Favorite Classics: E.M. Forster

Three novels by E.M. Forster

Edward Morgan Forster (1879–1970) was an English author who published six novels as well as short stories, essays, and other works. I’ve read three of Forster’s novels and his influential work of literary criticism, Aspects of the Novel. I still want to read at least A Passage to India and Maurice, a posthumously published love story between two men.

Where Angels Fear to Tread

Where Angels Fear to Tread, published in 1905, was Forster’s first novel. Recently widowed Lilia Herriton journeys to Tuscany and falls in love with Italian Gino Carella. The couple marries before Lilia’s snobbish mother-in-law and brother-in-law can prevent what they consider an undesirable match. In the end, their intervention leads to horrific consequences.

Like Forster’s subsequent novels, Where Angels Fear to Tread explores class consciousness and bourgeois obsession with appearances. However, I think this is the weakest of the three novels I’ve read, which is no wonder considering that this was a debut novel published when Forster was 26 years old. The portrayal of Italians is very stereotypical, and there aren’t really any likable characters in this book.

A Room with a View

Published in 1908, A Room with a View is also set in Italy and England. Lucy Honeychurch visits Florence with her uptight cousin and meets Mr Emerson and his son George. The encounter turns her neatly ordered life upside down. While other guests in their inn find the Emersons unrefined, Lucy is drawn to them both. Confused by her feelings, she determines to avoid George. After Florence, Lucy continues to Rome, where she meets Cecil Vyse. Back in England, she accepts Cecil’s marriage proposal, but after George Emerson comes back to her life she must make a decision whether she follows her own heart or submits to societal expectations.

This is my favorite of Forster’s novels that I’ve read. Admittedly, this book has a very slow start, but the ending makes up for it. I loved George’s proto-feminist arguments when he attempts to convince Lucy to break of her engagement, and Lucy’s determination when she finally does. However, like Where Angels Fear to Tread, this book has a very stereotypical portrayal of Italians.

 

Howards End

Published in 1910, Howards End is a story of three families: the rich Wilcoxes, the cultured Schlegels, and the impoverished Basts. The idealistic Schlegel sisters seek to help the Basts and to rid the Wilcoxes of their social and economic prejudices.

I guess objectively Howards End is the best of the three novels I’ve read in terms of story and plot, but I have more of a soft spot for A Room with a View. I found it more charming, so Howards End gets second place. This book suffers from the same problem as two previously mentioned novels: the first two thirds are really slow and most of the action happens in the last third of the novel.

 

Aspects of the Novel

Aspects of the Novel is based on Forster’s lectures delivered on Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1927. In the lectures, he examined what he considered the seven universal aspects of the novel: story, characters, plot, fantasy, prophecy, pattern, and rhythm. One of the most well-known ideas presented in the book is Forster’s delineation between “flat” and “round” characters. Aspects of the Novel is technically not a writing guide, but it is nonetheless a useful book for an aspiring author or writer to read.