Howards End

Summary (from the publisher): "Only connect," Forster's key aphorism, informs this novel about an English country house, Howards End, and its influence on the lives of the wealthy and materialistic Wilcoxes; the cultured, idealistic Schlegel sisters; and the poor bank clerk Leonard Bast. Bringing together people from different classes and nations by way of sympathetic insight and understanding, Howards End eloquently addresses the question "Who shall inherit England?"

 

Review: In Howards End, worlds collide as the Schlegels, the Wilcoxes, and the Basts, all representing different social strata within England, come together in unanticipated ways. Although all three have different approaches and opportunities, their lives become indelibly intertwined. The novel begins and ends at Howards End, the Wilcoxes country home, the fate of which represents the central question at the heart of the novel: which of the social classes represented will ultimately succeed and become the future of England?

 

Forster's novel is a meditation on the changes taking place in England at the beginning of the twentieth century as represented by the intellectual and artistic Schlegel sisters, the materialistic and imperialistic Wilcoxes, and the poor working class Leonard Bast. Focusing on social conventions and class, the novel explores the many ways in which good intentions lead to unintended consequences. The novel ponders the question of the meaning of charity, forgiveness, duty, and mercy.  

 

I loved so much about this novel, most especially the Schlegels. Margaret and Helen are witty and thoughtful and their charisma is visible on the pages. Although they recognize that their set income allows them to live on principles that others cannot afford, I admire and appreciate the ideals they try to live by: "To be humble and kind, to go straight ahead, to love people rather than pity them, to remember the submerged" (76). Their brother Tibby is significantly less charming, yet with his constant hypochondria he provided much needed comedic relief in the light of his sisters' much more serious ponderings about class, wealth, and position. I also loved the description of the various houses visited through the book from the charming country setting of Howards End to the Schlegels' large but cluttered London house, Wickham Place. Both an amusing story with appealing characters but one that also features a real reflection on the social world of England in the early 1900s.

 

Stars: 4