| E. M. Forster (187%1970) is regarded as one of the most controversial writers ofhis time, and Howards End has always been the most controversial of his novels.Divergences of the criticism on the novel reside mainly in its ambivalence andambiguity as a result of Forster's "double vision", and its happy, but unconvincingending that seems to embody the ultimate and comprehensive "connection" of allthose opposing forces which Forster has discerned in modern society. The presentthesis aims to reveal the connotation of the epigraph "Only Connect...", that is, in myopinion, to lead the good life a man must learn to establish healthy, natural andharmonious personal relations and acknowledge the equal claims of body and spirit,heart and head. Such a Forsterian connection not only combines the reason and fancywhich the traditional liberal-humanisminsists on, but also practises the all-inclusiveand ultimate connection that the universalism emphasizes. Thus Forster's realintention to conceive such a happy ending in Howards End actually reflects his"double-vision".The present thesis consists of six chapters, an "Introduction" and a "Conclusion"."Introduction" briefly traces the vicissitudes of Forster criticism and scholarship, andthen introduces the main points of controversy on Howards End: whether Forster's"double vision" in Howards End is its strength or weakness, with Woolf on one sideand Widdowson on the other. This thesis agrees with Widdowson in reviewing thenovel as "both an ardent affirmation of liberal-humanist values and an intuition oftheir vulnerability", therefore regarding the "double vision" as the fruit of Forster'sprofound, penetrating, and sensitive mind rather than his artistic failure.Chapterâ… , "A Passage to Howards End", explores the social, cultural andintellectual background in which the novel is written. Howards End is a response tothe various forces of the Edwardian age, which was a time of social and political strifeunder its peaceful surface. In Howards End Forster anticipates the liberal dilemma that he later identifies in "The Challenge of Our Time" as the conflict between theliberal culture and its economic base, between the liberal-humanist values and thedoctrines of laissez-faire. Against the liberal dilemma, Forster proposes theconnection, among many a connection, between the New Economy and the OldMorality. Rooted in the liberal-humanist tradition, Forster develops his ownphilosophy, whose core is the faith in the individual, personal relationships, theprivate life, tradition, intellect and culture. Forster's philosophy also has its Romanticdimension: his emphasis on love, imagination, and nature. The notion of "connection"also relates Forster to both Romanticism and Victorian Liberal-humanism.In writing Howards End, Forster seems to have felt in terms of antitheses. Fourmajor antitheses are picked up to form the main body of the thesis, from Chapterâ…¡toChapterâ…¤. Chapterâ…¡, "Two Cultures: the Commercial and the Intellectual", exploresthe relationship of the two cultures, embodied in the intercourse between two families:the Wilcoxes and the Schlegels. They also represent two ways of life and two sets ofvalues. The two worlds should be connected for many reasons. First of all, thecultured people are economically dependent on the business people; their loftythoughts and righteous values are based on material wealth and physical comforts.Money is also needed to make their culture prevail, or a cultural deterioration will beinevitable. Margaret Schlegel recognizes the necessity of the connection and tries itthrough her marriage to Henry Wilcox. But her attitude to Henry unconsciouslybetrays the intellectual's superiority complex. In her life with Henry, Margaret comesto find that the outer life that the Wilcoxes represent is not so real as it appears to be.On the contrary, the inner life is real, and personal relationship is important. Forster'strue intention is "to adjust the lopsidedness of the world" in "a commercial age", toreassert the value of the liberal-humanist values against the over-emphasis on theouter life, the commercial power, and the practical achievements.Chapterâ…¢, "Two Camps: the Male and the female", discusses the relationshipbetween the two sexes. The war between the Schlegels and the Wilcoxes is not only awar between two cultures but also two sexes. The novel shows how the feministSchlegel sisters get lost in the overwhelming patriarchal Wilcoxism, and how they finally reassert their former notions and attempt for a dynamically equal relationshipbetween the two sexes, at the center of which are Forster's notions of Love andComradeship.Chapterâ…£, "Two Classes: the Rich and the Poor", reveals the tension between thetwo major social divisions: the rich and the poor. Leonard Bast is introduced into thebook to demonstrate the fate of the poor, so as to expose the limitations and falsity ofDemocracy and Equality. Leonard's tragedy lies in the fact that he is eager to acquireculture but not able to attain to its essence because of his restricted circumstances.Leonard's case reveals to Margaret the inadequacy of culture and the importance ofmoney. It also serves as a mirror reflecting different attitudes of the rich towards thepoor. The Schlegel sisters, representing the liberal-humanists, look for justice for himout of good-will but are unable to help him virtually; the Wilcoxes, representing thecapitalists, are totally indifferent to him out of their philosophy of Social Darwinism.Leonard's death condemns both the Schlegel's culture and the Wilcoxes' cruelty.Chapterâ…¤, "Two Civilizations: the City and the Country", expresses Forster'sdetest for the new civilization represented by London and motor car and his yearn forthe old one represented by the countryside and Howards End. Howards End is theepitome of the whole England, and Mrs. Wilcox represents the old race that getswisdom from tradition and from the earth. Both the Schlegels and the Wilcoxesbelong to the modern city; both the Schlegel intellectual talks and the Wilcox motorcar are destructive to human civilization. But the Schlegel sisters recognize the sacrednature of Mrs. Wilcox and then come to know and love the rural England and itstraditional civilization. Forster fixes up the happy ending of the novel at Howards Endto indicate the final victory of the traditional rural civilization. But at the same timeForster knows very clearly that it is just his hearty hope-it neglects reality and logic.Chapterâ…¥, "the Inheritor of Howards End", presents how Howards End, theepitome of the liberal England, sets to find its proper heir and owner, and howMargaret, the representative of the liberal-humanists, comes to inherit it at last. Twotypes of people are kept out of its door: the Wilcox Imperialists and the moderndegenerated yeomen. But the true heir is Helen and Leonard's child, who will be furnished with the best possible values and advantages for achieving true "wholeness"of being and assuring the survival and vitality of the traditional nature. He suggests ahope for England."Conclusion" points out that some forces are excluded from the great"connection" of the happy ending which does not turn out as one may expect. Thetrue "connection" is between the rural, traditional culture and the liberal-humanist,intellectual culture. Such an ending is expressing Forster's strong wish and faithrather than his knowledge of the reality. Meanwhile his knowledge of the reality isalso reflected in the novel; hence his double vision is formed. The novel's ambiguityis the result of a sensitive and superb mind.We love Howards End for its unsurpassable beauty and richness; we admire itsauthor, E. M. Forster, for his unswerving adherence to the values he inherits fromtradition, and cherishes and advocates as the antidote to heal the depersonalized anddecivilized modern world. Forster's voice should be heard even today, and this thesisis an attempt to serve this end.
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