This book brands the man as queer’�. a radical revision of gay criticism and focuses on E. M. Forster's place in the emerging field of queer studies..This book brands the man as queer’�. a radical revision of gay criticism and focuses on E. M. Forster's place in the emerging field of queer studies..
And this book is about what? �. Forster downplayed his homosexuality. This collection situates Forster within the Bloomsbury Group and inspects his relations to main figures such as Henry James, Edward Carpenter, and Virginia Woolf. Particular attention is paid to Forster’s several accounts of India and their troubled relation to the British colonial enterprise. Analyzing a wide range of Forster’s work, the authors examine material from Forster’s undergraduate writings to stories written more than a half-century later.
Well, what was the theme of Homosexuality in the man?
Let us examine his works �
Sexuality is a key theme in Forster’s works, and it has been argued that a general shift from heterosexual love to homosexual love can be detected over the course of his writing career.
The foreword to Maurice describes his struggle with his own homosexuality, while similar issues are explored in several volumes of homosexually charged short stories.
Maurice, (1967) is an autobiographical novel of his gay university days which is explicit enough that couldn’t be published in his own lifetime. It’s light, amusing, and fairly inconsequential compared to the novels he wrote whilst pretending to be straight. This poses an interesting critical problem, when you would imagine he could have been more honest and therefore more successful.
A tale of homosexual love in early 20th century England, it follows Maurice Hall from his schooldays, through university and beyond. It was written from 1913 onwards.
Although it was shown to selected friends, such as Christopher Isherwood, it was only published in 1971 after Forster’s death.
The novel is remarkable for its time in describing same-sex love in a fulfillingly romantic but also funny way.
One thing that sets Maurice apart from modern gay fiction is the archetypal storyline and three principal characters, which represent different classes and forms of masculinity.
The short stories of the posthumous collection, The Life to Come, represent a new direction for Forster, in that many deal with explicitly homosexual issues.
Yet typical Forster themes are present, particularly that of the undeveloped heart. In the most highly regarded stories, a character’s denial of love reveals the constricting effects of conventional society and leads to his physical, emotional, or spiritual death. In “The Life to Come,� a Christian missionary, who becomes a native’s lover for one night, denies his feelings for his lover who later stabs him to death before killing himself.
In “Dr Woolacott� a dying patient refuses the aid of his doctor and chooses instead the spirit-saving love of an unknown boy, even though his choice causes his physical death. “The Other Boat� tells of a homosexual liaison between two men of different cultures and ends with the death of both when the English officer kills his manipulative Indian lover and then jumps into the sea. “Ralph and Tony,� from the Arctic Summer collection, similarly explores a relationship underscored by violence; the primitive Tony is unable to accept his homosexual feelings toward the effete Ralph and repeatedly acts with cruelty and aggression toward him, only to become completely powerless when his heart fails.
In this, as in his other short stories, Forster exhibits fully his characteristic approach to the ambiguous aspects of human experience, namely that the efforts to reconcile truth and love are worthy and commendable, even if such reconciliation is ultimately impossible.
The Celestial Omnibus .. what do the readers find here? The readers find the essential Forster themes that figure so prominently in the longer works :The Celestial Omnibus .. what do the readers find here? The readers find the essential Forster themes that figure so prominently in the longer works : the insufficiencies of the embryonic heart, the repressiveness of modern civilization, the possibility of transcendence, and the saving power of love. These themes are underscored by Forster’s investigations of various mythologies and are imbued with his comic genius and liberal humanism. Forster’s dissatisfaction with philistine middle-class values. In this tome he goes on to satirize those smug individuals who fail to recognize spiritual salvation when it presents itself, here in the form of the world’s great literature.
