Only Connect

E. M. Forster (1879-1970) can be regarded as one of the most controversial writers of his time, and Howards End has always been the most controversial of his novels. Divergences of the criticism on the novel reside mainly in its ambivalence and ambiguity as a result of Forster's "double vision," and its happy, .but unconvincing ending that seems to embody the ultimate and comprehensive "connection" of all those opposing forces Forster has discerned in modern society. The present thesis aims to reveal the connotation of the epigraphy "Only connect..." and Forster's real intention to conceive such a happy ending whose "connection" is actually one-sided, so as to justify Forster's "double vision.The present thesis consists of six chapters, an "Introduction," and a "Conclusion." "Introduction" briefly traces the vicissitudes of Forster criticism and scholarship, then introduces the main points of controversy on Howards End: whether Forster's "double vision" in Howards End is its strength or weakness, with Woolf on one side and Widdowson on the other. This thesis agrees with Widdowson in viewing the novel as "both an ardent affirmation of liberal-humanist values and an intuition of their vulnerability," therefore regarding the "double vision" as the fruit of Forster's profound, penetrating, and sensitive mind rather than his artistic failure.Chapter I, "A Passage to Howards End," explores the social, cultural and intellectual background in which the novel is written. Howards End is a response to the various forces of the Edwardian age, which was a time of social and political strife under its peaceful surface. In Howards End Forster anticipates the liberal dilemma that he later identifies in "The Challenge of Our Time" as the conflict between the liberal culture and its economic base, between the liberal-humanist values and the doctrines of laissez-faire. Against the liberal dilemma, Forster proposes the connection, among many a connection, between the New Economy and the Old Morality. Rooted in the liberal-humanist tradition, Forster develops his own philosophy, whose core is the faith in the individual, personal relationships, the private life, tradition, intellect and culture. Forster's philosophy also has its Romantic dimension: his emphasis on love, imagination, and nature. The notion of "connection" also relates Forster to both Romanticism and Victorian Liberal-humanism.In writing Howards End, Forster seems to have felt in terms of antitheses. Four major antitheses are picked up to form the main body of the thesis, from Chapter II to Chapter V. Chapter II, "Two Cultures: the Commercial and the Intellectual," explores the relationship of the two cultures, embodied in the intercourse between two families:the Wilcoxes and the Schlegels. They also represent two ways of life and two sets of values. The two worlds should be connected for many reasons. First of all, the cultured people are economically dependent on the business people; their lofty thoughts and righteous values are based on material wealth and physical comforts. Money is also needed to make their culture prevail, or a cultural deterioration will beinevitable. Margaret Schlegel recognizes the necessity of the connection and tries it through her marriage to Henry Wilcox. But her attitude to Henry unconsciously betrays the intellectual's superiority complex. In her life with Henry, Margaret comes to find that the outer life that the Wilcoxes represent is not so real as it appears to be. On the contrary, the inner life is real, and personal relationship is important. Forster's true intention is "to adjust the lopsidedness of the world" in "a commercial age," to reassert the value of the liberal-humanist values against the over-emphasis on the outer life, the commercial power, and the practical achievements.Chapter III, "Two Camps: the Male and the Female," discusses the relationship between the two sexes. The war between the Schlegels and the Wilcoxes is not only a war between two cultures but also two sexes. The novel shows how the fe...