The Ideal Of Connection And The Society Of Stratification

E. M. Forster(1879-1970) is often referred to as a humanistic writer whose works are filled with sympathy toward human relationships. Howards End, as the representative work of him, involves complicated human relationships among three social stratifications and Forster's ideal of culture.Howards End was published in 1910, which depicts the condition of England.Forster unfolds the novel's plot covering a wide range of social stratifications and conditions, and he demonstrates the fact that although the different social stratifications are all closely related, the strictly hierarchical social system of the Victorian period still has deep influence on the Edwardian society. Forster's attitude toward the society in Howards End is critical but also hopeful and he envisions an ideal society where people from different social stratifications have the real connections despite their differences.This thesis focuses on the conflict between culture and wealth in the society of stratification and the accompanying conflict between urbanization and countryside.Thus, the research questions can be put forward as follows: Is “only connect”ultimately an illusion? Can the alienation among the social stratifications be bridged?Can the collision between the city and the countryside be solved? Does the struggling cultural climbers have the opportunity to improve themselves?From the perspective of cultural analysis, the cultural attitudes of the short-haired executives represented by the Wilcoxes, the cultural elites represented by the Schlegel sisters and the struggling cultural climbers represented by Leonard Bast can be vividly demonstrated, and the function of culture in terms of stabilizing and improving the society can be investigated. Furthermore, this thesis reveals that wealth and culture are inextricably connected and culture itself faces its dilemma and difficulty in the connection process. Forster envisions an ideal society; however, under the influence of materialism and hierarchical class system, this aspiration is doomed to be utopian.