I wish to speak no more. Just grab this tome and find for yourselves....more
Does short fiction get better than this? Guys, have you read this Neil Gaiman quote? He says: “Short stories are tiny windows into other worlds and otDoes short fiction get better than this? Guys, have you read this Neil Gaiman quote? He says: “Short stories are tiny windows into other worlds and other minds and other dreams. They are journeys you can make to the far side of the universe and still be back in time for dinner.� Get into this novella mates�. It is bloody genius. Eustace, an unoriginal youth, is physically and spiritually vitalized after his vision of Pan, but his independence entails the bereavement of the sympathetic Italian serving boy who helps Eustace to escape from self-righteous relatives and twofaced tourists� Confused? Read this to know more. Trust me. You’ll thank me later for suggesting this one....more
This novel presents a skirmish between two worlds, represented by the English town of Sawston (“that hole,� as one of the characters calls it) on the This novel presents a skirmish between two worlds, represented by the English town of Sawston (“that hole,� as one of the characters calls it) on the one hand and the Italian town of Monteriano on the other. Those two worlds are characterized by the English Herritons, seeking to buy (or, as ultimately transpires, steal) the child of their deceased sister, and Gino, the Italian father of the child. Linking the two is Caroline Abbott; loved by Philip Hemton and in love with Gino, she is the muster station of one world with another. In the novel the child is slain and the Herritons leave Italy, which they had once thought gorgeous. No happy resolution is afforded, unless it is that Philip Herriton does abandon his home in Sawston - and the values it incarnates - to make his living in London. Such culminations of defeat, death, and dissatisfaction, [innit a lovely replication of initial consonant sounds?] redeemed only by the opportunity of future modification and the knowledge of the existence of beauty, are typical of Forster’s fiction. And typical, too, are the instruments Forster uses : the stable, predictable and unadventurous middle-class English, brought into an unexpected and disconcerting contact with a bizarre and more exotic people. Give it a go. But only when you wanna feel pathetic. I do wanna feel worthless and despicable and effing wretched from time to time. I guess you’ll like it....more
Now who has not read this story? In this apocalyptic sci-fi short, Forster depicts a dystopia where a giant machine governs all aspects of life, and pNow who has not read this story? In this apocalyptic sci-fi short, Forster depicts a dystopia where a giant machine governs all aspects of life, and people have become desensitized and sequestered from one another. Kuno, our boyish hero revolts against his sterile existence and seeks escape from his underground cell ………�.
Although Forster hints and suggests that a new and more compassionate civilization may arise from the vestiges of the devastated machine-world, the story’s dreadful images of a sterile society prevail.
This one gets miserable, dismal and gloomy�. An Italian boatman tells a group of tourists of his brother’s supernatural encounter with the Siren, a coThis one gets miserable, dismal and gloomy�. An Italian boatman tells a group of tourists of his brother’s supernatural encounter with the Siren, a cosmic being who reveals the dire message of man’s predicament, and of his consequent marriage to a woman who had also seen the Siren. When his wife conceives a child, the immoral townspeople fear she is carrying the Antichrist � �. This short fiction demonstrates Forster’s darkened view of man’s fate. Read the story to know more for yourself. ...more
The bulk of Forster’s short stories divulge a characteristic wedding of realism and fantasy. Enlarging upon the Victorian tradition of fantasy writingThe bulk of Forster’s short stories divulge a characteristic wedding of realism and fantasy. Enlarging upon the Victorian tradition of fantasy writing, Forster used the supernatural in his stories to break free from the constraints of Edwardian society and to satirize its numerous failings.
The short stories of this posthumous collection, ‘The Life to Come�, represent a new direction for Forster, in that many deal with unambiguously homosexual issues. Yet typical Forster themes are present, chiefly that of the undeveloped heart.
In the most highly regarded stories, a character’s denial of love reveals the constricting effects of conventional society and leads to his physical, emotional, or spiritual death.
In “The Life to Come,� a Christian missionary, who becomes a native’s lover for one night, denies his feelings for his lover who later stabs him to death before killing himself.
In “Dr Woolacott� a dying patient refuses the aid of his doctor and chooses instead the spirit-saving love of an unknown boy, even though his choice causes his physical death.
“The Other Boat� tells of a homosexual liaison between two men of different cultures and ends with the death of both when the English officer kills his manipulative Indian lover and then jumps into the sea.
“Ralph and Tony,� from the Arctic Summer collection, similarly explores a relationship underscored by violence; the primitive Tony is unable to accept his homosexual feelings toward the effete Ralph and constantly acts with cruelty and aggression toward him, only to become absolutely powerless when his heart fails.
