Howards End

I’ve seen two film versions of Howards End—both excellent. Forster’s books adapt well to the screen, especially this one and A Room With a View. Both highly popular.

In this book, Forster's themes involve classism and sexism. The Schlegel sisters are half German. England’s links with Germany in pre-WW1 Edwardian England are strong and respectful. Germany is considered to be a world class culture, excelling in philosophy, art, music and science—all things good about the human condition. But all that was before that country was misled, tarnished and ruined by evil men. The Kaiser and Hitler (and no doubt, the devil) would soon lead Germany and the world on the road to hell through depravity, barbarity and genocide.

Those times, though sedate for some, were tough for the working class, especially women, and Forster is eager, through the Schlegel sisters, to highlight sexism, classism and the plight of the poor and the associated injustices. But the interfering, upper-middle class sisters’ good intentions toward an impoverished couple go wrong, leading to unintended consequences, as is sometimes the case. Now, of course, in this story, attempts have to be made to right those wrongs.

I enjoyed this read and decided Forster might have been influenced by George Eliot and Jane Austin as some of the themes are similar and some setting rural. Forster urges us ‘to connect’—that is to interact with other classes, sexes etc. His prose is nicely descriptive of place and time, his characters believable and well formed.

As an aside about tough times before the Great War, my own grandfather, growing up less than two miles from the seat of government at Westminster Palace, London, went to school barefooted. He was often carried on the shoulders of his brother in the snow. One could argue, I suppose, that at least they went to school! His brother survived the trenches at the Front a few years later, but his son was killed after his freighter was torpedoed by a German UBoat just outside Liverpool a few months before the end of WW2.

Entitlement, male hypocrisy, classism, female rage, impotence in the face of a changing society... this little book packs quite a punch. The central relationship between Henry & Meg doesn't quite sell me, so that dings this down slightly for me, but unquestionably a beautifully written, powerful novel that has much to say to our present moment. I am excited continue to work thru Forster's backlist

Many critics consider this to be Forster’s masterpiece, and it is hard to imagine a more searing and poignant examination of the social, philosophic, and economic issues facing England during the fascinating window between Queen Victoria and World War I. Forster uses three families—the intellectual and impractical Schlegels, the materialistic and empire-building Wilcoxes (who drove through the bucolic Shropshire countryside and “spoke of Tariff Reform”), and the working class Basts—to explore the central question: “Who will inherit England?” The three families form unlikely and problematic friendships, but when inter-marriage and inter-breeding occur, things really get interesting. Readable, fascinating, and supremely eloquent, Howard’s End explores the tragedies that result from failures to “connect”, both among groups of people and within individual characters, yet in the end offers hope and redemption.

“Howards End” is E.M. Forster’s statement on classism, and because he is E.M. Forster, it is the most elegant and romantic comment on the struggle of classes that you will ever read. It begins with a rich, old money family getting deeply upset by the idea of their youngest son getting entangled with a middle-class, bohemian half-German young woman…

The Schlegel sisters are from a comfortable but middle-class family, that cares about literature and art more than they do about money and status. They meet and befriend the Wilcoxes, a wealthy family who care very much about appearances, and also form a friendship with Leonard Bast, a clerk with financial and personal struggles. These friendships will transform their existences, as Mrs. Wilcox develops a deep friendship for the older sister, Margaret, and decides on her deathbed to leave her the house of Howards End.

The social entanglements of this story are fascinating, the dialogues and characterization very strong. Having read and loved “A Room with a View”, I had an idea of what I was getting into with “Howards End”, but this novel is much more mature: the social and political commentary is much more pointed and focused. The same element of proto-feminism that made Lucy Honeychurch the great heroine she was is taken one step further with Margaret Schlegel: she is older than Lucy at the begining of the story, a spinster who lives with her younger siblings and runs the house their father left them. She is strong-willed, opinionated and outspoken from the start; I for one was a bit surprised at Mr. Wilcox’s interest in her, she simply didn’t seem like the kind of person he’d be attracted to – especially when she is pushed to the point of calling him on his bullshit!

I grew up in a family very much like the Schlegel: intellectual, middle-class, obsessed with books, art, culture, music, philosophy, very disdainful of the gaudy excesses of richer people. My family is more likely to judge you for not knowing who Albert Camus is than to form an opinion of you based on your outfit. In my decade-long career as an executive administrative assistant, I have seen the other side of the looking glass: suits with vacuous trophy-wives who had probably never opened a book and who started at my Payless Shoe Source heels the way I look at moldy cheese… It’s hard not to feel like we live on completely different planets...

