Great Classics: Howards End

Howards End (1910) by E. M. Forster (1910) is one of the greatest novels of the 20th century. As such, it has attracted a lot of attention from critics over the years and was made into a successful film in 1992. Some critics and general readers have felt uncomfortable by Forster's perceived elitism. Others have found the plot full of implausible coincidences. So let's start with the plot:

There are two families:

- The Schlegels: Margaret and her younger siblings Helen and Tibby.

- The Wilcoxes: Henry, Ruth and their children Charles and Paul.

The novel starts at the Wilcoxes' country house. Howards End, where Helen is a guest after the two families had met on holiday. Helen writes to her sister Margaret to announce her engagement to Paul. She writes then to explained the engagement has been called off as Paul is to set off for Africa. It is too late as Aunt Juley is already en route to Howards End to attempt to break off the couple to much embarassment.

Sometime later, the Wilcoxes will take an apartment opposite the Schlegels' residency in London. At the time, clerk Leonard Bast comes into the Schlegels' life when Helen accidentally purloins his umbrella at a concert.

Margaret becomes very close to the ill Ruth Wilcox and after the latter's death, she is bequeathed Howards End. However, Henry Wilcox does not carry out her late wife's wishes and does not even tell Margaret.

Years later, Margaret becomes engaged to Henry. Full of good intentions, Helen and Margaret try to help poor Leonard. However, some bad business advice given by Henry will see Leonard leaving his job at an insurance company for a worse paid one at a bank which he ends up losing.

Helen takes Leonard and his wife Jacky to the Wilcoxes' house in Oninton where it transpires that Henry and Jacky had an affair in Cyprus when Ruth was still alive. Margaret forgives this husband and decides to refuse helping Leonard by persuading Henry not to give him a job. Helen, thinking that Henry and not Margaret is behind this decision leaves England for Germany.

A few months later Helen comes back from Germany and Margaret discovers she is pregnant with Leonard's child. When both sisters are staying at Howards End, Leonard shows up, there is an altercation at his dies apparently of heart failure although Charles is condemmed to three years in prison for manslaughter.

Henry, Margaret, Helen and her baby end up living together in Howards End. Henry confesses to Margaret that Ruth had left her the house although this was never taken seriously by him because she had been too ill when she made her decision. He promises to leave the house to Margaret after her death and that Helen's baby must in turn inherit it.

So is the plot full of implausible coincedences? Yes, but I call that the artistic license. Is Forster an elitist? To use a very colloquial expression, so what if he is?

One of the truely important things about this book is the accurate and interesting portrayal Forster makes of the diverging forces at work in Edwardian England, represented by both families: The Wilcoxes are the Empire, capitalism, material progress and the Schlegels are Romantism, equalitarianism, social justice, culture. The abundant coincidences in the novel are the writer's intrument to bring us to the ending of the novel where both forces are finally reconciled.

Other books I have read about this author: A Room With A View.