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Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
Chapter 20
Explanation and Analysis—Inner Life:
The motif of the "inner life" as it relates to interpersonal connection appears regularly throughout Howards End. In Chapter 20, when Margaret and Henry Wilcox are walking together, the narrator makes the following observation about Henry’s understanding of his wife:
He supposed her “as clever as they make ’em,” but no more, not realizing that she was penetrating to the depths of his soul, and approving of what she found there.
And if insight were sufficient, if the inner life were the whole of life, their happiness has been assured.
When characters talk about "connection," they are referencing the idea of the "inner life." Margaret’s rich “inner life” gives her easy access to her emotions, to understanding other people, and to an appreciation of the world’s beauty. Henry, however, is closed-off, practical to a fault, and oblivious to other people's viewpoints. The “inner life” of emotions, empathy, and deep thought is contrasted with the "outer life" of material things, capitalism, and imperialism in the novel. The “outer” is represented by the Wilcoxes, who are focused on appearance and possessions. The Schlegels are linked to the “inner” because they prioritize connection, education, and feeling. This division between "inner" and "outer" is strongly linked to Margaret’s catchphrase, "Only connect!" This phrase refers directly to connecting the inner life with the outer, and also to prioritizing communication and empathy.
When people cannot “connect” their inner lives to their “outer lives” in Howards End, they are not whole. They are unable to have truly intimate relationships and friendships. When the narrator's focus returns to this pair in Chapter 22, Margaret hopes that she can coax her husband out of his “fear of loving” her and his obliviousness to his “inner life.” Forster uses the visual imagery of light to underline this connection:
[Margaret] might yet be able to help him to the building of the rainbow bridge that should connect the prose in us with the passion. Without it we are meaningless fragments, half monks, half beasts, unconnected arches that have never joined into a man. With it love is born, and alights on the highest curve, glowing against the grey, sober against the fire. [...] It was hard going in the roads of Mr. Wilcox’s soul. From boyhood he had neglected them.
In this passage, the author connects the “inner life” to poetry, and the “outer life” to prose, making the inner seem lyrical and romantic, and the other steadfast and workaday. Forster links the “inner life” of poetry and emotion to the sensory language of light in this passage. He describes its capacity to generate love as being like a shimmering being “glowing against the grey” of life outside it. Henry Wilcox cannot access this, as he has “neglected” the “roads” to it “from boyhood." He has never prioritized his emotional development, and so is stuck with a life of "fragments."
Related Themes:
Chapter 21
Explanation and Analysis—Inheritance:
The motif of inheritance occurs throughout Howards End, as the complications of who is left property, wealth, and social standing are central to the plot. In Chapter 41, when Leonard Bast comes to Howards End to confess his "crime" to Margaret, the narrator describes Charles passing him in his motor-car:
At the chalk pit a motor passed him. In it was another type whom Nature favors—the Imperial. Healthy, ever in motion, it hopes to inherit the earth. [...] But the Imperialist is not what he thinks or seems. He is a destroyer. He prepares the way for cosmopolitanism, and though his ambitions may be fulfilled, the earth that he inherits will be grey.
In this passage, Forster’s narrator contrasts two character types—Charles the "Imperial" and Leonard Bast. Charles, whom “Nature favours” and is “ever in motion," is portrayed as a “destroyer.” The Wilcoxes' ambitions pave the way for a dreary and colorless future. The novel’s criticism of “cosmopolitanism” and the modernization of England is expressed as an unease with the “inheritance” of these traits.
It is not only character traits that are heritable, however. The novel’s title refers to the central drama of the plot, in which Margaret is left the house Howards End by Mrs Wilcox, but is prevented from receiving it. Margaret eventually does end up at Howards End, but not in the way she was intended to “inherit” it. Aside from the moral problems this displays in the materialistic Wilcox family, Forster also calls into question the dubious “inheritance” of England itself by future generations. Charles Wilcox’s son, in Chapter 21, is described in the following way as he gazes at his parents discussing Margaret’s engagement to Henry:
A short-frocked edition of Charles also regards them placidly; a perambulator edition is squeaking; a third edition is expected shortly. Nature is turning out Wilcoxes in this peaceful abode, so that they may inherit the earth.
The baby, a “short-frocked” (still in infant clothes) “edition” of his father, is described as only one in a series of “Wilcoxes” who will form the next generation of English elites. The narrator’s voice becomes regretful and tongue-in-cheek as they suggest it is children like this who will “inherit the earth.” The novel also points the reader here toward the imperialist 19th century belief that the British Empire “should” inherit the earth, and that the world "should” be ruled by Englishmen. The novel suggests that such an ambition is misguided. The prospect of “Wilcoxes” inheriting “the earth,” then, is a startling thought. The image of the motor passing by the chalk pit underscores this idea, presenting the imperialist as a destroyer preparing the way for a grey, homogeneous world.