When I was young, I had a strong prejudice against the rich, I assumed that they were all cold and selfish. Of course, the world is a little more complicated than that, and many wealthy people are absolutely decent and generous human beings: but they do take some things for granted that are simply unrealistic for most. Their money liberates the from some stresses less wealthy people will struggle with their entire lives, and Forster does a wonderful job of painting a picture of that reality for his readers.

When Mrs. Wilcox realizes that Margaret needs a new home because the lease on her family house will be up soon, she is devastated because it never occurred to her before that this sort of thing can happen to “real people”. Mr. Wilcox can only see the potential repercussion of his acquaintance with the Basts on himself and his reputation, and is blind to how his actions might affect them. This lack of empathy made me cringe. Mrs. Wilcox’ spontaneous gesture of kindness contrasted with the senseless selfishness of her family (they won’t give the house away but they also won’t live in it!) shows the varying shades of moral grayness one can find in human nature.

This book is a really interesting study of class, things we take for granted and the role money plays in our vision of the world. It made me want to push “The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists” to the top of my “to-read” pile to get a more political perspective on the subject, as both books take place in the first decade of the 20th century. The characters see classes as a “sort” of people, and would probably find the very word “class” distasteful, but the very real distance they insist on putting between themselves and others – based on their arbitrary standards of wealth and education and how this distance can improve or worsen some people’s living conditions is touching and thought-provoking.

This is a fantastic book, and the gorgeous Merchant-Ivory adaptation is well-worth watching. I enjoyed both immensely and recommend them to all fans of British literature.

Howards End is considered the masterpiece of Forster's career. It takes place in early 20th Century England. The story revolves around three families: the cultural idealism of the Schlegels, the pragmatic idealism of the Wilcoxes, and the poverty of the Basts.

This is an astounding, well-written book full of symbolism and shocking events. Forster exhibits a mastery of imagination in portraying the many ways and times these representatives of the three classes interact.

This is a book about the social mores and classes of the early 20th Century England. The basic questions are this: Will England survive and who will inherit it?

I am very impressed with this book despite the fact I enjoyed Room with a View more. I did not have to think and reflect so much on that one. Howards End IS worth the effort.

5 stars

Howards End was for the most part, a rather dull and irritating experience for me, and it took me longer to read, due to these reasons. I had been looking forward to my first E.M Forster book, having read some grand reviews about it, but to be perfectly honest, I was left very much bored.

The story began well enough, and I was fairly interested as to where it was going lead, but rather quickly, I realised that I was not going to bond with this book. The characters are not developed in the way one expects, and by the end, I was tired of reading about extremely dominant males and women that are apparently all far too emotional. The characters didn't do anything for me, and I certainly didn't become attached to any of them.

The plot and the romance itself, seemed terribly ridiculous, and just not believable. The conflicts between the characters were not engaging, and some of these scenes, had no effect on the actual plot itself. This seemed rather Austen like, at one point, but I can safely say, Austen's style is on another level to this particular book.

The writing style was ornate and was poetic enough in parts, but it just wasn't enough to save the tedious, mind-numbing plot. I'm happy to say that I've read this apparent "classic" but I'll never need to reread this again, that's for certain.

3.5 stars

"A place, as well as a person, may catch the glow. Don't you see that all this leads to comfort in the end? It is part of the battle against sameness. Differences--eternal differences, planted by God in a single family, so that there may always be colour; sorrow perhaps, but colour in the daily grey."

Howards End is the second book in my endeavor to re-read all of E.M. Forster’s major novels. Having read five of these in my late teens, I decided that it would be fun to approach them with more years, wisdom, and appreciation for literature on my side. Well, I don’t necessarily claim much more in the way of wisdom (in fact, I sure felt a lot ‘smarter’ back in the day), so perhaps experience would be a better word! In any case, my first book on the list – A Room with a View – proved to be a marvelous success. I had high hopes for Howards End. The result? Well, I will say that I am still a great admirer of Forster’s vision and brilliance. I adored this more in theory than in the execution, perhaps. If I could boil down this piece to those passages I highlighted – and there were loads of them – then this would have been five stars without a doubt. If I could have removed some of the superfluous philosophizing that sometimes left me literally closing my eyes from time to time, then this would be sitting on my favorites shelf. I wanted to love this! Instead, I appreciated it and ultimately liked it.

