QUEEN′S UNIVERSITY BELFAST

SCHOOL OF ENGLISH

The Dividing Line between

Public and Private Values

in Modern Literature

E. M. FORSTER, Howards End ­ George ORWELL, Nineteen-Eighty Four

Jan H. Hauptmann

This essay focuses on two modern literary works by E.M. FORSTER and George

ORWELL. While FORSTER′s fourth published novel

Howards End

was already

written in the early twentieth century (1910), ORWELL′s famous dystopia

Nineteen Eighty-Four

was only published in 1949 and may therefore be

considered as a late modern work.

The historical background of the two novels obviously differs to a great

extent. On the edge of the First World War, E.M. FORSTER was particularly

concerned with a disrupted society under the direct influence of the significant

changes in modern social life. The increasing forces of imperialism and

capitalism and tendencies of a growing urbanisation largely changed the lives of

people, directly affecting their private and public spheres. When ORWELL wrote

his novel under the influence of the Second World War, modern life had

additionally been shaken up by two world wars and the effects of totalitarian

systems in Europe.

Despite the historical gulf between Orwell and Forster, which makes a

direct comparison of their works impossible, this paper will concentrate on the

private and public values of the novels′ characters and thus also pay attention

to probable political notions of the authors. It will particularly figure out if the two

writers either endorse or contest a dividing line between private and public

values, additionally taking into consideration formal features as well as the

overall plot.

Forster′s novel

Howards End

predominantly deals with the interrelations

of two middle class families called the Schlegels and the Wilcoxes. Despite

belonging to the same class, their actual social background differs to a great

extent. Margaret and Helen Schlegel are initially depicted as not being English

"to the backbone"1, which is not only true because of their German origins, but

also because of their idealist attitude they seem to have adopted from their

father, who rather was "the countryman of Hegel and Kant, [...] the idealist,

inclined to be dreamy, whose Imperialism was the Imperialism of the air"2.

Idealism and anti-imperialism are obviously not to be considered as being very

English

any more, but rather seem to have died out all over modern Europe.

1 FORSTER, Edward Morgan.

Howards End

. New York: Penguin, 2000: 24.

2 ibid.

2

The ruling class of modern England now consists of efficient, but exploitative

people like the Wilcoxes, who are primarily interested in money and motorcars.

As a matter of fact, Henry Wilcox ­ the head of the family ­ is "the man who had

carved money out of Greece and Africa, and bought forests from the natives for

a few bottles of gin"3. His family had evidently got rid of an idealistic outlook on

life by totally clinging to the "outer life [...] a life in which anger and telegrams

count"4. Being capitalists and imperialists in the colonial spirit of modern times,

they "seem to have their hands on the ropes"5. As Robert Green puts it, their

contribution to the public life in England might consist in "extracting wealth from

the `Third World′"6, but Green also remarks that "[imperialists] have

demonstrated no intelligence in using such wealth"7. Instead of making use of

their prosperity, the Wilcoxes are "a fraud, just a wall of newspapers and motor-

cars and golf-clubs" with nothing but "panic and emptiness" behind it8. Their

alienation goes so far that they are not even able to live next to each other any

more9. The self-alienating power of imperialism evidently splits up the English

society portrayed in

Howards End

, or ­ in Green′s words ­ "exploit[s] the ruled

and taint[s] the rulers"10.

In contrast to the Wilcoxes as representatives of the "outer life", Helen

and Margaret Schlegel′s idealism and culturally-minded attitude is depicted as a

dedication to the "inner life"11. While Helen is totally convinced that "personal

relations are the real life, for ever and ever"12, her sister Margaret ­ the brighter

character of the Schlegels ­ has a much more pragmatic mind-set. She feels

aware about the fact that

[i]f Wilcoxes hadn′t worked and died in England for thousands of years,

you and I couldn′t sit here without having our throats cut. There would be

no trains, no ships to carry us literary people about in, no fields even.

3 FORSTER, 2000: 241.

4 FORSTER, 2000: 22.

5 ibid.

6 GREEN, Robert.

Messrs Wilcox and Kurtz, Hollow Men

. in: Twentieth Century Literature, Vol. 14. No.

4 (Jan., 1969): 238.

7 GREEN, 1969: 238.

8 FORSTER, 2000: 22.

9 FORSTER, 2000: 174.

10 GREEN, 1969: 234.

11 FORSTER, 2000: 23.

12 FORSTER, 2000: 23.

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