E.M.Forster

1. E.M.Forster (1879 - 1970)

2. Forster • Forster’s humanist attitudes are reflected in his novels. • He is sympathetic to all people and believes that we are united by a common morality

3. Class • Many of his novels focus on the fact that snobbery and narrow-mindedness can make it difficult for people to have meaningful connections with each other. • This is particularly a problem for the middle classes.

4. Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905) • The title is taken from the expression: “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread” • It is a short novel, or NOVELLA.

5. The story • It is the story of a woman named Lilia who travels to Italy with a sensible young woman named Caroline. • Lilia is a fairly silly woman. • She is the widow of the son of a middle class English family.

6. The story • She falls in love with an Italian man, marries him and has a baby. • She dies shortly after giving birth. • Caroline wants to return to Italy and bring back the baby.

7. The Story • Lilia’s family (The Heritons) don’t want to seem less moral that Caroline, and so they also travel to Italy to take the baby. • They end up snatching the baby and in the process they have a car accident and the baby dies.

8. Gino • Gino is the Italian man who is the father of the baby. • He represents Forster’s idea of Italy - he is passionate, seductive and very attractive. • He has a special emotional bond with his son, which none of the English characters could have.

9. Love? • Philip Heriton realises he is in love with Caroline. • But as he is about to tell her, she reveals that she is in love with Gino. • It is a sad ending. No one gets what they want.

10. Room With a View (1908) • Room With a View develops some of the themes in Where Angels Fear to Tread. • But it adds a romantic love story with a happy ending. • (And no babies die.)

11. Italy again • A Room with a View is also partly set in Italy. • It is about a young woman named Lucy who has gone abroad with her older cousin, Charlotte.

12. George and Lucy • She meets a very unusual man named George and he falls in love with her. • They both witness a very dramatic event in Florence - a man is killed in front of them in the street.

13. Society • Lucy is unable to tell that she is in love with George. • Her emotions are governed by society’s conventions and she has not learned how to judge her true feelings.

14. Cecil • When she returns home to England she becomes engaged to a pretentious and very wealthy man named Cecil. • George and his father move into the same village. • George tries desperately to persuade Lucy to marry him instead.

15. Happy Ending • Lucy realises she must break off her engagement with Cecil. • Then she finally realises that she loves George, and they return to Italy for their honeymoon.

16. Holidays • At the time when Forster wrote these books, traveling abroad had become a lot easier for the English middle classes. • This is reflected in the relative ease with which the characters travel to Europe.

17. Traveling Abroad • In Forster’s novels we can see two things regarding traveling abroad: Forster believes that everyone should be treated kindly and respectfully. For a modern reader, some of his descriptions of foreigners may seem quite patronising.

18. The voice of the author • Forster’s novels always have a strong authorial voice leading the reader through the story. • This voice (which we can usually assume tells us the true opinions of Forster) is always thoughtful and understanding.

19. A Passage to India (1924) • A Passage to India is often considered to be Forster’s greatest novel. • It is set entirely in India, during the days of the British Raj. • At this time (1858 - 1947) the British ruled India.

20. Colonisation • A Passage to India is very critical of British rule in India. • He is most critical of the rudeness and racism of the British • Forster himself spent time in India and preferred the company of Indians to the British colonists.

21. Themes in A Passage to India • Can an English person be friends with an Indian? • The way that Indian people are treated by the English. • The fact that India is a “muddle” - according to Forster.

22. A Passage to India • A young woman named Adela travels to India to meet her fiance (a magistrate). She travels with her fiance’s mother, Mrs. Moore. • Dr. Aziz is an Indian medical doctor, he becomes friends with an English man named Mr. Fielding.

23. Real Indians • Adela and Mrs. Moore are determined to meet some real Indians. • But it is very difficult for the rude English and the shy Indians to mix.

24. The caves • Dr Aziz takes Adela and Mrs. Moore to visit some caves. • The caves represent an aspect of India in the novel. • Forster saw India as a confusing muddle. • Both Adela and Mrs. Moore are very deeply affected by the visit.

25. The echo • There is an endless echo running around the caves. • It makes Mrs. Moore feel very depressed and she never recovers from the experience.

26. The echo • Adela is also affected by the echo and suddenly runs away. • Adela thinks that she has been sexually assaulted by Dr. Aziz. • She has not; the echo in the caves briefly upsets the balance of her mind.

27. The divide between the English and the Indians • Dr. Aziz is arrested. • The English are angry but not surprised - because they believe Indians are lustful. • Fielding stands by Aziz and is shunned by the English.

28. The Trial • At the trial, Adela’s mind is suddenly cleared of the “echo.” • She has to admit that she was mistaken. • The English turn against her and Ronny breaks off their engagement. • Fielding takes her in and is kind to her.

29. Aziz and Fielding • Aziz is very angry that Fielding would be kind to Adela. • They fall out and Fielding moves away. • 2 years later they meet again, and Aziz forgives Fielding, but he says that they cannot be friends until the British no longer rule India.