Howard's End | Topics for Discussion & Projects

Howard's End Key Questions

The problems associated with personal relationships and conflicting social values are enduring concerns. The debate over priorities constitutes a principal topic in this novel: civilized living, art, a conversation among friends collides with the business side of life, the friction nurtured by distrust. However, the differences between the male Wilcoxes and the female Schlegels attract as well as distract them from one another. Love and steadiness, according to Forster, balance strain and misunderstanding. Thus, in the end, Margaret Schlegel succeeds in bridging the mistrust that divides the men and women. She inherits Howards End, Forster's symbol of human dignity and endurance.

1. When one considers the thematic word connect as it relates to the Schlegels and Wilcoxes, a significant problem arises. The word appears easier to formulate than to practice, since even the most sincere among intellectuals would admit to the difficulty in attaining any form of wholeness...
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