There is so much one could say about the themes in this book. There is of course the overlying theme ‘to connect’. This word ‘connect’ appears repeatedly throughout. Forster introduces us to the Schlegels, a very comfortable, perhaps middle-class family. They appreciate art, literature, and discussion - much like us dear Goodreaders. One can’t help but become attached to them – in particular the two sisters, Margaret and Helen. Oh, how I would love to sit down with them and have an intelligent conversation about books, music, and women's rights. Their lives become decisively intertwined with the Wilcox family, representing the wealthy, conservative and less imaginative set. "… they avoided the personal note in life. All Wilcoxes did. It did not seem to them of supreme importance." The Schlegel’s desire to connect with one and all further entangles them with the impoverished Basts, in particular, Leonard Bast, an intelligent young man who aspires to more than what his lower class would readily allow. "He felt that he was being done good to, and that if he kept on with Ruskin, and the Queen's Hall Concerts, and some pictures by Watts, he would one day push his head out of the grey waters and see the universe." The three families clearly illustrate the distinct differences in the social classes existing within pre-World War I England. Is it possible to cross these social boundaries? The Schlegels would like to think so and in fact strive to do just that. Their efforts are always endearing, occasionally comical, and sometimes disastrous.

At the heart of this novel, too, is Howards End, the house, one of the Wilcox’s family homes. Howards End is where Ruth Wilcox was born. To her, the house has a spirit. Her husband and children do not feel the same affinity to the house as she. But Margaret Schlegel, with whom she strikes up a friendship, understands places and homes. Howards End takes on a life of its own until it becomes akin to a vital character in the novel. "She paced back into the hall, and as she did so the house reverberated… But it was the heart of the house beating, faintly at first, then loudly, martially. It dominated the rain." The rural setting of Howards End is further contrasted with the chaos of London. It seems to be the heart of the country for those like the Schlegels. "She recaptured the sense of space, which is the basis of all earthly beauty, and, starting from Howards End, she attempted to realize England."

Eventually, good-intentioned meddling has serious consequences, unlikely romances form, and a rift develops and deepens both within and across families. Is it possible to mend such a fracture or will it always be necessary to separate one class from another? Aside from the relevant commentary regarding social and economic classes, this novel also examines the differences between genders. Forster is clearly an early champion for feminism; and I applaud him once again for his progressive views regarding women’s rights. I admire the way he paints his female characters and they are turning out to be among my favorites in the literary world.

So you see, there is much I truly liked about Howards End. The themes, the dialogue, and many of the characters – those elements shine. Subtract the labored philosophizing as well as the frequent trespass of the author into the story and this would be all I had imagined it to be. The other day I had the opportunity to watch the superb 1992 Merchant Ivory film adaptation, which I highly recommend. It truly sparkles and brings this to a whole new level. I daresay I prefer the movie over the book – you really must watch it if you haven’t done so already. It remains true to the heart of the story, those parts I loved best.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

"Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its height. Live in fragments no longer."

No good deed goes unpunished. That could be the unofficial theme of this novel.
I read this as a young adult, loved it, and decided to re-read it after seeing Jeffrey Keeten's excellent review a few months ago. And yes, I still love it, but for different reasons this time around. A much simplified plot synopsis gives us Meg Schlegel, a practical but plain lady of the middle class in England, who, with her sister and brother, live a comfortable life in London, espousing liberal causes and following her heart. She marries a wealthy business man, who is decidedly conservative in his views, and of course trouble ensues on both sides of the families. As I said, this is the bare bones of this story, because the plot zigs and zags, dances and weaves,with lies, secrets, coincidences, maneuvering and manipulation on both sides. The story begins and ends at Howard's End, a country house belonging to the first wife of Henry Wilcox, the aforementioned wealthy businessman.

Whenever I'm reading a classic of whatever period, (This one takes place around 1910), I am always surprised to read about conversations and scenes that could have happened just yesterday as far as human emotions and liberal versus conservative viewpoints are concerned. This is not a political novel at all, and I found myself agreeing with both sides at different times, for different reasons. Suffice it to say that do-gooders can sometimes do more harm than good, and poor people are always the losers.

I have to compare this novel to finishing a great meal, rising from the table completely satisfied. That's how I felt turning the last page. Man oh man, that was good!