In this, as in his other short stories, Forster exhibits fully, his characteristic approach to the ambiguous aspects of human experience, namely that the efforts to reunite truth and love are worthy and commendable, even if such reconciliation is ultimately impossible.
They say that ‘Maurice�, is something from ‘Forster’s bottom drawer�. Penned in 1913-14, the tome was not published until after his death. It’s an autThey say that ‘Maurice�, is something from ‘Forster’s bottom drawer�. Penned in 1913-14, the tome was not published until after his death. It’s an autobiographical novel of his gay university days which is explicit enough that couldn’t be published in his own lifetime. You’d find it light, amusing, and fairly inconsequential compared to the novels he wrote whilst pretending to be straight.
This poses an attention-grabbing critical problem, when you would imagine he could have been more candid and consequently more successful. A tale of homosexual love in early 20th century England, it follows Maurice Hall from his schooldays, through university and beyond. It was written from 1913 onwards. Although it was shown to selected friends, such as Christopher Isherwood, it was only published in 1971 after Forster’s death.
I found this novel extraordinary for its time in describing same-sex love in a satisfyingly romantic but also funny way. Forster resisted publication because of public and legal attitudes to homosexuality � a note found on the manuscript read: “Publishable, but worth it?� However, by the time he died, British attitudes and law had changed. One thing that sets Maurice apart from modern gay fiction is the archetypal storyline and three principal characters, which represent different classes and forms of masculinity.
Interesting to note that in the original manuscripts, Forster wrote an epilogue concerning the post-novel fate of Maurice and Alec that he later discarded as being unpopular. This epilogue can still be found in the Abinger edition of the novel. The Abinger edition also contains a detailed summary of the differences between various versions of the novel.
The Abinger reprint of the Epilogue retains Maurice’s original surname of Hill throughout. The epilogue contains a meeting between Maurice and his sister Kitty some years later. Alec and Maurice have by now become woodcutters. The exact reason why Maurice failed to return home has not been revealed to the female members of the Hill family. However, it dawns upon Kitty why her brother disappeared.
This portion of the novel underscores the extreme dislike that Kitty feels for her brother. The epilogue ends with Maurice and Alec in each other’s arms at the end of the day discussing seeing Kitty and resolving that they must move on in order to avoid detection or a further meeting.
A mild, susceptible young man of modest attainments and gorgeous sensibilities, goes to Cambridge, begins to comprehend his true self in the amiable wA mild, susceptible young man of modest attainments and gorgeous sensibilities, goes to Cambridge, begins to comprehend his true self in the amiable warmth of undergraduate companionship, and then, in a malevolent hour, marries, or is married by, the incorrect woman; and he progressively loses sight of his own dreams, and with them the compassion to see into the dreams of others. He becomes, like his associates, "the Sawston set." Such is Rickie Elliott's ‘longest journey�. One is reminded at once by the title, Shelley’s immortal words where he designated ‘marriage� as the ‘longest journey�. Too many things happen in this story, and they are exceptional entertainment, but they do not prove that the issue is unavoidable in its catastrophic pessimism.
This tome is very much personal. The philosophical questions represented, can be construed as being in dialogue with Forster’s fellow scholars, pontificating upon the arguments of his academic circles. Scholars who engaged with these same philosophical arguments will no doubt warm to the affable and ironical gestures Forster uses to argue his case. As the events of the story unfold, we see the frame leading us to a central statement about the human condition. The overemphasis of these points crowded with immense symbolism leads us to question the effectiveness of Forster’s statements. Particular points in the story, such as Rickie’s realization that Stephen is ‘his half brother and the reintroduction of Ansell teamed with Stephen, leave us in a troublesome position asking whether this highly personal story was sacrificed to the musically fluent style Forster was working.
I enjoyed it pretty much when I read it while in my University days. And I had the self-same feelings come back to me while re-reading in 2024....more
In this novel, Forster's sense of humour is as well-ordered as ever, and the minor characters (particularly the remarkable Bast menage) at any rate seIn this novel, Forster's sense of humour is as well-ordered as ever, and the minor characters (particularly the remarkable Bast menage) at any rate serve as an amusing contrast to the protagonists.
