E.M. Forster's Aspiration And Dilemma

This thesis addresses E. M. Forster's view of"connection"—an important theme in his works. The two texts used are Forster's most important novels—Howards End and A Passage to India. Forster's epigraph"only connect"is put to test in the wide scope of different social classes, different cultures and races. In Howards End, connection is attempted among different social groups while in A Passage to India it is attempted in different racial groups.Forster's works are mainly concerned about the relationship between people in a complicated world that is in constant change. His interest is in the exploration of human nature and human life as a whole, in the pursuit of perfect human value and human nature. The interpretation of the novelist's exploration to interpersonal communication and connection is very significant in this multi-cultural world of today.The interpretation to Forster's view of connection is achieved through different interpersonal relationships. This thesis focuses on the interpersonal relationship between the main characters in both novels either in the form of marriage or in the form of friendship by analyzing the characters'social classes and their corresponding economic status, different values in different cultures, and their influence on the characters'behavior and personal relationship.In Howards End, through the relationship between the Schlegels and the Wilcoxes, especially the marriage between Margaret Schlegel and Henry Wilcox, it is manifested how difficult it is to achieve connection between different values within the same social class. The relationship between the Schlegels and Leonard Bast is one between different social classes. The connection between them is also a failure even though one party intends to be good to the other. But good intention does not necessarily bring about good results. Quite the contrary, the one to receive help becomes even more miserable and the price paid is one's life. The tragedy of Leonard Bast is the product of the joint efforts by the previous two sets of relationships; Leonard Bast is the victim of the connection between the Schlegels and the Wilcoxes. And in the end, the Schlegel sisters and Henry live together at Howards End with the child of Helen and Leonard; it seems that Forster's aspiration to"connect"has been fulfilled. But the fact is that Helen can no longer love any man, Margaret is unable to have any child, and Henry has become a"broken"man. And at the same time, the modern industry which Forster had been resisting is approaching Howards End. No one knows for sure how long their peaceful life is going to last. On the surface, the picture displayed at Howards End at the end of the novel is one of peace and happiness, but underneath, what we see is helplessness and ossification, a hint of the novelist's deep anxiety.Compared with Howards End, pessimistic feeling is more obvious in A Passage to India. The theme of connection is continued in the A Passage to India, but in a different setting--- the Colonial India. I will first discuss the separation between two groups of people in the Indian city of Chandrapore—the local Indians and the British, which shows the impossibility of friendship between different races in the context of British-ruled India. Then the focus will move on to the relationship between the major characters of the novel: one is between Mrs. Moore and Aziz and the other is between Fielding and Aziz. After the disastrous trip to the Marabar Caves, Mrs. Moore's mental crisis experienced in the mysterious but chaotic caves changed her into a different person. With her sudden departure and death, the short-lived friendship between her and Aziz is over. The second relationship is the one between Mr. Fielding and Aziz. The beginning and development of their friendship is the most important part of the novel. In the context of colonialism and imperialism, the cultural and racial conflicts between the east and the west are inevitable. Although their relationship has a good beginning and their friendship is getting more consolidated, the accusation by Adela against Aziz and the trial afterwards changed all these. Aziz has also changed. He no longer believes the possibility of friendship with an English. With humanist view of connection in mind, Forster finds, to his disappointment, the innate separation among human beings, which is also a symbol of the relationship between Fielding and Aziz.Therefore,"only connect", the epigraph in Howards End, assumes a new meaning in A Passage to India, that is, the most profound and meaningful connection can only be achieved among people who are equal, when the obstacles to connection, whether it be the division between classes or imperialism and colonialism, are eliminated. Otherwise, Forster's aspiration can only remain a fantasy; it is doomed to fail in face of reality.It is also pointed out that Forster's view of connection is not static; it has undergone a change from hope and optimism to despair and pessimism, from firm belief to self-doubt on the part of Forster himself. With an approach based on Edward Said's Orientalism it is pointed out that Forster's self-doubt, limitation and ambivalence present in his novels are the result of his identity as an upper-middle-class English intellectual brought up in Western culture and an imperialist context.