In this research paper I will focus on some examples of connections and disconnections and interpret their meaning. Forster employs personal relations to emphasize the importance of connection and mutual understanding, but does also, on a more abstract level, write about the connection of the past and the present. The idea of ‘only connect’ can be traced throughout Howards End. Im Motto „Only connect“ drückt sich die Überzeugung des Humanisten Forster aus, dass der Kontakt von Mensch zu Mensch Gegensätze überbrücken kann. The Kindlers Literatur Lexikon summarizes it as follows:ĭas große Thema aller Romane Forsters, die Überwindung der Schranken zwischen Menschen unterschiedlicher Herkunft und Lebensart, wird in seinem vierten Roman am Beispiel zweier wesensmäßig gegensätzlicher Familien abgehandelt. The aim was to convey to the reader the necessity of connection, the need to connect what has become disconnected, in order to attain an integral life. The contrasts are presented on various levels Edward Morgan Forster describes different characters, lifestyles and values in order to show what he considered as important, the connection of past and present, but also on the personal level, the connection of people, even if from different classes. The novel is built upon many antagonisms, it contrasts traditional values and modern developments.

Howards End became known especially for of its epigraph ‘Only connect’. The novel examines the problems and anxieties that were prevalent at that time due to the historical changes, for example the downfall of the British Empire, the increasingly tensed relationship to the countries on the European Continent, and the need of reorientation concerning new moral standards. Howards End is often referred to as a ‘Condition-of-England-novel’, because it gives a vivid impression of England at the turn of the century. Howards End, which was published in 1910, is considered as one of Edward Morgan Forster’s masterpieces, and as “the one which firmly established his reputation among his contemporaries as an important writer.” (Lodge ix).

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