Related Themes:
Chapter 22
Explanation and Analysis—Inner Life:
The motif of the "inner life" as it relates to interpersonal connection appears regularly throughout Howards End. In Chapter 20, when Margaret and Henry Wilcox are walking together, the narrator makes the following observation about Henry’s understanding of his wife:
He supposed her “as clever as they make ’em,” but no more, not realizing that she was penetrating to the depths of his soul, and approving of what she found there.
And if insight were sufficient, if the inner life were the whole of life, their happiness has been assured.
When characters talk about "connection," they are referencing the idea of the "inner life." Margaret’s rich “inner life” gives her easy access to her emotions, to understanding other people, and to an appreciation of the world’s beauty. Henry, however, is closed-off, practical to a fault, and oblivious to other people's viewpoints. The “inner life” of emotions, empathy, and deep thought is contrasted with the "outer life" of material things, capitalism, and imperialism in the novel. The “outer” is represented by the Wilcoxes, who are focused on appearance and possessions. The Schlegels are linked to the “inner” because they prioritize connection, education, and feeling. This division between "inner" and "outer" is strongly linked to Margaret’s catchphrase, "Only connect!" This phrase refers directly to connecting the inner life with the outer, and also to prioritizing communication and empathy.
When people cannot “connect” their inner lives to their “outer lives” in Howards End, they are not whole. They are unable to have truly intimate relationships and friendships. When the narrator's focus returns to this pair in Chapter 22, Margaret hopes that she can coax her husband out of his “fear of loving” her and his obliviousness to his “inner life.” Forster uses the visual imagery of light to underline this connection:
[Margaret] might yet be able to help him to the building of the rainbow bridge that should connect the prose in us with the passion. Without it we are meaningless fragments, half monks, half beasts, unconnected arches that have never joined into a man. With it love is born, and alights on the highest curve, glowing against the grey, sober against the fire. [...] It was hard going in the roads of Mr. Wilcox’s soul. From boyhood he had neglected them.
In this passage, the author connects the “inner life” to poetry, and the “outer life” to prose, making the inner seem lyrical and romantic, and the other steadfast and workaday. Forster links the “inner life” of poetry and emotion to the sensory language of light in this passage. He describes its capacity to generate love as being like a shimmering being “glowing against the grey” of life outside it. Henry Wilcox cannot access this, as he has “neglected” the “roads” to it “from boyhood." He has never prioritized his emotional development, and so is stuck with a life of "fragments."
Related Themes:
Chapter 41
Explanation and Analysis—Inheritance:
The motif of inheritance occurs throughout Howards End, as the complications of who is left property, wealth, and social standing are central to the plot. In Chapter 41, when Leonard Bast comes to Howards End to confess his "crime" to Margaret, the narrator describes Charles passing him in his motor-car:
At the chalk pit a motor passed him. In it was another type whom Nature favors—the Imperial. Healthy, ever in motion, it hopes to inherit the earth. [...] But the Imperialist is not what he thinks or seems. He is a destroyer. He prepares the way for cosmopolitanism, and though his ambitions may be fulfilled, the earth that he inherits will be grey.
In this passage, Forster’s narrator contrasts two character types—Charles the "Imperial" and Leonard Bast. Charles, whom “Nature favours” and is “ever in motion," is portrayed as a “destroyer.” The Wilcoxes' ambitions pave the way for a dreary and colorless future. The novel’s criticism of “cosmopolitanism” and the modernization of England is expressed as an unease with the “inheritance” of these traits.
It is not only character traits that are heritable, however. The novel’s title refers to the central drama of the plot, in which Margaret is left the house Howards End by Mrs Wilcox, but is prevented from receiving it. Margaret eventually does end up at Howards End, but not in the way she was intended to “inherit” it. Aside from the moral problems this displays in the materialistic Wilcox family, Forster also calls into question the dubious “inheritance” of England itself by future generations. Charles Wilcox’s son, in Chapter 21, is described in the following way as he gazes at his parents discussing Margaret’s engagement to Henry:
A short-frocked edition of Charles also regards them placidly; a perambulator edition is squeaking; a third edition is expected shortly. Nature is turning out Wilcoxes in this peaceful abode, so that they may inherit the earth.
The baby, a “short-frocked” (still in infant clothes) “edition” of his father, is described as only one in a series of “Wilcoxes” who will form the next generation of English elites. The narrator’s voice becomes regretful and tongue-in-cheek as they suggest it is children like this who will “inherit the earth.” The novel also points the reader here toward the imperialist 19th century belief that the British Empire “should” inherit the earth, and that the world "should” be ruled by Englishmen. The novel suggests that such an ambition is misguided. The prospect of “Wilcoxes” inheriting “the earth,” then, is a startling thought. The image of the motor passing by the chalk pit underscores this idea, presenting the imperialist as a destroyer preparing the way for a grey, homogeneous world.
Related Themes:
