A Passage To E. M. Forster's Concept Of Connection

E. M. Forster (1879-1970) was a well-established British novelist, critic and liberalhumanist.Having a long longevity, he witnessed the radical changes in politics, economyand social sciences in Britain and experienced the two world wars. His fiction isconservative in form and in the English tradition of the novel of manners, and also reflectsan inevitable influence exerted by new trends at the turning of centuries, such asmodernism.Forster had written six novels in his whole life. The main theme of these novels is"connection", a word from Forster's famous epigraph in Howards End. He delves into thistheme through his works and tried to find a solution to all the connection problems. Fromthe perspectives of sources, contents and results of connection, this thesis is dedicated to doan overview of Forster's concept of "connection". Through a close reading, the author willanalyze Forster's five novels, namely Where Angels Fear to Tread, A Room with a View,The Longest Journey, Howards End and A Passage to India. Maurice, publishedposthumously in 1971, is not included because of its homosexual theme.At abroad, the studies on E. M. Forster are well-developed, especially since the 1980s.Various critical approaches have been applied to his novels and have attained manyacademic achievements. While in China, the studies on Forster have been becomingpopular since the 1980s. A lot of constructive researches have been achieved; however, thespan and depth of Chinese scholars' studies are not enough. Although the theme"connection" has been searched a lot, none of the authors assemble all Forster's novelstogether to make a comprehensive study. This thesis is dedicated to research into this themefrom an overall view involving Forster's five novels, based on a close reading of thesestories. Moreover, the author intends to deplore the development process of Forster'sconcept of connection and its meaning for today's world. Hence, the contribution of thisthesis is not limited in academic field, but attempts to be illuminative in our present world.At the beginning of this thesis, the author simply introduces the reason of choosing this theme, research approaches and main contents, and the significance of this thesis. Then, theauthor retrospects to the sources of Forster's human-liberal minds and his concept ofconnection, combined with the historical background and Forster's personal experiences.The body is divided into four chapters. Each of the five novels will be scrutinized andsubjected to a close textual analysis wherever necessary. The first three chapters deal withthe main contents of this concept through a close analysis of Forster's five novels, whichfalls into three parts: the connection between individuals, the connection in an individualand the connection between man and nature. Through the motif of marriage, the firstchapter mainly searches into the connection between individuals, because the motif ofmarriage is the main vehicle Forster uses to express his concept of connection. While thesecond chapter further probes the interior connection of an individual. Combined withpsychoanalytic criticism, the author analyses several important characters' ways to selfrealization.The third chapter examines the connection between human beings and natureby analyzing some typical symbolism in the novels. Lastly, the fourth chapter focuses onthe final results of Forster's conception and attempts to explore the development process ofhis concept of connection.In the conclusion, based on the previous overview and analysis, the author sheds some lighton limitations of Forster's concept of connection. Meanwhile, the author also highlights theilluminating meaning of Forster's concept and its significance in today's world.