Howards End — written by a man in the Edwardian  era — has a surprisingly feminine touch (an interesting aside: Zadie Smith’s novel On Beauty is loosely based on, and is an homage to, Howards End).

Howards End can be roughly divided into four basic character-groups:

The Blasts — Leonard and Jacky — who are socially marginalized due to their financial position in the lower strata of middle class. Leonard makes an attempt to raise his status with knowledge.

The Wilcox family, who epitomize the Capitalist industrialization of England, particularly the loutish Charles, and his father Henry, who has the great fortune to become acquainted with two remarkable women; something within Henry recognizes the depth of their souls, but he is unable to delve deeply enough to fully comprehend them. Henry is cast as the novel’s hero, but I found this characterization difficult to accept. The Wilcox women — with the notable exception of the spiritual mother-figure, Ruth Wilcox — are inconsequential, minor characters, floating through the novel as counter-examples to the Schlegel sisters.

The Schlegel sisters, who are the central characters (their younger brother, Theobald (‘ Tibby’), is an intellectual; emotionally detached from society): they are ‘modern’ Edwardian women, within the vanguard of emancipation. Helen is vivacious and impetuous, and Margaret — the novel’s heroine — is intelligent, imaginative and practical.

And then there is Howards End, which is a country home, but also a character. For the most part it rests gently along the border of the story, but it is the spiritual heart of the novel. The description of Howards End is based on E.M. Forster’s beloved childhood home, Rooks Nest.

Howards End is a humanistic novel, filled with sparkling writing and keen insights regarding the beauty, humor and tragedy of life.

Recommended.

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