A Horneyan Interpretation Of Characters’ Anxiety In Howards End

E. M. Forster (Edward Morgan Forster,1879-1970) is a prominent writer in thehistory of British literature. Together with Joyce, Lawrence and Woolf, he is consideredas one of the greatest British novelists in the20th century. Howards End, one of hismasterpieces, has obtained wide attention since its publication in1910. As a typicalBritish “social novel”, Howards End has revealed various social changes in Edwardianera as well as their great influences on people, especially the anxious status of theBritish middle class in this period.The thesis will analyze the main characters’ anxiety with the help of theneo-psychoanalyst Karen Horney’s anxiety theory. Based on Horney’s anxiety theoryand a close reading of the novel, this thesis will probe into Forster’s concern about thecharacters’ anxiety and his exploration of the character’s psychological conditions.Through analyzing the manifestations and causes of the four characters’ anxiety, theirdefensive strategies against anxiety as well as the consequences of their struggles, thepaper will reveal how the Edwardian cultural and social environments have influencedthe individuals and generated the anxious mood in them, and how one can effectivelyfight against anxiety by flexibly applying defensive strategies. Attempting to interpretHowards End from a new perspective, this thesis will provide a new viewpoint for thestudies of Forster’s works.Howards End describes the anxiety of three kinds of British middle classes, afeeling which results from the social and cultural factors in the Edwardian era as well asthe personal living experiences. The first kind of people is the middle class intellectuals,like the Schlegel sisters, on behalf of the British spiritual and cultural life. Highlyeducated and having a deep concern of interpersonal relationships, the Schlegel sistersare committed to establishing good connections with others and helping others achievethe conformity between the external world and the internal world. Margaret, with theaim of finding a spiritual and physical home in the unsettling London, is caught up inhelplessness and anxiety. Margaret flexibly uses the three strategies, namely movingtowards people, moving against people and moving away from people to combat withher inner anxiety, and eventually realizes her dream of connecting different people afterher settlement in Howards End and she also finds a spiritual dwelling place there. Helen,with a keen pursuit of vigorous and ideal love, has a deep anxiety about love and passion. She has applied two inverse strategies, the strategy of moving towards peopleand that of moving against people, to allay her anxious mood, only to find that sheharms people around her and she becomes pregnant without marriage. The second kindof people is the British middle class businessmen represented by Henry Wilcox.Advocating and practicing the doctrine of the “social Darwinism”, Henry is industriousand adept in making money, but he is apathetic, hypocritical and lacks imagination andaffection. Henry’s anxiety, on one hand, stems from his insatiable lust towards wealth,power and fame. On the other hand, it is caused by his morbid escape from emotion andhis deny of passion. He completely resorts to the strategy of moving against people toease his inner anxiety. As a result, he finds himself isolated by his beloved ones andbecomes extremely fragile in his inner world. The third kind is the new-born lowermiddle class, represented by Leonard. Belonging to the marginalized group in the city,Leonard admires the culture-oriented life style of the upper middle class, and makes anattempt to rank among the upper class through vigorously learning culture. Leonard,having a shameful background of being the farmers’ descendant and living in the marginof London society, has a deep anxiety over his own identity. Therefore, he tries to easehis anxiety by moving away from people, which turns out to be a fatal failure. Thesefour characters are trying to get rid of their anxiety, but their attempts have failed exceptfor Margaret. According to Horney’s theory of anxiety, in the process of fighting againstanxiety, only through the flexible application of three strategies, namely movingtowards people, moving against people and moving away from people, can theindividuals ultimately succeed in conquering their anxiety and maintain a harmoniousrelationship as well as keeping the integrity and independence of their personality.Margaret has successfully overcome her anxiety by dealing with her anxiety skillfully.However, Helen, Henry and Leonard, due to their stubbornness of choosing a certainstrategy to combat their restless mood, have finally confronted more and more anxietyin their life.The study shows that Forster is deeply concerned about the psychologicalconditions of the British middle class in Edwardian era. He has a clear perception andprofound understanding of the people’s anxiety. Through his depiction of the mentalmechanism of the main characters Margaret, Helen, Henry and Leonard, he points outthat their anxiety is generally the product of the cultural and social conditions of theEdwardian era. In addition, he also tries to find a solution for the apprehensive Britishmiddle class—that is, only through the flexible application of Horney’s three strategies to resist anxiety is it possible to establish good interpersonal relationships and maintainpersonal independence and integrity, and to relieve the anxiety ultimately.