Howards End is described again in chapter XVIII. This is Margaret’s view of it and she describes it as if she’s in a daydream. Margaret has the ability to view the pastoral beauty of the landscape on a higher plane. Howards End to Margaret is a place that is able to answer her wishes for romantic beauty. It is clear from the passion of the writing that this is a mirror image of how Forster really feels; ‘Tulips were a tray of jewels. Forster is of the opinion that people don’t really appreciate the beauty of the country and indulge themselves in self-obsession in attempting to attain material things – such as Henry Wilcox.
Forster’s view is again apparent in chapter XXV when the story has moved on to the market town Oniton. Forster’s narrative style reinforces his wish to cultivate larger perspectives in the reader. Forster explains the beauty of the town and is very much on the side of Margaret in conversation. In this chapter there is a parallel between what Forster is trying to get the reader to respond to and the way Henry and Margaret’s consciousness operate on how they view the past and present. It is clear that Forster agrees with Margaret and strongly disagrees with Henry.
Ultimately, Forster has a nice picture built in his mind about the rural past but it is wishful thinking to hope that everyone can be saved. For instance, Mr. Bast is a character that thinks he is a ‘nobody’. Forster on the other hand views him as a character who is not self obsessed and although thinks about money, it is not about how much he has, its about how he can survive. Leonard is a man who appreciates things in life. He goes to art galleries, operas, and reads Ruskin (a Victorian critic of art and society). It is also Leonard’s ‘case’ that convinces Margaret of the importance of money; ‘independent thoughts are in nine cases out of ten the result of independent means. He is as Forster says ‘inferior to rich people’ but this is not important. What is important is that a person does not go through life, non observant to the important things like the beauty of the countryside and the relationship one can have with others. Ultimately, Leonard dies, and it proves that not everyone can be saved. Even the people who try hard to live an honest life can sometimes not survive, representing the fact that even if you live a true and honest life, it does not guarantee success and a happy life.
Forster’s view of the world is not that dissimilar to Dickens as seen in ‘Hard Times’. They both dislike the industrialized towns, and dislike the people who exploit people and who are only quest in life is greed. It can be said that Forster is too naïve and is too much of a romantic. This is not true. Forster is trying to get the point across that life is not just about materialistic things as Henry presumes. It is not until Henry collapses at the novels end that he realizes there is more to life. However it takes the imprisonment of Charles and the tireless attempts of Margaret to change him. Consequently he realizes that a lot of his life has been a wasted and declares that he will leave no money to his wife and to give a lot of it away to the less unfortunate.
Forster is an optimistic writer who makes his strong opinions known, but at the same time states that this is not a flawless guide to how to live your life. It is clear that people can change, as shown through Henry, and that even the people who live their lives in the way he thinks is right, do not always survive, as shown through Leonard. The person who Forster uses to front his views, Mrs. Wilcox, also dies, but the key issue is that she is able to pass on her views and change the way people think about life. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the ending Forster chooses is not that plausible, and relies heavily on the reader assuming things. However, ultimately the ending is happy with Margaret and Henry ending up together, happy and changed for the better.
