in the early works. 24Granting this appraisal , we may s t i l l ask: does Forster successfully achieve his purpose? I t i s di f f icul t to overlookwhat seems to be the capital flaw of Howards End: the actionof the novel, largely promoted through Forster s symbolism,appears inadequate and incompatible with his piercing moralrealism--his crit ique of modern s ter i l i ty . The Schlegelsoptimism str ikes us as i l l-founded and unjust if ied--a fantasy that arises out of the s i s te rs desperate desire to but-t ress thei r wavering cause against the antagonism of theMachine Age

In this l ight we cannot comfortably dispense withLeavis objection to Howards End: i t s perversi ty of intention .25 The Schlegels-- stars in the contemporary greyness , 6p re se rvers o f a l os t t radi t ion--are, ult imately, no more


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42than recluses in Howards End As Frederick Crews remarks,the private l i fe is upheld t the expense of society, andForster bungles in the task of truly reconciling [ the prosaic outer world] with his own values .27 Our impression ofForster in Howards End is not that of a prophet, but a trench-ant moralist .

2.f Forster s symbolism i s too schematic, the same

is true of h is characterization. In terms of thei r ineff-icacy in delivering Forster s vision, the characters in Howards End are not entire ly prophetic . Whether as naturalor fantastic figures (only one or two f i t into the l t t ercategory in the novel), none of them wholly compasses thesymbolic role to which he/she is assigned. And worse, theyoften degenerate into mere f la t characters.

Personifying the realm of fact and materialism, luggage and motorcars, the Wilcoxes (with the exception of Ruthare, l ike the Gradgrinds , types ra ther than individuals.Henry, the most impressive of his clan, remains for the mostpar t a dry r ep re senta tion o f the unemotional , hard-headedbusinessman. We only need to rec l l Mr. Wilcox s hay

f e v e r ~ n arbi trary emblem of his obtuseness--to recognizethe thinness of Forster s conception.) Similarly, the shallowly conceived Basts ( in p artic ula r, Leonard, Helen s lov-er) stand for the lower middle-class, victims of a societytorn between the two poles of r t i s t ic refinement and commerce


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Together with the tiresome Tibby, the s tereotypical , sequest-ered young scholar, these characters are, i n one way oranother, extremists unable to connect the beast and themonk i n them. They l ive i n fragments and so are ineluct-ably pedestrian and insubstantial .

But, F o r s t e r s uninspired types pale beside thespectacular caricatures of someone l ike Dickens: the l a t t e r scomic grotesqueries and melodramatic f l a i r lend to his characters much s ingular i ty and v i t a l i t y . F o rs te r s f i c ti o n i sof course, informed with a rather d i f f e r e n t philosophicalfervour than i s Dickens . And the provincial types heseeks to delineate in Howards End are not supposed to becolourful or, in any ordinary sense, s a t i r i c a l . But s t i l l.Forster cannot easi ly exonerate himself from the charge off a i l i n g to invest his characters with an aesthet ic , i f notmoral, energy tha t makes them l i v e l y and interest ing.

Even the round characters--three-dimensional indiv-iduals capable of development--are ultimately implausible.Of these f igures, Helen i s perhaps the l e a s t sat isfying. Inthe course of the novel, she loses her apparent rotundi tyand turns into a radical type , an apostle of the f a l th ofpersonal relat ions. I t i s true that her f latness can bej u s t i f i e d on the grounds tha t Forster i s attempting to expose the p ract ical impotence of her rel igion. Never-theless , Helen suffers excessively from what seems to be acommon ailment among F o r s t e r s characters-- the want of emot-


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45inner world.

Unlike Helen, Margaret is more of an individual andis the most vivid of the characters in Howards End Throughout the novel, she struggles to achieve personal integri tyby yoking the two sides of human l i fe tha t are mutually dependent. She emerges most impressively as a character ofproportion a t the end of the novel where she accomplishesthe synthesis. More and more, she reveals the mysticismwhich she sha res w ith Ruth Wilcox; both women are receptiveto the l i t e ra l and the supernatural --the improbabilitiesor paradoxes of l i fe which make human existence a l l the moreenriching. For a l l her moral consistency, however, Margaretis not wholly adequate as a symbolic f igure. Her deficiencysurfaces most clear ly in her marriage with r Wilcox whichF.R. Leavis regards as neither credible nor acceptable .)1Forster is so preoccupied with the implications of this rela t ionship that he neglects to develop logical ly . Theday af ter Margaret receives her engagement r ing, the narratorinforms us:

Margaret greeted her lord with peculiar tenderness on the morrow Mature as he was, she might yetbe able to help him to the building of the rainbowbridge that should connect the prose in us with thepassion. Without we are meaningless fragments,hal f monks half beasts , unconnected arches tha thave never joined into a man with love is born,and al ights on the highest curve, glowing againstthe gray, sober against the f i re . Happy the man whosees from either aspect the glory of those outspreadwings. The roads of his soul l ie clear , and he andhis friends shal l find easy going.I t was hard going in the roads of r Wilcox ssoul. From boyhood he had neglected them. I am


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46

not a fellow who bothers about my own ins ide .Outwardly he was cheerful, re l iable and brave; butwithin, a l l had reverted to chaos, ruled, so far as was ruled a t al l by an incomplete asceticism Religion had confirmed him. The words that wereread aloud on Sunday had once kindled the souls ofSt. Catharine and St. Francis into a white-hot hatred of the carnal. e could not be as the saintsand love the Inf ini te with seraphic ardour, but hecould be a l i t t l e ashamed of loving a wife. Amabat;amare t i m e b ~ ~ nd i t was here that Margaret hopedto help him.

A grand creed this is and Margaret s endeavour to execute is heroic. Yet, on the whole, her betrothal to Mr. Wil-cox is unconvincing: appears not so much as the consequ-ence of her intimate feeling for Henry as her desire to uphold the cause with which she ident i f ies herself . Symboliccharacters in fic tio n must succeed on the elementary levelof narrative, must display a naturalness and consistency i fnot a psychological complexity) before they can acquire theresonance which renders them something more than monotonousth es is fi gu re s. Purely as a f ict ional heroine, Margaret isonly errat ical ly convincing.

The figure of Ruth Wilcox, Margaret s spir i tua l pre-decessor, i s more r ivet t ing. Her symbolic richness emanatesprimarily from her identif icat ion with the house and thewych elm;:. she is a l iving embodiment of the supreme humanvalues rooted in the agrarian t radi t ion. Haunting and enigmatic, she resembles Mrs. Ramsay in To the Lighthouse and isa forerunner of Mrs. Moore in A Passage to India. Peacemakersendowed with a keen inst inct ive acumen and profound sensi t -iv i ty they are capable of in tegrat ing re la t ionships into


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harmony and unity. At the same time, they are a l l immortalfigures; their creative sp i r i t endures even af ter death.Mrs. Wilcox s gen ius, for instance, helps Margaret discerna l i t t l e more clearly than hitherto what a human being i sand to what he may aspire. True relationships gleamed. Perhaps the l as t word would be hope--hope even on this sideof the grave.,,33 And the night the Schlegel s is ters re-uni te in Howards End fUlly at tests to Ruth s cryptic, beneficent influence. The incident marks their growth in understanding and paves the way for their ultimate reconciliationwi th the Wilcoxes. Thus Margaret informs Helen:

I feel that you and I and Henry are only fragments ofthat woman s mind. She knows everything. She iseverything. She is the house, and the t ree thatleans over i t People have their own deaths as wellas their own l ives, and even i f there is nothing beyond death we shall differ in our noth ingness. Icannot believe that knowledge such as hers wil l perish 34with knowledge such as mine. She knew about rea l i t ies

Yet, Ruth fa i ls to realize her great propheticpotent ial i ty to the ful l As a symbolic f igure, most recentcr i t ics find her intolerable. Duke Maskell sardonically de-scribes her character as a blank space inside a schematicoutline : her porten tous symbolic role i s just i f ied bynothing in her character and the things she says and doesgo no further in explaining her importance than the thingssaid about her. 35 James McConkey too, complains that sheis merely a statement of the transcendent unity, but neithera plausible human being nor a bearer of the tru e implic ationof [the Forsterian] voice .36 He concludes tha t Ruth is the


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48most signif icant fai lure o f the novel .

Although these c rit ic isms a re , by and large, val id,the l a s t i s probably too severe. For F o r s t e r s messagedoes not solely depend upon the character of Mrs Wilcox,and her p o r t r a i t i s not exactly devoid of human q u a l i t i e sIn essence, she i s fantas t ic , though in a l imited sense.She qual i f ies as an intr iguing symbol of the marvellous andthe mysterious. (In t h i s respect , she outdoes many of theother characters i n the novel.) Though she i s not a type ,her ideal izat ion as a goddess functioning on a transcendent-al level allows her l i t t l e or no room to i n t e r a c t with theo ther cha racte rs (which explains her minimal influence uponher family). The following i s an extract from an early ep-isode i n which Mrs Wilcox invites Margaret to accompany herto Howards End. Acknowledging the privi lege of v i s i t i n gthe house--the honour of sharing her f r i e n d s one passionin l i fe , - -Margaret f i n a l l y s e t t l e s on a posit ive reply:

I wil l come i f I s t i l l may, said Margaret,laughing nervously.You are coming to sleep, dear, too. I t i s i nthe morning tha t house i s most beautiful . Youare coming to stop. I cannot show you meadowproperly except a t sunrise. These fo gs --s he poin ted a t the s t a t i o n roof-- never spread f a r I daresay they are s i t t i n g in the sun i n Hertfordshire,and you wil l never repent joining them.I shall never r ~ ~ t joining you.t i s the s a m e ~

Mrs. Wilcox s strange, esoter ic language bespeaks her eminence as an awesome deity. Yet, it simultaneously emphasizesher detachment from the human sphere, and, consequently, her


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nebulous connection with Margaret. Thus handicapped, thecharacter of Ruth Wilcox never effect ively evinces the idealof communication and comradeship, which is much better demonstra ted by the more human Margaret Schlegel. In Aspects ofthe Novel, Forster remarks: The te s t of a round character whether it capable of surprising in a convincingway. 9 Mrs. Wilcox does surprise with her symbolic resonance--though not convincingly. She is f la t pretending tobe round . 40

Yet, Ruth's rotundity does emerge occasionally.In the same scene in which Mrs. Wilcox invi tes Margaret toHowards End, the former's human qual i t ies subtly manifestthemselves. Margaret deems Ruth's s i lence--her response tothe former's decline of her proposal--as a snub. he irony that Ruth's si lence m y be due to her own mortificationa t Margaret 's o ri gi na l re fu sa l:

Margaret glanced a t the pit i less a ir and then a tthe t i red face of her companion. 'Later on I shouldlove it she continued, 'but it s hardly the weatherfor such an expedition, and we ought to s t a r t whenwe're fresh. I sn t the house shut up, too?'She received no answer. Mrs. Wilcox appeared tobe annoyed.'Might I come some other day?'Mrs. Wilcox leant forward and tapped the glass.'Back to Wickham Place, please ' was her ~ f r tothe coachman. Margaret had been snubbed.

Ruth's moment of sile nc e r ev ea ls her fine feminine sensib-i l i t i e s . Nonetheless, these human qual i t ies of hers are subordinate to her symbolic signif icance. In the f ina l anal-ysis , she more successful as a fantast ic than as a human


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On a symbolic l evel the rncident foreshadows the ensuingaction of Howards End.

The Beethoven episode--Forster 's metaphorical visionof human experience--is conveyed through the juxtaposit ionof the characters ' points of view. Their various responsesto the music disclose, to a cer tain degree, thei r personaltemperament and moral outlook. The bookish Tibby, of course,views the concert as nothing beyond an in te l lec tual exercise,attending with the fu l l score open on his knee .45Margaret, equable and in tui t ive can only see the music ,46withou t indulging in fanciful interpreta t ions l ike her moreemotional s i s t e r What Helen conceives of the Allegro is adire panorama of the fu t i l i ty and anarchy of existence:

'No; look out for the par t where you think youhave done with the goblins and they come back, 'breathed Helen, as the music s tar ted with a goblinwalking quiet ly over the universe, from end to end.Others followed him. They were not aggressive creatures; was that that made them so terr ible to Helen.They merely observed in passing that there was no suchthing as splendour or heroism in the world. Afterthe interlude of elephants dancing, they returnedand made the observation for the second time. Helencould not contradict them, for , once a t a l l events,she had fe l t the same, and had seen the re l iablewalls of youth collapse. Panic and emp t iness Panic and emptiness The goblins were r ightIndeed, as Tri l l ing notes, such a dreadful fate awaits

'almost everyone in the novel, the unformed Leonard Bastas well as the cult ivated Helen Schlegel in par t icular .

Yet, Helen's impression of Beethoven is incomplete.For th e compose r's courage in acknowledging and confrontingthe malignant goblins is a t lea s t a part ia l a ff irmation o f


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52l i f e s worth. Supplementing Helen s reading, the narratorprovides his own viewpoint:

Beethoven chose to make a ll r igh t in the end.He bui l t the ramparts up. He blew with his mouth forthe second time, and again the goblins were scattered.He brought back the gusts of splendour, the heroism,the youth, the magnificence of l i fe and of death, and,amid vast roarings of a superhuman joy, he led hisFif th Symphony to i t s conclusion. But the goblinswere there. They could return. He had said so bravely , and that is wh}f:9one can t rust Beethoven when hesays other things.Beethoven i s for Forster a paradigm humanist as are Sophocles and Goethe for Matthew Arnold: the three sages partakeof a profound intell igence in that they see l i fe steadilyand see whole .5 /Following his model, Forster also seeksto restore order in the end, through the steadfast MargaretSchlegel.

tlModern criticism , says Mark Schorer in his pene-tra ting art ic le on technique in fic tio n, has de mons t ra tedwith f inal i ty that in a r t beauty and truth are indivisibleand one. 5 The Beethoven chapter in Howards End valid-ates this statement. Truly, Fors ter s adept manipulat ionof the episode through various standpoints bears close re-semblance to the a r t of counterpoint in music. Further, hemanages to mingle levi ty and seriousness in the passage--acharacteris t ic of wit and of a sophisticated l i te ra tu re ,according to T.S. Eliot . 52

Forster portrays the f i r s t half of the concert in agenerally chatty, colloquial tone, as is apparent in phrasesl ike: Here Beethoven, af ter humming and hawing with great


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sweetness, said Heigho and the Andante came to an end,i t will be generally admitted that Beethoven s Fif th Symph

ony is the most sublime noise that has penetrated into theear of manti and such a noise is cheap a t two shi l l ings . This comic mode enables the novelis t to provide a real i s t icbackground for Helen s metaphysical speculations. DukeMaskell condemns Forster for his disconcerting use of lowcomedy on this occasion: His doubts are attached to neithermusic nor the taste for but to his own capacity to makeei ther seem important or credible. t 5 But Maske ll s superf ic ia l attitUde denotes a serious misapprehension of Forster sintent . Significantly, the Beethoven episode exhibits apowerful coali t ion of the kingdoms of fantasy and fact -metaphysical considerations presented in a real l i fe context . 55 I t is here that Forster emerges as a true prophet.

Nevertheless, this outstanding scene simultaneouslythrows into re l ie f the unevenness of Howards End. The res tof the narrative, though demonstrating no bla tant contravention of the p rinciple of causali ty, often appears tooingenious to be wholly satisfying. Forster adroitly int roduces into his novel the phantoms of cowardice and unbe-l ief the Basts--with whom Helen entangles herself themoment she erroneously carries Leonard s umbrella back homefrom the music-hall . Yet, the f i t fu l egresses and returnsof these goblins are not manifestations of an organic plotdevelopment, but Forster s deliberate arrangement of events


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5to conform with the moral pattern he lays out early in thenovel.

The movement of Howards End hinges on a series oflosses in which the Basts are frequently involved. Leonard slos t umbrella--a mildly farcical contretempsll_-prompts abrief encounter between Helen and her morose, diff ident over . The spri tes of panic and emptiness revis i t theSchlegels, with Jacky s intrusion upon Wickham Place seekingher missing husband--the preposterous outcome of Leonard ssecret re t rea t into the woods The incident underscoresForster s i ron ic representat ion of modern civi l izat ion. Inhis attempt to account for his sudden disappearance, Leonardbrings home to Margaret the plight of the lower middle classwhere he and the major part of society belong. Beneath thesuperstructure of weal th and ar t she sees an i l l - fed boy ,one of the thousands who have los t the l i fe of the body andfai led to reach the l i fe of the spir i t who have given upthe glory of the animal for a ta i lcoat and a couple ofideas As his name suggests, Leonard Bast is a misbegotten offspring o f modern times, resembling in some respectsthe Arnoldian tragic hero: they share an identical fa te-wandering between two worlds, one dead,/The other powerlessto be born. t ?

Leonard s unemployment is yet another mishap intensifying Forster s social analysis. Hyatt Howe Waggoner findsthis unexpected turn of events a str iking instance which


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s t r t les us into awareness of the degree to which ourl ives hinge upon coincidence .58 Such a circumstance doesnot happen without cause , but is rather an indication of alarger world beyond human control and comprehension. 9 Thisi s a sound interpretat ion. nd indeed, Forster does achievehis metaphysical purpose, but t the expense of the novel slogical development. he episode also heightens our consciousness of the purely funct iona l character of the Basts--pawns employed by the novelist mainly to further the plot .

Fors ter s superficial design is also manifest

Documents

Fantasy and Prophecy in E.M. Forster