Forster's use of symbolism in his novels is an undeniable fact. Of course, he does not use the device of symbolism on any extensive scale, but he does make use of symbols in order to impart a certain depth to his stories. It is only a shallow writer who puts all his ideas on the surface for the reader to pick them up.
A great writer tries often to draw a veil over his ideas and to disguise them, expecting the reader to probe the surface and discover the hidden meaning of what the author says in his story. The reader experiences a greater excitement and pleasure when he perceives the hidden meanings, bit by bit, through a greater mental effort on his part. In Howards End, Forster has made use of a number of symbols though some critics have gone too far in their search for symbols here.
The very house known as "Howards End" serves as an important symbol in the story. This house represents a tradition. It symbolizes the almost reverent attitude of the rural gentry towards their ancestral property, in this case residential property. Even the characters in this novel can be treated as symbols, if we feel inclined that way. Ruth Wilcox represents an intuitive understanding of things, and a life of the instincts. The Schlegels as a family symbolize the humanistic, cultured. individualistic, and liberal attitude towards life, while the Wilcoxes signify the efficient. Philistine, anti-individualistic attitude. The Schlegels, and more particularly Margaret, believe not only in the outer life of action and endeavour but also in an inner life of the mind, while the Wilcoxes symbolize private enterprise and a dynamic, practical, and utilitarian attitude towards life. There is much to praise in both these attitudes; but the Schlegels symbolize a higher form of human existence than the Wilcoxes do.
To conclude, let us return to where we began. This novel is replete with humour, wit, irony, and satire. We have comic characters, comic situations, witty and ironical remarks. This novel, despite its symbolic elements, has been written in the comic mode, and a vein of humour runs through it. It is replete with refined comedy or what is known as "high comedy" as distinguished from low and coarse comedy.
Most recommended...
And a revisit in 2024:
This book addresses some of life’s most thoughtful questions. And what those might be?
Well, for starters, how people relate to each other and what kinds of values one ought to live by.
In this book Forster establishes powerful faith in people and in human relations. he speaks of man’s ability to prevail despite an aggressively and radically shifting society.
The Schlegels take pleasure in their outmoded and romantic philosophies of life, and the Wilcoxes take pride in their common sense and motivation. The book’s end, however leaves Mr. Wilcox a broken man, Margaret unable to have children, and the poor and despondent Leonard Bast deceased.
This tome has been a controlling and an imperative symbol for the modern era’s writing for nearly 100 odd years or more. The story is told with intricacy and thoughtfulness.
And you know what? Forster’s mission is laid out unmistakably�.
The city of London, as Margaret frequently notices, is constantly growing, and people like Mrs. Wilcox are dying while people like Charles Wilcox’s children are being born.
At the end, Howards End still stands, connected to the earth, even though its furniture and inhabitants have changed.
By the author’s own admission, “these are some lectures (the Clark Lectures) which were delivered under the auspices of Trinity College, Cambridge, inBy the author’s own admission, “these are some lectures (the Clark Lectures) which were delivered under the auspices of Trinity College, Cambridge, in the spring of 1927.�
Using examples of archetypal works by many of the world’s paramount writers, he discusses seven facets he deems general to the novel: 1) story, 2) characters, 3) plot, 4) fantasy, 5) prophecy, 6) pattern, and 7) rhythm.
Forster cans the method of examining the novel as a historical development, in preference to an appearance of all novelists throughout history writing concurrently, side by side. He first establishes that, if nothing else, a novel is a narrative occurring over a period of time. He stresses the prominence of character, maintaining that both ‘‘flat’� and ‘‘round’� characters may be included in the popular novel.
He regards the inevitability of plot, which creates the consequence of suspense, as a pickle by which character is recurrently sacrificed in the service of providing an ending to the novel.
Fantasy and prophecy, which provide a logic of the ‘‘universal,’� or spiritual, Forster regards as dominant aspects of the great novel. Lastly, he dismisses the value of ‘‘pattern,’� by which a narrative may be structured, as another aspect that repeatedly sacrifices the liveliness of character.
Drawing on the metaphor of music, Forster concludes that rhythm, which he defines as ‘‘repetition plus variation,’� allows for an aesthetically pleasing structure to emerge from the novel, while maintaining the integrity of character and the nonfiction writing, such as essays, literary criticism, and biography. In addition to Aspects of the Novel, two important essay collections were Abinger Harvest (1936) and Two Cheers for Democracy (1951).
In an exploratory chapter, Forster founds the rubrics for his argument of the English novel. He outlines the novel purely—according to M. Abel Chevalley in Le Roman Anglais de notre temps, as ‘‘a fiction in prose of a certain extent.’� He goes on to delineate English literature as literature written in the English language, irrespective of the geographic setting or source of the author.
In a chapter on ‘‘The Story,’� Forster begins with the proclamation that the novel, in its most basic definition, tells a story. He goes on to say that a story must be built around uncertainty—the question of ‘‘what happens next?’� He thus defines the story as ‘‘a narrative of events arranged in their time sequence.’�
In two chapters entitled ‘‘People,’� Forster discusses characterization in the novel. He describes five ‘‘main facts of human life,’� which include ‘‘birth, food, sleep, love, and death,’� and then compares these five activities as experienced by real people (homo sapiens) to these activities as enacted by characters in novels (homo fictus).
In a chapter on plot, Forster defines plot as a narrative of events over time, with an emphasis on causality. He claims that the understanding of plot requires two traits in the reader: intelligence and memory. In a chapter on fantasy, Forster asserts that two important aspects of the novel are fantasy and prophecy, both of which include an element of mythology.
Forster describes the aspect of prophecy in a novel as ‘‘a tone of voice’� of the author, a ‘‘song’� by which ‘‘his theme is the universe,’� although his subject matter may be anything but universal. In a chapter on pattern and rhythm, Forster describes the aspect of pattern in the novel in terms of visual art. He describes the narrative pattern of Thaïs, by Anatole France, as that of an hourglass and the novel Roman Pictures, by Percy Lubbock, as that of a chain. He determines that pattern adds an aesthetic quality of beauty to a novel. He then turns to the aspect of rhythm, which he describes as ‘‘repetition plus variation,’� as better suited to the novel than is pattern.
He describes the multi-volume novel Remembrance of Things Past, by Marcel Proust, as an example of the successful use of rhythm. Forster concludes that rhythm in the novel provides a more open-ended narrative structure without sacrificing character.
To quote Forster himself, the essays are “informal, indeed talkative, in their tone, and it seemed safer when presenting them in book form not to mitigate the talk, in case nothing should be left at all. Words such as ‘I�, ‘you�, ‘one�, ‘we�, ‘curiously enough�, ‘so to speak�, ‘only imagine� and ‘of course� will consequently occur on every page and will rightly distress the sensitive reader; but he is asked to remember that if these words were removed others, perhaps more distinguished, might escape through the orifices they left, and that since the novel is itself often colloquial it may possibly withhold some of its secrets from the graver and grander streams of criticism, and may reveal them to backwaters and shallows.�
After his death on June 7, 1970, in Coventry, England, his novel Maurice (1971) was published for the first time, speciously bottled-up by the author because of its first-person content vis-à-vis a young homosexual individual. ...more
The three fantastic events � the Completion of a railroad across North America from East to West, the laying of the trans-Atlantic cable, the opening The three fantastic events � the Completion of a railroad across North America from East to West, the laying of the trans-Atlantic cable, the opening of the Suez Canal � all these taken together have contributed to a paradigm shift from one state of things to another. The different countries of the World which were not related to one another have now come together.
Whitman does not focus only on the Indian sub-continent but focuses on the Asian as well as African continents. The old myths of Asia, the primitive African fables, “the deep diving bibles� and legends captivate the poet.
The poet upholds the significance of unification and the symbolic interlocking of various strands into a single whole. He is effusive in his praise for the fairer temples and “dazzling towers� burnished with gold.
Whitman rhapsodies over the glories of the captains, voyagers, explorers, engineers and architects of the modern civilization who have opened up a new vista of a new world full of scientific and technological wonders.
Having sung the new technological and engineering innovations that have changed the face of the world in stanza I, Whitman pours out his praises on the poets who have also contributed a lot to the building of modern civilization. Fables, myths and stories from multifarious cultures across the world have also served the purpose of welding past and present and the different parts of the world together. While railways, seaways and telegraph cables meet the bodily needs, poetry satisfies the needs of the mind.
The poet imagines that his soul has made a flight to the sites of the astounding technological innovations� the cutting of the Suez Canal joining the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroads which benefit the humanity.
The poet marvels at what human endeavour can do large dredging machines, the rail track etc, benefiting all, not disturbing at all the ecological balance.
While traversing the railroad the poet crosses the rivers, the plains of Laramine, the deserts, the Monument, mountain, the Eagle’s nest, the Humbold range, the Tahoe Lake etc. The poet is much elated to see that the East and the West have come nearer, the distance between Europe and Asia has been bridged, the peaceful co-existence of the different cultures across the world, and to see the great possibility of initiating an intellectual, cultural exchange between people of different nations and different countries.
This opening stanza speaks of the indomitable human desire to know the expanse of the earth whereupon man made an attempt to circumnavigate the world and to undertake expeditions which led to the discovery of many lands hitherto unknown and unmapped.
Whitman refers to many a dead captain and to Vasco-da-Gama who discovered India and also refers to America which comes into being along with other lands and nations. All the historical events referred to by Whitman contributed to the advancement of human civilization. The “purpose vast� suggests the “rondure� (symbolizing a circle without a beginning or an end) of the world which brings to focus an endless spiritual processes which are beyond space and time.
This section begins by referring to the year 1866 when there occurred a union of the continents, climates, lands, oceans. Next the poet refers to the actual historical events, names of places, world-famous explorers. He commences from prehistoric times by mentioning therein Caucasus, “described as� the soothing cradle of man, Euphrates, having links with the Western civilization.
The poet speaks of the Indus river and the Ganges, of Alexander who died on his return journey from an invasion of India, China, Persia and Arabia, Bay of Bengal, the ancient literatures including Vedas and the monumental epics � (the Ramayana and the Mahabharata), “Old occult Brahma� Buddha, Tamburlaine dubbed as “the Prince of Destruction� who invaded Turkey, Persia, India, Aurangzeb, the Emperor of Hindustan, Marco Polo, Columbus’s life till he met his death. The poet sings of India’s rich culture and tradition, and all philosophic studies.
Whitman has his enormous liking for Asia for the first progeny of Adam descended from this continent and they fanned out in every nook and corner of the world. The progeny of Adam and Eve were very curious to know what life is, what the purpose of life is. They desire to learn something new. Scientific inventions have answered many of their questions. But they lay emphasis on self-realization and the belief in God to make them happy.
Whitman pays a glowing tribute to Christopher Columbus who had the credit of discovering America. He was an inspirational figure to all who, with an indomitable spirit, a deep yearning and with an invincible dash and dynamic energy, undertook a perilous sea-voyage to discover America. He is a symbol of courage, action and faith.
The poet asks us to behold and appreciate his acumen to lead the little fleet, his return from the voyage, his great achievements, his misfortunes, and his bad days in which he fell. Next, the poet invokes the soul and he and the soul together will circumnavigate the world. He eagerly wants to accompany the soul to know the ultimate reality of this life.
At the end of spiritual journey the soul must undertake to be similarly returned to ‘reason’s early paradise,/Back, back to wisdom’s birth, to innocent intuition. Again with fair creation� Whitman repeats his belief in the soul and he makes an appeal to his soul to seek a merger with the Over soul.
The poet sings the hymns of God and believes in Him but he does dare to “daily� with the mystery of God. As such, the poet prays, “Bathe me 0 God in thee�. The poet addresses God with many names—”transcendent� “nameless�, “light of light�, “spiritual union�.
To Whitman the images, symbols, metaphors, words which he wants to use to describe many-faced God seem derisory and insufficient for God is something more than these devices purported to unveil the mystery of God. The expressions like “reservoir� “moral, spiritual fountain,� “affection,� “Comrade perfect,� “motive of the stars� at best highlight a few aspects of God rather than focusing on God’s real, holistic, cosmic self. In the process of the poet’s perception of God, the poet looks at the smallness of his self which makes him swiftly shrink at the thought of God.
But he consoles himself saying his “actual me� i.e. his soul is a part of the Over soul at the micro-level. It is also omnipresent, deathless and timeless and it has its links with the Over soul. Whitman says that after the completion of all voyages, after “seas all cross’s� the soul finally merges with God. At the time of meeting, the poet’s soul is all love, the “Elder Brother� (God) is found. The “Younger� (the poet’s soul) has its place in God’s bosom.
In these two sections of the poem Whitman suggests that the soul has not yet completed the journey to be united with the divine. ‘The passage to more than India� draws attention to the poet’s utmost efforts to unveil the mysteries of the earth, sky, the fathomless seas, clouds, rains, day and night, etc.
The poet then speaks of the inherent divine potentiality of the soul which can fly to any far-flung regions and even can grasp the ideas deeply ingrained in the Vedas of India.
And what does my better-learned mind surmise in 2024?
Just the following points:
***This tome concerns the relations between the English and the native population of India during the colonial period in which Britain ruled India. The colonial occupation of India is noteworthy in terms of the context of the novel. Britain occupied an important place in political affairs in India since 1760, but did not secure control over India for nearly 100 years.
***Let us jump a century or so. In August of 1858, during a period of vehement revolt against Britain by the Indians, the British Parliament passed the Government of India Act, shifting political power from the East India Company to the crown. This established the bureaucratic colonial system in India headed by a Council of India consisting to begin with of 15 Britons.
***Although Parliament and Queen Victoria maintained support for local princes, Victoria added the title Empress of India to her regality. The typical attitude of Britons in India was that they were undertaking the “white man’s burden,� (thanks to Kipling)
***This was a system of aloof, patronizing sovereignty in which the English bureaucracy did not associate with the persons they ruled. This finds expression in characters such as Ronny Heaslop and Mr. McBryde�
This novel brings together in a Florentine boarding-house a collection of British middle-class specimens and divides them into two sections: those whoThis novel brings together in a Florentine boarding-house a collection of British middle-class specimens and divides them into two sections: those who believe in the value of human choices and relationships, and those who "follow neither the heart nor the brain, and march to their destiny by catch-words." And yet, at the end of the day, though we understand and enjoy the half-comic relationships between these particular individuals, and smile over their quirks and caprices (not forgetting the nudists in the woodland pool), we feel that this laughing philosopher is still laughing at too many things. The values have a bright surface but are not clear as crystal. Flaws notwithstanding a very readable book.
And this is what a re-read in 2024 taught me:
Aside from all other things, this tome is wonderful social commentary. However, it is no acrid satire. The tome prefers to laugh lovingly at its subjects and in the end the good in people matters much more to Forster than their shortcomings.
The novel deals with Lucy’s growth toward self-awareness. By the end, she has learned the significance of expressing passion scrupulously. And all this was at the time, Forster was at the commencement of his first important relationship.
The tome is dedicated to Hugh Meredith, Forster’s first love and the model for George Emerson. Throughout the plot, Forster speaks with great insight on the subject of ‘repressed passion� and the war between desire and society’s conventions.
His experiences as a gay man at the beginnings of his first relationship undoubtedly had a great influence on the writing of the novel. His lack of sexual experience also explains some of the novel’s shortcomings; although he writes beautifully about the beginning stages of the courtship between Lucy and George, in the final chapter he seems less certain, less insightful.
Still, this is an accomplished and beautiful love story, full of cutting but ultimately generous insights. And there are unforgettable moments the first kiss between George is Lucy, fervent and unanticipated on a hillside covered with violets, is one of the finest kisses in modern literature.
Give it a go mates!! It does not get better than this.
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