E.M.Forster

1
E.M.Forster

• (1879 - 1970)

2
Forster

• Forsters 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

• Lilias family (The Heritons) dont 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 Forsters 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 societys
  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 Forsters 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

• Forsters 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
  Forsters 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

1. Can an English person be friends with an Indian?
2. The way that Indian people are treated by the
   English.
3. 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 fiances 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, Adelas 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.