Howards End

Howards End
Study Guide by Course Hero
TENSE
What's Inside Howards End is written in the past tense.
ABOUT THE TITLE

j Book Basics ................................................................................................. 1 Howards End is named for the country house around which the
plot of the novel centers. The brick country home in Hilton,
d In Context ..................................................................................................... 1 England, is the setting of both the beginning and ending of the
novel and the home which eventually unites the Wilcox,
a Author Biography ..................................................................................... 3
Schlegel, and Bast families.
h Characters .................................................................................................. 4
k Plot Summary ............................................................................................. 9
c Chapter Summaries .............................................................................. 16

d In Context
g Quotes ........................................................................................................ 44
l Symbols ...................................................................................................... 47
The Writing and Reception of
m Themes ...................................................................................................... 48 Howards End
e Suggested Reading ............................................................................. 50 There are a number of autobiographical elements in Howards
End. Most notably, the novel itself is modeled on Forster's
childhood home, a brick country house named Rooksnest,
which, like Howards End, featured an old wych-elm, a species
j Book Basics of elm tree, on the property. The rapidly expanding city of
London edged ever close to Rooksnest, and the threat of
AUTHOR urban growth encroaching upon an idyllic rural home is a
E. M. Forster theme which Forster explores in Howards End. Like the
Schlegels, the London family central to his novel, Forster was
YEAR PUBLISHED forced to leave his home when the lease ended. He was a
1910 liberal who believed strongly in the power of the arts. The
maternal Schlegel family structure in the novel also mirrors the
GENRE
one in which Forster was nurtured: he was raised from infancy
Drama
by his mother and paternal aunts after the death of his father.
PERSPECTIVE AND NARRATOR Some have argued that the character of Tibby Schlegel is also
Howards End is narrated by a third-person omniscient narrator, autobiographical. Like Tibby, Forster, now widely believed to
who shares the thoughts and emotions of the novel's have been gay, did not display many of the stereotypically
characters. The narrator also offers opinionated commentary masculine characteristics expected of men by society during
on the novel's themes, while sometimes directing readers to his time.
take a more compassionate view its characters.
Howards End Study Guide In Context 2
Forster conceived of the novel in 1908 and wrote it over the Industrial Revolution and mechanical and scientific
course of the next year, publishing it in 1910. Beginning in the advancements that followed. These included factories, the
19th century, the Industrial Revolution had shifted the English railway system, telegraphs, automobiles, and the high-speed
economy from a rural to an urban one, transforming modern growth of cities, most notably London. People increasingly
life. Technological innovations in the use of iron and steel led moved to cities, swelling their size and catalyzing building
to the development of a factory-based economy. A population booms. The resulting urban sprawl devoured the countryside,
explosion, created by the need for factory workers, brought as readers see in Howards End. This created a sense of
rapid growth to cities, with old buildings being replaced by new displacement and detachment from the land. In the novel, the
construction as London sprawled in every direction. Schlegels are uprooted from their childhood home by a
construction project and Howards End is encroached upon by
Forster's novel shares many of the concerns of other writers of London's unstoppable growth.
the time, who felt that the effects of the Industrial Revolution
on society were largely negative. In their view, it focused too Social structure also began to change during the Edwardian
much on progress and profit in the form of technological period, as the rigid class system became more flexible and
expansion and the accumulation of wealth. This led to the rise gender roles were challenged. Besides the rapid accumulation
of a ruthless, socially insensitive upper class, which stood by of wealth by some in business, like the Wilcox family, a rentier
while the lower classes struggled and suffered in difficult class also grew and prospered during this period. Such
conditions. Modern life is exciting in many ways, but also individuals, like the Schlegel family, lived off profits of their
alienating and brutal. In Howards End, Forster seeks to counter investments alone. The growing gap between the rich and poor
this by pointing out rampant social disparities and the inspired much debate about the social responsibility of the
hypocrisy of the upper class, while advocating the need for wealthy. Rampant commercialism and materialism were seen
empathy and social justice across class lines. He also by some, Forster included, as a negative side effect of modern
proposes establishing an alternative, English mythology based life, especially in light of the wide gap between social classes.
on a return to nature and a shared sense of national history In the novel, this is reflected in the contrast between the
and culture. Wilcox's way of life, which is one of conspicuous wealth and
consumption, with those of the Basts, who scrabble to survive.
Howards End was received enthusiastically by reviewers and The world of wealth, represented by tables of uneaten food left
brought Forster almost instant success. It remains one of his after Evie Wilcox's expensive wedding, contrast sharply with
best known novels, the other of which is his 1924 novel, A the world of the lower-class, in which characters like Mr. and
Passage to India, which tackles British imperialism in India. Mrs. Bast face starvation.
Howards End's enduring themes of class struggle, the need for
human connection, and a return to rural life continue to intrigue
contemporary audiences. The novel is the basis for a 1992 film
starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, as well as a
Romanticism versus Modernity
television mini-series produced by the BBC in 2017. Zadie
Forster contrasts romanticism and modernity throughout the
Smith's 2005 novel, On Beauty, is a contemporary homage to
novel largely through contrasting the Schlegel and Wilcox
Howards End, transplanting elements of the novel to the 21st
families. Romanticism, which began in the 1790s, was a
century to look at differences in gender and class, as well as
reaction against the emphasis on reason and rationality of the
race.
18th-century movement known as the Enlightenment.
Romanticism sought to reclaim the spiritual and imaginative in
man by emphasizing individuality, the emotions, and the
Edwardian England transcendent beyond the realm of ordinary experience, often
through exploration and appreciation of natural beauty. This
The Edwardian period in England, lasting from 1901 to 1910, way of thinking continued to influence philosophers and writers
was a time of great change. The British Empire, though still the like Forster over a century later. The Schlegel family in
world's premier colonial power, was beginning to see Howards End is named for German romantic philosopher
challenges from its European neighbors, including Germany. Friedrich von Schlegel, who sought to remedy the dangers of
The economy and culture of England felt the effects of the
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Howards End Study Guide Author Biography 3
the Enlightenment and access transcendental truths through Women, an early treatise on the need for equal rights for
the creation of a personal mythology. Margaret and Helen women in all areas of society. It would be nearly a hundred
agree that the inner life of emotions and ideas is the most years after its publication until the first bill reached parliament
authentic life. They value culture, literature, art, and music. petitioning for the rights of women to vote. When Queen
When they find their spiritual connection to Howards End, they Victoria herself objected to the movement, and bill after bill
fulfill these romantic leanings. failed to pass, some activists resorted to violence out of
frustration. It was not until 1918, almost a decade after the
English life during the Edwardian period, in contrast, was publication of Howards End that the Representation of the
characterized by materialism, commercialism, and the pursuit People Act passed, granting women over 30 the right to vote.
of progress, often at the expense of compassion and humanity. The age limit would later be lowered, in 1928, to give women
Some perceived this way of life as a threat to art and culture, equal standing as men with the right to vote beginning at 21.
and certainly to the inner life so valued by the Schlegels. The
Wilcox family, however, are firmly on the side of modernity.
a Author Biography
They own many cars, several homes, and a prosperous
international business, but they avoid emotion and deny the
effects of their actions on others. Mr. Wilcox is resigned to the
inevitability that some people will be harmed by the wheels of
social progress. His son, Charles Wilcox, in particular, Early Life
exemplifies the callousness, greed, and self-righteousness
which results from the materialism encouraged by modern life. Edward Morgan (E.M.) Forster was born into a middle-class
He talks down to and abuses servants. He doesn't really want London family on January 1, 1879. He lost his father at age two.
Howards End, but he wants to keep Margaret from getting it He grew up at Rooksnest, an estate in the southern English
because he is greedy. His coldness in pursuing his desires county of Hertfordshire, where he enjoyed a happy childhood.
shows how his worldview drains him of empathy. He cares Raised by his mother and aunt, Forster was surrounded by
much more about his property than about human life. strong female role models, which likely influenced his
development of female characters in his novels.
Women's Rights As a young man, Forster attended Tonbridge School, followed

by university studies at King's College, Cambridge. There he
In Edwardian England, as in many places in the world after the found intellectual freedom and began to explore the ideas that
turn of the century, women's roles were beginning to change. would eventually surface in his novels. Forster considered
Helen and Margaret, as well as Helen's friend, the Italian himself a humanist, valuing the characteristics of "curiosity, a
feminist and journalist, Monica, are examples to one degree or free mind, belief in good taste, and belief in the human race."
another of this trend. The New Women, as women who Forster graduated with degrees in classics in 1900 and history
embodied these changes were known, more frequently lived in 1901.
independently, held jobs, or provided their own incomes.
Corsets and restrictive dresses were being replaced with
clothing that allowed more movement in order to Becoming a Writer
accommodate the activities of modern women like tennis,
driving, and cycling. These more modern fashions were After graduating from King's College, Forster became a full-
encouraged by the suffrage movement as healthier and time writer—an occupation made possible in part by an
freeing. inheritance from a relative—and produced several novels,
plays, short stories, and literary criticism. Forster was greatly
The suffrage movement to grant women the right to vote is interested in the differences between traditional English
mentioned several times in the novel. The lack of voting and society and the cultures of other regions around the world. He
other rights for women was a concern in Britain long before traveled to Italy, Greece, Germany, South Africa, Egypt, the
the suffrage movement coalesced, most recognizably in Mary United States, and India. These trips abroad provided plentiful
Wollstonecraft's 1792 book A Vindication of the Rights of

Howards End Study Guide Characters 4
material for his writing. His novels feature detailed descriptions sensitivity to place, especially to what makes a house a good
of places, people, and cultures, as well as English tourists and home, causes her to fall in love with Howards End, the Wilcox's
expatriates that drew heavily on his personal experiences modest country house, which itself is a symbol of healing and
overseas. His works set in England also focus on cultural rejuvenation. Despite the fact that she realizes some of the
differences, specifically, those that result from distinctions in limitations of her suitor, Mr. Wilcox, a practical, ruthless
social class, and the injustices that result. businessperson who avoids emotion, Margaret comes to love
the widower. She marries him, against the wishes of both his
children and her beloved sister, Helen. During her marriage,
Growing Fame however, she struggles to retain her compassionate,
independent spirit. Mr. Wilcox is also sexist, and Margaret
One of Forster's earlier works, A Room with a View (1908), set gradually takes on a more submissive, feminine role, which
in England and Italy, received modest praise when it was enables her husband to maintain his sense of dominance and
initially published but was not considered a major literary control. Over time, she becomes caught up in his world and
success. That distinction would have to wait until 1910 with his even begins to share his sensibility, losing her sense of herself.
publication of Howards End. Forster's greatest success as a After he shows a lack of empathy when Helen becomes
novelist was his 1924 novel A Passage to India, which explored pregnant out of wedlock, Margaret realizes how lacking in
various themes, including colonialism, race, and friendship. His empathy and integrity her husband really is, leading her to
most well-known work of literary criticism appeared in his 1927 rebel against him. In the end, her urge to "only connect," or to
book Aspects of the Novel, which was compiled from a series favor compassion over exclusion, leads her to continue to live
of lectures delivered at Cambridge University and continues to with her husband at Howards End.
be a widely influential analysis of basic aspects of the novel,
such as plot and character. Forster died on June 7, 1970.
Maurice, a novel about a romantic relationship between two Leonard Bast
men, was published in 1971 after his death.
Leonard Bast, 20 years old when the novel begins, like so
many young men after the Industrial Revolution, has come to
h Characters London from the countryside for work. He works as a clerk at

an insurance company, which barely makes him enough to
survive, and marries Jacky, a former prostitute, despite his
family's objections. In the novel, Mr. Bast represents the lower
Margaret Schlegel classes, the terrible struggles they face, and the chasm that
divides the rich and poor. Mr. Bast aspires to more than the
Margaret Schlegel, approximately 29 at the start of the novel, day-to-day monotony he faces in the city. Inspired by books
has been responsible for raising her sister, Helen, and brother, and music, he longs to experience the poetry, adventure, and
Tibby, after the early deaths of their parents. She is part of a freedom to be found in the beauty of nature. To talk about the
privileged class of people who draw money annually from ideas and books with the Schlegel sisters, who he looks up to
investments, enough to keep her from worrying about finances as cultural role models, is thrilling to him. He is wracked with
or having to work. This grants her a degree of independence. guilt after sleeping with Helen, as though he had spoiled a work
She is free to continue her enjoyment of the "inner life" through of art. Mr. Bast is conscientious even in his despair, when he
literature, philosophy, and music, tastes her parents instilled in rejects an offer of money from Helen and is reduced to
her from a young age. Margaret is generous, wise, and spiritual. begging his family for money in order to keep him and Jacky
She strives to empathize with others, although her comfortable from starving. It is his desire to confess his mistake with Helen
income sometimes insulates her from a full understanding of to Margaret that leads to his death, when circumstances lead
what it means to be poor. Nevertheless, her unique ability to him to cross paths with Charles Wilcox.
connect the romantic and modern, the idealistic and the
practical, the intellectual and the emotional, allows her to be a
force for reconciliation and understanding. Margaret's

Helen Schlegel
Helen Schlegel, a vivacious young woman of independent
means, embraces life and enjoys cultural and intellectual
pursuits, prizing them above almost anything else. She
passionately defends her convictions and is easily moved,
whether by art or social injustice. Like her brother and sister,
she is somewhat insulated by her comfortable lifestyle, but is
open to exploring the social realities of others who aren't so
lucky. When the Basts are starving, it is Helen who steps in to
offer them food and money. Helen values the inner life, also
known as the "unseen." This is the world of ideas and
imagination that art and culture represent. She and her siblings
are half-German and half-English. They benefit from their late
father's European education and tastes, which broadened their
exposure to culture. Helen's love of the "inner life" and "the
unseen," however, makes her idealistic, and sometimes
inflexible or rash. She is willing to step forward to right a
wrong, as in Mr. Bast's case, but may go about it in a
headstrong way that is less helpful than she intends. Life
experience, including an unexpected pregnancy, tempers her
impulse to go to extremes and broadens her empathy and self-
awareness by the end of the novel.
Henry Wilcox
Henry Wilcox is "a man of business," the calculating owner of a
very successful rubber company, which is the product of the
Industrial Revolution and Britain's colonial expansion. He has
made a fortune, and he and his family enjoy multiple houses,
cars, and other material goods. Mr. Wilcox avoids all things
emotional whenever possible, preferring to focus on
generating ever-greater money and status. In his drive for
power and success, Mr. Wilcox lacks the ability to empathize
or take responsibility for the negative effects of his actions on
others. This "obtuseness" persists despite all his second wife
Margaret's efforts to show him how to connect one's inner and
outer lives, to balance emotion with rationality. Mr. Wilcox is a
misogynist, which was more common than not in Edwardian
society. He believes women to be generally hysterical, weak,
and incompetent, and therefore in need of male guidance and
protection. For this reason, Margaret "plays the girl" in their
marriage to protect her husband's need to feel dominant.

Character Map
Charles Wilcox
Self-righteous, greedy,
upper-class man
Victim Father
Stepmother
Leonard Bast
Henry Wilcox
Impoverished, ambitious,
Self-assured, wealthy,
lower-class clerk; lover
Acquaintances sexist businessman
of Helen Schlegel
Second
Margaret Schlegel
wife
Independent, intelligent,
upper-class woman
In-laws
Friends
Sisters
Helen Schlegel
Ruth Wilcox
Passionate, impulsive upper-
Intuitive, calming
Acquaintances class young woman; lover
older woman
of Leonard Bast
First wife
Main Character
Other Major Character
Minor Character

Full Character List Baby

Baby is a toddler who loves playing
with Tom. He is the son of Helen and
Mr. Bast.
Character Description
Bracknell is an unemployed man
Bracknell whom Margaret hires to clean the
Margaret Schlegel, who becomes Mrs.
Schlegel's knives and boots.
Margaret Wilcox, is the financially
independent, well-read, responsible
Margaret
eldest sibling of the Schlegel family. Hamar Bryce is an invalid and the
Schlegel
She seeks to connect the romantic tenant of Howards End for a short
with the modern and the emotional Hamar Bryce
time, before he dies suddenly
with the intellectual. overseas.
Leonard Bast is a young clerk, Burton is the Wilcox's butler at Oniton.

trapped in a relationship with a former He joins Mr. Wilcox in smiling at
prostitute. He longs for more than the Burton
Margaret's ignorance about the size
Leonard Bast dullness of everyday life and aspires of the wine cellar.
to overcome his lack of money and
freedom through his appreciation of
literature and music. Percy Cahill is Dolly's uncle. He
Mr. Cahill
marries Mr. Wilcox's daughter, Evie.
Helen Schlegel is the impulsive,

charismatic, and energetic younger Chalkeley is the rector at Hilton.
sister of the Schlegel family. She is Charles and Evie want him to be held
Helen Schlegel Chalkeley accountable for the activities of the
idealistic, with a passion for justice,
and loves her family and friends woodcutters during Mrs. Wilcox's
fiercely. funeral.
Mr. Henry Wilcox is a self-made man Crane is Mr. Wilcox's loyal chauffeur,
Crane
who owns a prosperous rubber who dislikes Margaret.
Henry Wilcox company. He avoids his emotions and
is oblivious to many of the people and Dorothea Fussell, who becomes Dolly
events around him. Wilcox, is a woman who is inclined to
Dolly speak before she thinks. She marries
Angelo is an Italian man hired as a Charles and wishes his father would
chauffeur to drive friends of the give them more money.
Angelo
Wilcox family to Oniton for Evie's
wedding. The earnest girl at the ladies'
discussion group is concerned that
Annie is a female servant of the Earnest girl the poor would become too
Annie dependent on it, if given indiscriminate
Schlegel family at Wickham Place.
charity.
Miss Avery is the elderly, spinster

neighbor who cares for Howards End An unnamed girl, who owns the cat
Unnamed girl in
and predicts that Margaret will move killed by the Wilcox's car, is horrified
Shropshire
Miss Avery there one day. She has known several by the event and screams.
generations of the Howard family and
was especially fond of Mrs. Wilcox's
Lady Edser is an Anglo-Indian woman
mother.
Lady Edser who is a friend of the Wilcox family
and a guest at Evie's wedding.
Sir James Bidder is a neighbor of the
Sir James Wilcox family near Oniton. He tells
Bidder Margaret that he can introduce her to
local families in the area, if she wishes.

Evie Wilcox is Mr. Wilcox's outspoken, The unnamed male friend of

sporty daughter, who becomes Evie Margaret's Margaret's works in the Education
Evie
Cahill after marrying Percy Cahill. She unnamed male Office in London. He attends the
dislikes the Schlegels. friend luncheon for Mrs. Wilcox, but finds her
boring.
Herr Förstmeister is a fat German

Herr man who owns a cabin in Oderberg in The matron is a caregiver at the
Matron at the
Förstmeister the woods and wants to marry Helen, nursing home who sends Mrs.
nursing home
who turns him down. Wilcox's last wishes to her husband.
Albert Fussell is a well-off young man. Monica is an Italian journalist and

Albert Fussell He is Dolly's brother and a friend of feminist, with whom Helen plans to
Monica
Charles. live in Munich after Helen's baby is
born.
Colonel Fussell is Albert's father and a

guest at Evie's wedding. He has a Frieda Mosebach, who becomes
Colonel Fussell Frieda
chivalrous, if chauvinistic, attitude Frieda Liesecke, is the sharp- tongued
Mosebach
toward women. German cousin of the Schlegels.
Guy is a man Tibby likes because he Juley Munt is the Schlegel's protective
Guy
has no occupation or need of one. Juley Munt aunt, the sister of their late mother.
The Schlegels call her Aunt Juley.
Jacky is a 33-year-old, emotionally

needy, dependent, and dull-witted Paul Wilcox is the impulsive, dutiful
Jacky former prostitute. She had an affair in youngest son of Mr. Wilcox. He enjoys
Paul
Cyprus with Mr. Wilcox years ago and his job in Africa, but he returns to run
traps Mr. Bast into marrying her. the family business in England.
Richard Jefferies is a British author Mr. Pembroke is an honest,

who writes about nature. Mr. Bast hardworking acquaintance of the
Richard
claims that Jefferies's works sparked Mr. Pembroke Schlegels, whose example Margaret
Jefferies
his desire to experience the natural uses to convince Tibby to find
world. meaningful work.
Bruno Liesecke is a German who Penny is the elderly gardener at

Penny
Herr Liesecke enjoys music. He is first Frieda Howards End.
Mosebach 's suitor, then her husband.
Mrs. Plynlimmon is Anglo-Indian
Madge is Miss Avery's niece and a Mrs. woman who is a friend of the Wilcox
Madge neighbor of Howards End. She likes to Plynlimmon family and a guest at Evie's wedding.
give herself airs. She is against women's suffrage.
Dr. Mansbridge is a doctor in Hilton. The reader of the paper is an ill

He intends to assist Mr. Wilcox in woman who leads the debate at the
Dr. Mansbridge Reader of the
catching Helen, and he also makes ladies discussion group as they
paper
inquiries about the death of Mr. Bast. discuss the responsibility of the rich
to the poor.
An unnamed female friend of

Margaret's Margaret's, she attends the luncheon Emily Schlegel is a British woman who
unnamed for Mrs. Wilcox. She agrees with her marries a German. The mother of
Emily Schlegel
female friend that some arguments against suffrage Margaret, Helen, and Tibby, she dies
are strong. when they are still children.

Howards End Study Guide Plot Summary 9
Mr. Schlegel is a German who fought The woodcutter is a man who

for his country before moving to observes Mrs. Wilcox's funeral from a
England and marrying Emily, a British Woodcutter tree he is trimming, then steals a
woman. The father of Margaret, flower from one of her funeral
Mr. Schlegel Helen, and Tibby, he loves German bouquets.
romantic philosophy and music, and
passes his interest in culture on to
them before dying five years after
their mother.
k Plot Summary
Theobald Schlegel, whom his family
calls Tibby, is the sickly, quiet younger Helen Schlegel writes a letter to her sister Margaret describing
brother of the Schlegel sisters. A
Theobald Howards End, a charming country house in Hilton, outside of
student at Oxford, he prefers food,
Schlegel London. It is the family home of the Wilcox family, a couple the
music, and books to people and has
no real interest in pursuing an Schlegel sisters met while traveling in Germany. Margaret has
occupation. stayed at home in London with their sickly younger brother
Tibby whose hay fever, which also afflicts some of the
Tom is a little boy who lives next door Wilcoxes, prevents them from joining Helen. Helen is
Tom to Howards End. He becomes friends
with Helen, Margaret, and the baby. enchanted with the place and the family. Paul, the Wilcox's
second son, arrives. He and Helen form an attraction. The two
share a kiss under the wych-elm one night. Helen writes
Tom Howard is the uncle of Ruth
Wilcox, who once proposed to Miss Margaret declaring that she has fallen in love with Paul.
Tom Howard
Avery. He was later killed and is the Margaret is surprised, but their aunt, Mrs. Munt, is alarmed by
last of the Howard family.
the sudden development. As Margaret is stuck in London with
Tibby, it is agreed that Mrs. Munt will go to Howards End to
Victor, a tadpole collector, is Frieda's
Victor speak to Helen, although her real motive is to put a stop to the
brother-in-law.
engagement. Margaret warns her aunt to speak only to Helen.
Mrs. Munt takes a train, but before she arrives, Margaret
Mr. Vyse is an unhappy man without
Mr. Vyse receives a telegram from Helen saying it is all over between
an occupation who Tibby likes.
her and Paul.
Charles Wilcox is the self-important,

Unfortunately, it is too late to tell Mrs. Munt, who ends up
materialistic, and aggressive eldest
Charles Wilcox running into Charles at the station. He offers to drive her to
son of Mr. Wilcox. He kills Mr. Bast
accidentally when he hits him. Howards End. In the car, thinking that he is Paul, she brings up
the engagement. Charles responds angrily, claiming Paul is in
Daughter of Mrs. Warrington Wilcox's daughter is no position to marry anyone, and Mrs. Munt is offended. Helen
Mrs. Warrington a smart, quiet young girl who is a meets her aunt and tells her that the relationship with Paul is
Wilcox guest at Evie's wedding.
over, and begging her not to tell anyone. Mrs. Munt cries, and
Charles shouts for Paul. Mrs. Wilcox calms the situation, and it
Mrs. Ruth Wilcox is a woman who
feels a spiritual connection to her seems that she knew what was going on all along, although no
family's home, Howards End, and one mentioned it to her.
Ruth Wilcox knows Margaret is the right person to
own it after her death. She is Mr. Back at the Schlegel home, Wickham Place in London, the
Wilcox's first wife, and he considers
Schlegels attend a concert at which Margaret makes the
her pure and innocent.
acquaintance of Leonard Bast. Helen leaves early, overcome
with emotion at a Beethoven symphony, and takes Mr. Bast's
Mrs. Warrington Wilcox is the sister-
Mrs. Warrington in-law of Mr. Wilcox and mother of a umbrella by accident. Margaret perceives that Mr. Bast
Wilcox small daughter. She is a guest at suspects them of stealing the umbrella, and although she is
Evie's wedding. affronted, she gives him her own card with her address so he

can collect the umbrella. After the performance he walks with example of the poor who deserve to be helped. After the
her to Wickham Place, but feels nervous and refuses to come meeting they happen upon Mr. Wilcox. When they share Mr.
in for tea. Bast's story, Mr. Wilcox asks about his employment. Mr. Bast is
a clerk at an insurance company. According to Mr. Wilcox Mr.
When the Wilcox family move into the apartment across the Bast's company will soon go out of business. The Wilcox
street from Wickham Place, Mrs. Munt worries, but Helen sisters decide to warn Mr. Bast, and he takes their advice,
denies that she is tempted in the least by Paul. She travels eventually securing another job at a bank, although it pays less.
abroad with her cousin, Frieda. Mrs. Wilcox visits Wickham
Place, but Margaret writes her to say she thinks it best if they With their lease running out, Margaret is trying to find a new
don't see each other. Mrs. Wilcox is offended. She had simply place, but she agrees to meet Evie and her fiancé, Mr. Cahill,
called to say that Paul has moved to Africa. Margaret realizes for tea. It turns out to have been orchestrated by Mr. Wilcox
that she has made a mistake and apologizes in person. The who appears and sits next to Margaret. It occurs to Margaret
two women become friends. Mrs. Wilcox invites Margaret to that he may be courting her. At the end of the summer, the
help her with her Christmas shopping. On the trip she learns Schlegels take their annual trip to Swanage to visit their aunt,
that the Schlegels' lease on Wickham Place will end in a couple Mrs. Munt. After they arrive, Margaret receives a telegram from
of years. The thought of their leaving their home upsets Mrs. Mr. Wilcox offering his Dulcie street home for rent if she will
Wilcox, who invites Margaret to visit her beloved country home, come and see it immediately. As he shows her around the
Howards End. Margaret asks if she could do it another time, house, he proposes to her. She later accepts much to the
offending Mrs. Wilcox, for whom the home is a sacred space. resentment of the Wilcox children and to Helen's
disappointment. It comes out that Mr. Wilcox no longer thinks
Shortly before Christmas Mrs. Wilcox grows very sick, and she Mr. Bast's old company is so bad after all, and the Schlegel
writes a note to her husband that she wishes to leave the place sisters are upset that they led Mr. Bast to take a lower paying
to Margaret. Mrs. Wilcox dies. Mr. Wilcox receives the note. In job for no reason.
consultation with his children, they decide to burn the note,
questioning the mental fitness of Mrs. Wilcox when she wrote That August, family and friends travel to the Wilcox's country
it. The children suspect Margaret of influencing their mother home Oniton, a large country estate, for Evie's wedding. On the
when she was weak in order to take the house from them. way there, the car carrying the ladies runs over an animal. The
ladies are herded into another car before they realize what has
Two years later, Jacky Bast, Leonard's wife, a former happened. When Margaret hears a girl scream, she demands
prostitute who pressured him into marrying her, shows up at that Charles turn the car around. He ignores her repeated
Wickham Place. She has found the card Margaret gave Mr. commands, and she leaps from the car, injuring her hand. She
Bast years ago, and as he didn't come home one night, she later apologizes, making it seem as if she is embarrassed by
suspects he may be there. The next day he comes by to her impulsive action, although she has no regrets about it. She
explain. He says his wife was alarmed because he stayed out is learning how to manipulate men for her own purposes. After
all night, walking in the great outdoors. He was inspired by a the wedding, she and Mr. Wilcox see a few new people arrive.
number of books romanticizing adventures in nature. The It is Helen and the Basts. She claims to have found the Basts
sisters are taken with his description of the experience, as well evicted and starving after Mr. Bast lost his job. Helen wants Mr.
as by the sentiment that motivated him. Mr. Bast, a clerk for an Wilcox held responsible for this course of events. Margaret
insurance company, is keenly aware that the Schlegel's says she will handle things with Mr. Wilcox and urges Helen to
independent wealth and cultural knowledge puts them in a find rooms for them at the nearby hotel. When Mr. Wilcox
higher social class. He aspires to improve himself through approaches the house, Jacky recognizes him. It becomes
reading and listening to music. During the visit, he alternates apparent that she once had an affair with Mr. Wilcox, who
between feeling awkward about their class differences and reacts in anger. Margaret, although shocked, decides to
thrilled by the opportunity to discuss books and ideas with forgive Mr. Wilcox.
them.
At the hotel, Helen learns more about the Basts, including Mr.
Later that night, at a ladies discussion group on the social Wilcox's past with Jacky. She is overcome with compassion for
obligations of the rich to the poor, they use Mr. Bast as an Mr. Bast, and the two have sex. In the morning, Helen leaves.

She visits Tibby at Oxford, where he is a student, telling him Margaret tells Mr. Wilcox she is leaving him and will go with
about the problem with the Basts. She tells him to send half of Helen to Germany. Mr. Wilcox tells Margaret that Charles will
her money to Mr. Bast, and that she is about to go abroad. Mr. be charged with manslaughter. When Charles is convicted and
Bast refuses the money, and when Tibby goes to the Bast's sentenced to three years in prison, Mr. Wilcox's spirit is broken.
address, he finds they were evicted and have disappeared. In He asks Margaret to care for him. Fourteen months pass, and
September, Wickham Place is demolished, and the Schlegels Margaret lives at Howards End with Helen, Helen's son, and Mr.
accept Mr. Wilcox's offer to store their things at Howards End. Wilcox. Mr. Wilcox tells his children that he is leaving the house
to Margaret and, after she dies, to her nephew. Margaret
Helen stays away for eight months and sends little information learns of Mrs. Wilcox's bequest, and she is touched. An
in her letters to Margaret. Margaret and Mr. Wilcox marry in a abundant hay harvest comes in.
small ceremony. Margaret and Tibby become concerned about
Helen the longer she stays away, especially when she avoids
visiting, even when it is feared Mrs. Munt is dying. Helen sends
word that she is in London, asking where the family's things are
stored as she would like to get a few books. Now scared that
Helen might be insane, Tibby and Margaret ask Mr. Wilcox for
advice. He makes a plan to trap Helen at Howards End with a
doctor in tow, against her will if needed.
Margaret changes her mind about the plan when she sees how
Mr. Wilcox disregards her about the situation. He tries to leave
her behind and confront Helen without her, but she manages to
jump in his car just as he is leaving for Howards End. She
rushes to the porch of the house ahead of Mr. Wilcox and the
doctor and discovers the reason for Helen's secrecy and
absence. Helen is pregnant. Margaret pushes her inside the
house and tells the men to leave, which they do, although it
angers Mr. Wilcox. Helen wants to stay the night at Howards
End before leaving for Germany permanently the next day.
Margaret knows the plan will displease her husband and his
children, but she asks Mr. Wilcox anyway. He denies her
request, refusing to see any connection between his past with
Jacky and Helen's condition. Margaret condemns him for his
hypocrisy and lack of empathy. The two sisters spend a
peaceful night at Howards End.
In the meantime, Charles has been busy trying to figure out

who must be held accountable for fathering Helen's child. He
learns the truth from Tibby, who inadvertently reveals Mr.
Bast's name by recalling the friends Helen was with at Evie's
wedding. Charles heads to Howards End first thing in the
morning. In the days previously, Mr. Bast, wracked with guilt at
his indiscretion with Helen, had been trying to find Margaret in
order to confess about sleeping with Helen. He eventually
shows up at Howards End the morning after the sisters have
slept in the home. He calls out to Margaret. Charles picks up a
sword and hits Mr. Bast across the shoulders with the flat end
of it. The blow causes Mr. Bast to have a heart attack and die.

Plot Diagram
Climax
11
10
12
9
Falling Action
Rising Action 8
13
7
6 14
5
15
4
Resolution
3
2
1
Introduction
9. Helen goes to Germany.

Introduction
10. Helen returns pregnant; the sisters stay at Howards End.
1. Helen kisses Paul, but the two break up soon after.
Climax
Rising Action 11. Mr. Bast dies of a heart attack when Charles hits him.
2. Margaret and Helen meet Mr. Bast at a concert.
3. Mrs. Wilcox bequeaths Howards End to Margaret and dies.

Falling Action
4. Mr. Bast leaves his job on Mr. Wilcox's advice.
12. Charles tells his father and the police what happened.
5. Margaret marries Mr. Wilcox.
13. Charles is sentenced to three years for manslaughter.
6. Mr. Bast loses his second job, and the Basts are evicted.
14. Mr. Wilcox rejoins his wife at Howards End.
7. Margaret learns of Mr. Wilcox's affair with Jacky.
8. Helen and Mr. Bast sleep together.

Resolution
15. Mr. Wilcox leaves Howards End to Margaret and her

nephew.

Timeline of Events
June, early 20th century
Helen kisses Paul Wilcox at Howards End and writes to

her sister Margaret that she is in love.
Soon after
Mrs. Munt tries to confront the Wilcox family, but Helen

and Paul's relationship is already over.
That fall
The Schlegels meet Mr. Bast after Helen takes his

umbrella home from a concert by mistake.
November
Margaret and Mrs. Wilcox become friends.
A few weeks later
Mrs. Wilcox, now gravely ill, writes her husband a letter

leaving Howards End to Margaret.
Before Christmas
Mrs. Wilcox's funeral takes place at Hilton, near Howards

End.
Two years later
Mr. Bast visits the Schlegel sisters and impresses them

with the story of his nighttime walk.
That night
Mr. Wilcox tells the Schlegels that Mr. Bast's company

will fold, and they decide to warn him.
Soon after
Margaret and Mr. Wilcox become engaged to marry.
Later that summer
Mr. Bast gets a lower paying job at a bank, having left his
previous job on Mr. Wilcox's tip.

Soon after
Mr. Bast loses his job, and he and Jacky struggle to

survive. Helen tries to help them.
August
Helen takes the Basts to Oniton, where Mr. Wilcox's past

affair with Jacky is revealed.
Later that night
Helen and Mr. Bast have sex at the hotel in Oniton.
Shortly after
Helen tells Tibby to give her money to Mr. Bast, who

refuses it, and the Basts disappear.
September
Helen leaves the country, Margaret marries Mr. Wilcox,

and Wickham Place is demolished.
The following spring
Mr. Wilcox and Margaret trick Helen into going to

Howards End, and they see Helen is pregnant.
That evening
Margaret defies her husband, and she and her sister

spend the night at Howards End.
The next morning
Mr. Bast goes to Howards End to confess, and Charles

hits him, causing a fatal heart attack.
Shortly after
Charles is sentenced to three years in prison for

manslaughter, breaking his father's spirit.
Fourteen months later
Margaret, Mr. Wilcox, Helen, and her son live at Howards

End, now willed to Margaret and her nephew.

Howards End Study Guide Chapter Summaries 16
wondering if the Wilcox family appreciates art and culture, as

c Chapter Summaries her own family does. Margaret does not share the same
concerns. She believes that love is intensely personal. If she
were in love she would declare it just as boldly as Helen. In
Chapters 1–2 addition, Margaret would be supportive of her sister, whomever

she fell in love with, even someone of a much lower class. Mrs.
Munt believes that the engagement, which she assumes exists,
must be broken off, and doesn't feel Margaret will handle
Summary things correctly. Margaret, worried about Tibby's health and
wishing to stay with him, agrees to let her aunt go, but urges
Mrs. Munt to speak only to Helen about her concerns.
Chapter 1 Margaret takes her aunt to the station to take the train to
Howards End. The narrator describes train stations as gates to
The first chapter of the novel comprises three letters from
the universe and adventure, but also what people must pass
Helen to Margaret, written from the country home of the
through when they return to their real lives. When Margaret
Wilcox family, Howards End. The two sisters originally met the
returns home, she receives a telegram from Helen saying the
Wilcoxes on a trip abroad. In her first letter, composed on
relationship with Paul is over, and not to tell anyone.
Tuesday, Helen writes that the home is not at all what the
sisters imagined. Instead of a sprawling estate, it is a charming,
small brick home set among gardens and farmland. Next to the
Analysis
home stands a striking wych-elm tree. The hay in the pastures
is making the Wilcox family sneeze. Helen laments that her The author introduces the setting from which the title of the
brother Tibby's hay fever prevents Margaret, who is caring for novel is derived: Howards End, the home of the Wilcoxes. The
him back at home, from joining her. house is almost another character in and of itself. It is a
peaceful bucolic home, rather small but idyllic. Its rural setting
Helen describes the home and the habits of its inhabitants as if
adds to the sense that Howards End is set apart, a refuge from
she were watching a play. Mrs. Wilcox is a quiet lady who
the modern, bustling city of London, where Margaret and
enjoys the gardens of her home, while Mr. Wilcox is a forceful
Helen, the novel's two main characters, reside.
man who effectively talks Helen out of her views of women's
equality, as she describes in her second letter. The eldest son, Margaret and Helen are sisters. Margaret is the elder sister,
Charles, enjoys practicing croquet and taking the family and tasked with caring for their sickly younger brother, Tibby. This
visitor for drives to see local scenery. Evie is the Wilcox's action, as well as her concern for her sister after the alarming
daughter, and their younger son Paul is due to arrive on letter in which Helen declares that she and Paul are in love,
Wednesday. The family persuades Helen to stay a few more shows that Margaret is responsible, caring, and loyal, with a
days than she intended. On Sunday Helen writes a brief letter special vibrancy all her own. She may not be "beautiful, but
declaring that "Paul and I are in love." [she is] supremely brilliant," and full of life, expressing "a
continual and sincere response to all that she encounter[s]."
She is also in touch with the world of emotion and compassion,
Chapter 2 claiming she would shout her love from the rooftops, like her
sister, and that she would be supportive of her sister no matter
Margaret discusses Helen's announcement with their Aunt
the social class of Helen's lover.
Juley, also known as Mrs. Munt. The Schlegel family, who are
part German, live in an expensive apartment in London, a type Helen proves an entertaining, observant, and responsive
of dwelling doomed to be torn down to make way for the ever- correspondent with a taste for drama. She is also gregarious
expanding urbanization of the city. Margaret wants to go to and outgoing, showing a real affection for the Wilcoxes during
Howards End to be with her sister. Mrs. Munt is concerned at her visit. In contrast to her sister Margaret, Helen is impetuous
the sudden declaration of love, and worries that they know so and rash. She follows her romantic heart recklessly: she
little of the Wilcox family. She asks, "Are they our sort?" declares herself in love with Paul, for example, whom she

barely knows, almost immediately. Helen is also quite

changeable. It appears from her discussions with Mr. Wilcox Chapters 3–4
about women's suffrage that she is easily influenced.
From the first chapter, readers may gather that women's rights Summary
will be a concern of the novel. Helen expresses support for the
equality of women before Mr. Wilcox seems to dissuade her
from the position. Readers may also infer that Helen and Chapter 3
Margaret's family is matriarchal, as Margaret is in charge of her
younger brother and Helen to some extent, being helped by an On her train ride to Hilton, Mrs. Munt reflects on her late sister
older aunt. These women think and make decisions about the Emily's two daughters, Margaret and Helen, thinking them two
family, without the authority of a man. Feminist concerns of the "independent young women" very much in need of her
day will appear throughout the novel. guidance. They have declined her many offers to be their
caretaker after their parents' deaths. When they come of age,
The first chapter of the novel is written in epistolary style. This
she encourages them to switch their investments to safer local
type of writing, made up of letters written and sent between
railways, rather than international companies, even as British
characters, is a traditional technique of some of the first novels
shares decline in value. She also disapproves of the company
written in English. The most famous of these is probably
they keep, as they regularly invite people from varying
Pamela; or Virtue Rewarded (1740) by Samuel Richardson,
backgrounds come to their home for lively discussions of ideas
which is entirely made up of written correspondence. The
and current events.
letters and telegrams in the first two chapters of Howards End
not only introduce readers to the novel's setting and Mrs. Munt happens to meet Charles Wilcox at the train station,
characters, but they also point to the theme of connection. thinking that he is Paul. He offers to take her to Howards End
Letters serve as forms of communication connecting the in his car after he collects a package. He yells at the porter
characters to each other when they are separated because he believes that he is taking too long and tells Mrs.
geographically. When similar letters appear sporadically in later Munt he would fire everyone at the station if he were in charge.
chapters, they often signal important moments when In the car, Mrs. Munt reveals her mission, and so goes against
characters succeed or fail to connect, meaning to Margaret's advice to speak to Helen alone. When Charles
communicate or understand each other. understands her to mean that Helen is romantically involved
with Paul, he becomes angry. He explains that Paul has no
The crisis of the relationship between Helen and Paul,
money and is about to leave for Nigeria, making marriage
announced so abruptly in Chapter 1, sets into motion the
impossible for him for many years. Mrs. Munt is deeply
conflict around which the whole novel will grow—the
offended by what she feels is Charles's disparagement of
connection between the Wilcox and the Schlegel families and
Helen, and the two insult each other's families. Helen meets
the as yet unclear role of Howards End in that relationship. The
them as they arrive, telling her aunt that the relationship with
two families are set to meet, as Aunt Juley boards a train to
Paul is over and begging her not to tell anyone. Mrs. Munt cries,
Howards End, under less than favorable circumstances.
and Charles yells for his brother. Mrs. Wilcox, hearing the
Margaret urges her aunt to speak only to Helen of her
commotion, quietly handles the situation. She has intuited what
concerns about the relationship between Helen and Paul,
has happened and explains to Charles that Paul and Helen are
worried that her aunt may offend the Wilcox family. Aunt Juley
no longer in love.
is equally dubious of Margaret's ability to handle the delicate
situation properly. Helen's urgent telegram announcing the end
of her very brief relationship with Paul adds suspense to the Chapter 4
rising action because Aunt Juley has left already and will arrive
at Howards End without this key piece of information. Readers Mrs. Munt convinces herself as time goes on that she had
wonder what will happen between the two families when she helped her nieces with their trouble with the Wilcox family.
arrives, and if she will take Margaret's advice to speak only to Helen realizes that she had really been in love, not with Paul
Helen about Paul. but with the family and their way of life at Howards End. While

there, she abandoned all her "Schlegel fetiches [sic]" in favor The author also sets up a contrast between romanticism and
of their value system, which is more traditionally class- modernity, a central theme of the novel, by highlighting the
conscious and materialistic. It includes talking down to differences between the Schlegels and the Wilcoxes. The
servants, and Helen wonders if the family is "just a wall of narrator describes Mr. Schlegel as a German of the country of
newspapers, and motor-cars and golf clubs ... with nothing Hegel and Kant, two German philosophers who posited the
behind it but panic and emptiness." centrality of the spiritual in interpreting experience of reality,
and contrasts this to the rationalism and commercialism of
Paul had seen an opportunity with Helen and told her he loved modern Germany. Margaret and Helen are firmly convinced
her under the wych-elm before the two shared a kiss. Helen that the inner life of relationships and ideas is the real life, not
noticed the fear in Paul's face the next morning and knew it the outer life they associate with the Wilcox family,
meant their love was over and that "the Wilcox family was a summarized by Helen as "a fraud ... a wall of newspapers, and
fraud": they were taken up by "the outer world" of "telegrams motor-cars and golf clubs ... with nothing behind it but panic
and anger" and failed to recognize "that personal relations are and emptiness." Yet, readers may wonder why the Wilcoxes so
the real life." Helen and Paul had agreed they had "lost [their] captivate Helen that she is happy to cast all her values aside.
heads" when they kissed. Helen received Margaret's telegram Perhaps the lure of modernity is strong but is revealed as
that Aunt Juley was on her way, but it was too late to stop her. fraudulent in the light of further scrutiny, much as Helen finds
The kiss remains, however a romantic, transcendent moment the Wilcox family to be flawed when she reflects upon her
that lives on for Helen throughout her life. experience with Paul. Indeed the trauma of the event solidifies
her commitment to her former romantic values.
The Schlegels' father had been a German who married their
mother, Emily, an Englishwoman. Mr. Schlegel had been not the In Chapters 3 and 4 the author develops the character of well-
modern, commercial, nationalistic sort of German, but the intentioned and misguided Mrs. Munt, referred to as Aunt Juley
German of "Hegel and Kant ... [an] idealist, inclined to be by Margaret and Helen. She certainly loves her nieces and
dreamy." The staunch national pride in Germany of the worries for their well-being. She offered many times over the
Schlegel relatives rivaled Mrs. Munt's British patriotism, and years to be their caretaker in the wake of their parents' deaths.
Margaret recognized even as a child that "either God does not Mrs. Munt has an odd personality trait of "distorting the past,"
know his own mind about England and Germany, or else these which allows her to view herself and her actions in a positive
do not know the mind of God." The two sisters are similar in light. The narrator explains that she comes to convince herself
their views, although Helen is more social and open to the over time that her blunder at the Wilcox home was really a
influence of other people, while Margaret more introspective favor she did for her nieces, saving Helen from her error in
and reserved. judgment about Paul, although this is clearly not the case. She
is also thoroughly convinced about the superiority of her
homeland, urging the girls to invest in British companies, rather
Analysis than foreign ones, seemingly oblivious to the fact that British
railway stocks are steadily in decline. She is dubious about the
In Chapter 3 the author introduces the first examples of
freedom that her nieces enjoy, especially when it comes to the
mysticism into the novel, suggesting that Mrs. Wilcox was
company they keep. All these factors cause Mrs. Munt to
guided by the voices of her ancestors as she intervened in the
believe that they need her guidance and oversight, although
disturbance between Mrs. Munt and Charles. No one has told
from evidence in just in the first few chapters, readers may
her of Paul and Helen's relationship, yet she seems to
doubt both the necessity of such a role as well as her ability to
understand perfectly what has transpired between them.
fulfill it.
Mysticism, notions of the supernatural, and the idea of the
inner life of ideas and dreams are expanded through the Readers learn more of Charles's personality in both chapters,
description of Mr. Schlegel as well as in the conversation too. Not unlike Mrs. Munt, Charles is supremely self-confident.
between Margaret and Helen about the inner versus outer He shouts at the porter at the train station for taking too long
world in Chapter 4. These concepts stand in contrast to the to get a package, believing he would run the station better if he
bustling world of "telegrams and anger" represented by the were in charge. He declares that servants are too ignorant to
Wilcox family. recognize manners, so one needn't be polite to them. Charles

clearly believes his family's money makes him superior to just culture. He aspires to gain all that they have in the way of class
about everyone, including his younger brother, thinking him a and culture, although the narrator claims it is impossible
fool. Forceful and domineering, he easily persuades Helen, at because people like Mr. Bast are "inferior to most rich people."
least for a time, of the correctness of his views. Democracy has made people like Mr. Bast, who would have
been quite content with their status and income before its
existence, feel "obliged to assert gentility, lest he slipped into
Chapters 5–6 the abyss where nothing counts." Despite struggling financially,
Mr. Bast continues to try to educate himself, attending
classical concerts and reading about art.
Summary He returns to his basement apartment after leave the Schlegel

home. He reads some John Ruskin, a 19th-century art critic
who writes about Venice, marking his place with Margaret's
Chapter 5 card, before his fiancée Jacky, who "[is] not respectable,"
returns. The implication is that Jacky was once a prostitute.
The Schlegel family, their German cousin, Frieda Mosebach,
She asks Leonard repeatedly if he loves her, and he says he
and Frieda's suitor, Herr Liesecke, attend a concert. Helen is
has promised to marry her when he turns 21, which will be in
engrossed in the music, imagining vibrant scenes to
November. He makes them dinner before she goes to bed.
accompany Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and leaves the
When she calls to him, he ignores her and tries to finish the
performance early, overcome with emotion. She mistakenly
chapter in the book he is reading.
takes the umbrella of a young man who has been talking with
Margaret about the performance. Margaret apologizes and
asks for his address so they may return it. He declines,
Analysis
suspecting they are trying to trick him in order to rob him.
When she offers him her card, with her address on it, so he can
Chapters 5 and 6 introduce readers to Leonard Bast, a poor
retrieve his umbrella, he seems relieved and in turn offers to
clerk with a great desire to improve his station in life. His
take a forgotten purse to Frieda when she and her boyfriend
introduction establishes an important theme in the novel: the
leave the concert early. Margaret walks home with the young
contrast between the rich and the poor. People like the
man, Mrs. Munt, and Tibby, speaking of music and culture, a
Schlegels are well-off enough that they have a comfortable life
conversation in which the young man wishes he could fully
and don't have to work. Their time is their own. Leonard Bast,
participate. As a member of the working class, he lacks the
on the other hand, is surviving, but scarcely thriving, as he lives
free time or education which allows the Schlegels to devote
in "genteel poverty," a life defined by working and just getting
time to the arts. At Wickham Place, Helen jokes about stealing
by financially, as he struggles to improve himself.
umbrellas and notes the worn state of the young man's. The
young man leaves without staying to tea. Margaret regrets that Mr. Bast is a man pulled between his reality and what he longs
their home is "irrevocably feminine," and that Tibby is not "a to achieve. He is ambitious, and he envies the Schlegels for
real boy" whose masculinity could have made the young man their ease of knowledge about the arts. Although quite
feel more welcome. dissatisfied with his current standard of living and education,
Bast is trapped by his relationship with and sense of duty to
Jacky, whom he has promised to marry. He seems to be both
Chapter 6 the primary breadwinner as well as the housekeeper and cook
in their relationship. She is dependent upon him not only
The narrator states that the book is not about the "very poor"
financially but emotionally, needing constant reassurance of
but about the "gentlefolk, or those who are obliged to pretend
his devotion. Even in his grim basement apartment after he has
that they are gentlefolk." The young man from the previous
cooked a meager dinner, Mr. Bast tries to focus on improving
chapter, Leonard Bast, is of the latter camp. He does not like
himself by reading Ruskin. He has also protected her (and
to think himself inferior to people like the Schlegel sisters. He
himself) by being somewhat dishonest about their relationship,
sees them as having their hands "upon the ropes" of art and
neglecting to tell his brother about Jacky because he would

"stop" the relationship, and pretending to their neighbors that

they are already married, likely to avoid looking socially Chapters 7–8
improper because they unmarried and are living together.
The narrator seems to assert in Chapter 5 that arts and culture Summary
are a privilege of the upper class. The "young man," revealed
as Leonard Bast in Chapter 6, wishes that he could talk of
music and art as Margaret does. But the narrator reflects on Chapter 7
the fact that working people like Bast, who have only a couple
of hours a day to devote to such notions, have no hope of Mrs. Munt warns Margaret that the Wilcox family have moved
catching up to people like Margaret who has the leisure to into the apartment across the street from Wickham Place, and
pursue culture and has "been reading steadily from childhood." she worries that Helen's feelings for Paul may be renewed
because of their proximity. Margaret believes Helen's feelings
In Chapter 6 the narrator takes this reasoning a step further,
for Paul are gone. When they tell Helen the news, she blushes,
arguing that the poor are coarse, inferior, and incapable of
causing both women concern.
achieving the same level of cultural appreciation of art as the
rich because the class system has stacked the deck against Margaret and her aunt go to the registry office to try to secure
them: "[Mr. Bast's] mind and body had been alike underfed, a maid. Margaret can only get a temporary servant because of
because he was poor, and because he was modern they were complaints about the amount of stairs in her home. Margaret
always craving better food." This contrasts with cultured comments that the money she and her siblings draw each year
people of leisure, who "had never been dirty or hungry, and had "pads the edges of things," and that the rich would do well to
not guessed successfully what dirt and hunger are." A lack of remember that they "stand upon money as upon islands." Less
money irrevocably stunts the poor's ability to develop as more fortunate people are not free to love those they wish or to
well-off people can. The reason for this inequality is avoid those they despise. Margaret is grateful for their money,
democracy itself, with its insistence that "all men are equal." and tells Helen that they could go away for a while to avoid the
This leads people like Mr. Bast to wish, and often pretend, to Wilcox family if she wishes. Helen announces that she has
be more cultured, capable, and prosperous than they really are plans to go abroad with her cousin Frieda for a time, but insists
or will ever be allowed to be. that she could never fall for Paul again regardless.
In Chapter 5 the author contrasts the masculine and feminine

in the Schlegel and Wilcox homes. In the wake of Leonard Chapter 8
Bast's fleeing with his umbrella after encountering Helen,
Margaret laments that their home is a feminine one. She says On the day Helen and Frieda are to depart, Mrs. Wilcox pays
they must avoid the danger of being effeminate, while more the Schlegel family a call. Margaret writes Mrs. Wilcox a letter
masculine homes, like that of the Wilcox family, must avoid the suggesting they not see each other because of her instinct
danger of being "brutal." Margaret wishes Tibby was more about Paul and Helen. Mrs. Wilcox rebukes Margaret in a brief
typically masculine in order to make male visitors feel more at reply, telling her she had only called on them to let them know
home. There is some speculation that Tibby, with his more that Paul had left for Africa. Margaret realizes that her mistake
stereotypically feminine interests in music and culture, is a has offended Mrs. Wilcox. She goes across the street to
portrait of Forster himself, who some believe to have been apologize in person and is shown into Mrs. Wilcox's bedroom,
homosexual. It is interesting that Margaret identifies the where the lady is taking a day in bed. Margaret tries to make
danger of the masculine with physical and emotional violence, amends, and Mrs. Wilcox admits that she too has been worried
which she encapsulates as "brutal," while the danger of the about Paul and Helen. They are both relieved because the two
feminine home is simply to be effeminate and therefore young people are now far apart. Margaret and Mrs. Wilcox chat
essentially too feminine. about Charles's recent marriage to Dolly Fussell.
Mrs. Wilcox shares that she was born at Howards End, as well
as some of the folklore of the house. Pigs' teeth are embedded

in the trunk of the wych-elm beside the house, and chewing on share the same concern about Paul and Helen. The two
its bark is said to cure toothaches. Margaret claims to "love women seem to return to the friendship and affinity they had
folklore and all festering superstitions." Mrs. Wilcox enjoys her felt for one another before the whole debacle at Howards End.
visit and remarks that she finds Margaret inexperienced but
well-spoken. The women also discover a shared affinity for the folklore of
Mrs. Wilcox's childhood home, Howards End. The importance
of the house is becoming more pronounced as the novel goes
Analysis on. In this case, readers learn more of the lore of Howards End
and its deep connection to Mrs. Wilcox herself. She was born
In Chapter 7 readers learn that the Schlegel family belongs to a there and knows all the stories of the place, including the lore
class of people which blossomed after the Industrial of the wych-elm. The superstition about the pigs' teeth
Revolution called the independent, or rentier, class. Individuals embedded in its trunk enchants Margaret, who declares her
in this class did not work but lived off yearly payouts from their love for all such romantic notions, a connection between the
investments. Margaret is thankful for the money that she and two women which the novel will explore more in coming
her siblings draw upon each year in this way. It is the chapters.
foundation upon which their lives rest, granting them freedom,
ease, and independence that many others do not enjoy. She
notes how her wealth and the Wilcox's allow them "to stand Chapters 9–10
upon money as upon islands. It is so firm beneath our feet that
we forget its very existence." Margaret's metaphor of islands
represents how money shelters and protects them, but also Summary
disconnects them from people unlike themselves. Readers may
also recall how Mr. Bast's view of money differs from
Margaret's: he is constantly aware of financial instability and Chapter 9
vulnerability and the limitations that poverty imposes upon his
life. Margaret's role as a maternal figure and head of household
after her parents' deaths exonerates her from Mrs. Wilcox's
In Chapter 7 Margaret visits a registry office in hopes of hiring
accusation of inexperience. Her efforts to entertain Mrs.
a maid. In England around the turn of the twentieth century,
Wilcox at a luncheon with her intellectual friends, however,
registry offices connected employers with servants. Servants
doesn't succeed. The young people's discussion of art and
registered themselves with descriptions of their skills and
ideas goes over Mrs. Wilcox's head. She expresses the opinion
provided references. Potential employers relied on the registry
that such talk should be left to men. One of the female guests
to provide suitable candidates. It seems from this chapter that
concedes that "the arguments against suffrage are
servants shared information with each other about employers
extraordinarily strong," and Mrs. Wilcox says she is glad not to
as well, as Margaret cannot find a steady maid, only a
have the vote. Margaret believes the issue is more far-reaching
temporary one, on account of the number of stairs in Wickham
than the vote—women should be allowed to progress the same
Place. This tidbit of information subtly calls into question the
way men have. Margaret worries that Mrs. Wilcox has not
statements about the power Margaret claims comes along with
enjoyed herself, and Mrs. Wilcox says that she isn't feeling well
her wealth and the utter dependence and misery of those
but assures Margaret that she is used to being out of her
without it. Perhaps even the poor have some agency, and the
depth at home during her children's conversations as well.
rich are not as independent as they like to think.
Margaret's friends think Mrs. Wilcox is boring.
In Chapter 8 the relationship between the Schlegel and Wilcox

families shifts. What was an uncomfortable interaction in which
Chapter 10
they try to keep two young lovers apart transforms into a
friendship between Margaret and Mrs. Wilcox. Once the
Margaret waits impatiently to hear from Mrs. Wilcox, worrying
awkwardness of living across the street from each other is
that she doesn't really want to be friends. She is relieved when
broken by Margaret's ill-considered letter, they learn that they

Mrs. Wilcox asks her for help doing her Christmas shopping. relinquishes her plans, seemingly without a second thought, as
She has had another few days in bed and she seems tired. Her soon as her husband and daughter unexpectedly arrive at the
family is out of town on a car trip. Margaret is struck by the train station.
commercialization of what is supposed to be religious holiday.
She mentions in passing to Mrs. Wilcox that the Schlegel family Also in Chapter 10 readers come to understand more about
will need to move in two or three years because their lease on the importance of Howards End to Mrs. Wilcox. It is a "Holy of
Wickham Place will be up. Mrs. Wilcox feels sorry for the Holies" that she has offered to share with Margaret. This is a
Schlegels and says she would rather die than leave Howards reference to the most holy place in the Jewish tabernacle and
End. She invites Margaret to visit her childhood home that temple, the place in which the Ark of the Covenant sits, where
afternoon, but Margaret declines and asks if she could go God's presence dwells. The only person allowed in the Holy of
another time. Mrs. Wilcox coldly opts to go home. Margaret Holies was the High Priest, and he only once a year. By
soon realizes that she has offended Mrs. Wilcox to whom comparing Howards End to the Holy of Holies, the author
Howards End is a passion, a "Holy of Holies." She rushes to the conveys just how sacred and special the home is to Mrs.
train station to try to meet her on her way to Howards End. Wilcox, as well as the significance of her invitation to share the
Just as the two meet, Evie and Mr. Wilcox happen appear. place with Margaret.
Their driving holiday ended in a car crash, so they are home

In Chapter 10 the author includes news of a significant plot
early. Mrs. Wilcox and Margaret agree to go to Howards End
development: the Schlegels will have to leave Wickham Place
another time. The Wilcoxes exit together, leaving Margaret by
in a couple of years when their lease expires. They have lived
herself.
there all their lives. The idea of the Schlegels leaving their
childhood home concerns Mrs. Wilcox, but does not seem to
bother Margaret. Readers will learn in coming chapters how
Analysis the Schlegels' change of residence will have repercussions on
all the characters, though they may not imagine it at this point.
In both chapters the author further develops the character of
Mrs. Wilcox. Readers see more evidence of the affinity Mrs.
Wilcox feels for Margaret. At first, the women seem
disconnected. Margaret's luncheon for her in Chapter 9 is not
Chapters 11–12
a success because Mrs. Wilcox contrasts awkwardly with the
other guests. They represent a more modern frame of mind,
discussing current events and politics at a high speed, as Summary
Margaret admits, like "gibbering monkeys." For them, modern
life is fast, intense, and forward-looking. It is focused on
change, reflected in their interest in women getting the right to Chapter 11
vote.
A woodcutter views Mrs. Wilcox's funeral in Hilton from an elm
Mrs. Wilcox is more attached to the traditions of the past. She tree he is pruning. The villagers attending the funeral
has lived a life of service to her husband and children, deferring remember her as a kind woman, one of "the old sort." After the
to them in almost everything. She says she is relieved to leave funeral, the man finishes cutting the tree limb, which falls down.
the responsibility of voting to her husband, and seems to He steals a chrysanthemum from a bouquet at the funeral. The
accept that matters of art, culture, and social issues should be next morning, returning from seeing his girlfriend, he wishes
left to men to discuss or act upon. Even her children's he'd taken the whole bouquet of flowers.
conversation is beyond her grasp, a fact she simply accepts.
She shows her confidence in Margaret by asking her for help Evie, Charles, Dolly, and Mr. Wilcox are at Howards End the
with Christmas shopping and offers her intimacy by inviting day after the funeral, each mourning Mrs. Wilcox differently.
Margaret to Howards End. However, it is Mrs. Wilcox's family, Dolly wishes her death had not cut short her honeymoon with
rather than any friends, to whom she has the greatest Charles. Mr. Wilcox remembers his wife as steady and virtuous.
allegiance. In Chapter 10, although she wants to travel to He only resents that she hadn't told him of her illness and had
Howards End to show Margaret her favorite place, Mrs. Wilcox died so suddenly. When Charles is out in the garage looking

over his car, which he believes has been driven in his absence, and concentrate on the "unseen," the world of ideas and the
Dolly comes out to tell him about a letter Mr. Wilcox has arts. Margaret now sees that it is her job to reconcile the two.
received. It has something to do with Margaret Schlegel and The author inserts a plot twist in Chapter 11 with Mrs. Wilcox's
the house. Mr. Wilcox is annoyed at Dolly for disobeying him by unexpected death and bequest to Margaret of Howards End
speaking of the matter out in the open. that expands on this theme.
He brings the family together to share the news that he has Looking back, signs of Mrs. Wilcox's illness were present. All
received a letter from a matron at the nursing home where those days she stayed in bed, the times Margaret saw how she
Mrs. Wilcox had been staying. The matron has forwarded a looked tired, the times she said that she didn't feel well, were
brief note from Mrs. Wilcox expressing her desire that all clues to her impending demise. Still the sudden start of the
Howards End be left to Margaret. Dolly says such a note chapter with a funeral scene, but without naming the person
cannot be legally binding, an obvious fact the others dismiss. who has died for several paragraphs, adds to the shock of the
Charles and his father discuss instead if the handwriting is event.
actually that of Mrs. Wilcox, whether she may have been
unduly influenced by Margaret, and if Mrs. Wilcox even knew Even more surprising to readers and the Wilcox family is Mrs.
what she was doing when she wrote the note. Mr. Wilcox does Wilcox's deathbed bequest of her dearest possession,
not believe Margaret influenced Mrs. Wilcox, although Charles Howards End, to Margaret. The tension this creates for her
and Evie remain suspicious. All feel the bequest is a betrayal family leads to the novel's ultimate climax. Mrs. Wilcox's wish to
on Mrs. Wilcox's part, and they decide to decline her last wish leave her childhood home to Margaret shows just what Mrs.
and burn the note. They fail to understand that to her, Howards Wilcox saw in her—a "spiritual heir" to the house that was not
End was more than a home: it "had been a spirit, for which she bricks and mortar to her, but a living soul. Her desire for
sought a spiritual heir." friendship with Margaret now makes more sense, as does her
impulsive, impassioned invitation for Margaret to visit Howards
End earlier in the novel.
Chapter 12
Mr. Wilcox and his children genuinely mourn Mrs. Wilcox's
Margaret tells Helen, just back from her trip to Germany, that death, but their response to her loss shows how their
she received a letter from Charles Wilcox, asking if his mother perception of her has limitations. His children's grief "though
had given her something. Margaret replied that Mrs. Wilcox less poignant than their father's," is authentic, even if it may not
had said something about a Christmas gift. She is charmed by initially seem so, with Charles complaining peevishly about his
the small present of a silver vinaigrette, or small decorative car. Mr. Wilcox is genuinely upset, but he also sees Mrs. Wilcox
bottle, that Mr. Wilcox sends in response. She thinks him kind in a stereotypical way, as the quintessential Victorian
and admires the Wilcox family "grit." She contrasts their value wife—passive, "innocent," and "tender." Once the family
of the seen with the Schlegel value of the unseen, urging Helen discovers that she has left Howards End to Margaret, it is clear
"not to contrast the two, but to reconcile them." Tibby attends that the Wilcoxes never understood how meaningful the house
Oxford but remains friendless. Margaret reflects on the was to her. In fact, they immediately change their positive
changes in her life over the previous six months and the feelings toward Mrs. Wilcox as a result: "Yesterday they
changeability of life, calling it "dangerous" and "unmanageable lamented: she was a dear mother, a true wife ... today they
because it is a romance, and its essence is romantic beauty." thought: "She was not as true, as dear, as we supposed." The
Wilcoxes feel betrayed and consider her bequest
"treacherous." This reveals an uncomfortable truth about them:
Analysis their personal relationships are outweighed by the importance
of property and possessions.
In Chapter 12 the author raises the theme of bridging the gap
In Chapter 12 Margaret doesn't realize the duplicity of
between romanticism and modern life by again contrasting the
Charles's letter. She thinks he is being kind, inquiring if there is
Wilcox and Schlegel families. Margaret is attracted to the
anything left undone as he takes care of his mother's affairs
grittiness of the Wilcox family, so in command of the "seen,"
after her death. She mistakes the small gift they send her as a
the practical, material world. In contrast, the Schlegels value

sign of their generosity. Readers, however, know more than encounter with him at the symphony years before. He explains
Margaret about the Wilcox family and their largely negative that Jacky was worried when he didn't return home. He had
reaction to Mrs. Wilcox's bequest. As a result, they can infer gone for a long walk, walking all night in fact, trying to get back
the real motive behind Charles's question, which was to to nature as he had read about in several works, mostly
ascertain whether Margaret was aware of his late mother's romantic fiction. Margaret and Helen admire his spontaneous
desire to leave her Howards End. He doesn't trust her. She nighttime adventure, praising him for "pushing back the
clearly knew nothing of it, and continues to be unaware of boundaries" rather than just dreaming. They have plans for the
Charles's resentment and mistrust. Mr. Wilcox, on the other evening and their transportation arrives. When they invite him
hand, feels sure that Margaret is "honest," and is not as to come again, he declines saying, "things so often get
suspicious of her as his son, but his gift to her of a small silver spoiled." He treasures his talk with them as a bright spot in his
bottle, minuscule in comparison to a house, suggests that he otherwise gray existence, knowing it was something Jacky will
may be deliberately concealing his wife's gift to her of Howards never understand and can never touch.
End.
Analysis
Chapters 13–14
Chapters 13 and 14 reintroduce Jacky and Mr. Bast. Although
Jacky is unnamed in Chapter 13 and the Schlegels have never
met her, readers may guess her identity because she asks for
Summary "Lan" or "Len," similar to the name of her husband, Leonard
Bast. They might even guess that Margaret's card that
Leonard used as a bookmark is what led her to the Schlegels'
Chapter 13 home. Jacky seems much the same, petty and jealous, as does
Mr. Bast, ambitious but haggard. He is still reading books and
Two years later, the lease on Wickham Place is almost up, and
aspiring to be more than he is, and he does a lot of name-
Margaret is trying to decide where to move the family next.
dropping of authors in his conversation with the Schlegels,
The landlord intends to tear down their house and build
seemingly oblivious to the groans of Helen and Tibby at some
apartments. Tibby is in his second year at Oxford and tells his
of the books he mentions.
sisters he has no desire to have an occupation even though
Margaret encourages him to pursue some sort of work. Helen
Mr. Bast succeeds in impressing Helen and Margaret, however,
says that she thinks working women will soon be the norm as
with the description of his nighttime adventure. It is inspired by
well. Margaret holds up Paul Wilcox as an example to Tibby, as
the books he has read, which often describe characters
Paul returned to Nigeria, even after an illness, to do his duty in
embracing nature, a characteristic of much romantic literature.
the family business.
He relishes the sisters' obvious approval, so much so that he is
unwilling to risk another encounter with the women he so
Helen tells her siblings that a woman has just visited the house
admires, worried that "things so often get spoiled." The class
looking for her husband. Although Helen told her no such
differences between him and the Schlegels continue to
person was there and that she had never met him, the lady
undercut their ability to connect fully, but for a brief period of
insisted she had reason to think he was in the house, but finally
time, Mr. Bast is able to speak to them "with a flow, an
left. Helen and Tibby are amused by the incident, but it is
exultation, that he had seldom known." The sisters, too, move
distasteful to Margaret.
beyond their preconceptions of him as a predictable type who
wants to improve himself to see him as a "born adventurer."
Chapter 14
In Chapter 14 the author again contrasts the romantic with the
modern. Leonard Bast's life is described as gray and hopeless,
The next day Leonard Bast visits the Schlegels and apologizes
yet he aspires to the ideals and experiences he has read about
for his wife's visit, explaining that she thought he was paying
in so many romantic novels. For one night he tries to escape
them a call because he had their card. They do not recall their
the crowded, polluted, busy city of London to explore the

woods, walking as far as he can. Bast admits that he was the debate at the discussion group. He does not venture to add
disappointed to find that the dawn, rather than fulfilling his to their ideas except to ask about the man who is its subject.
romantic ideals in a burst of light and color, is simply "gray," a When he learns that Mr. Bast is a clerk for the Porphyrion Fire
color Forster associates with the soulless urbanization of Insurance Company, he tells Helen and Margaret that they
London and the sad lives of many of its habitants. Although he should advise the man to leave and get another job. Mr. Wilcox
admits that the dawn was less than revelatory and the walk believes the company will go out of business soon. The sisters
somewhat boring, he has done more than the Schlegel women are concerned for Mr. Bast and decide to write to him with this
have done in his attempt to touch the sublime. They are news. Mr. Wilcox also tells them that he and his family are not
impressed that he has accomplished "the spirit that led Jeffries living at Howards End, which they no longer feels meets their
to write [his books]." needs, but have rented it to a tenant.
Leonard Bast mentions a number of 19th-century authors with

whom readers of the day would have been familiar, all of whom Chapter 16
wrote works which focused on nature, roadways, or which
included characters who interacted with nature as a significant In answer to the Schlegels' letter, Mr. Bast comes to tea. He
point of the plot. Richard Jeffries was a British novelist whose wants to speak of literature, but Margaret and Helen ask him
work centered around nature and who penned books with about his workplace, wishing to convey Mr. Wilcox's warning
such titles as The Open Air (1885) and Field and Hedgerow and advice that the company is likely to close. Mr. Bast thinks
(1900). Robert Louis Stevenson, referred to familiarly as R.L.S. of the sisters as "Romance ... and he would not let Romance
in the chapter, is best known for his novel Treasure Island, a interfere with his life." He suspects that the sisters are trying to
tale of adventure and pirates in the wild. E.V. Lucas is also get inside information about the company in order to turn a
mentioned as the author of a book called The Open Road. He profit in some way. Just as he is leaving in a huff, Evie and Mr.
wrote a regular newspaper column titled "The Wanderers Wilcox arrive with some puppies. Margaret tries to explain her
Notebook." Leonard Bast cites the works of these authors and intentions to Mr. Bast, although he exasperates her. She
others as the inspiration for his overnight tromp through argues that the Schlegels too "struggle against life's daily
London and beyond. He may also be name-dropping to show grayness." Mr. Bast leaves, and Helen goes after him. Mr.
the Schlegel sisters that he is well read, like they are. Wilcox doesn't think the Schlegel sisters should interact with
people like Mr. Bast, explaining that "they aren't our sort." He
also explains that people like Mr. Bast have a right to govern
Chapters 15–16 their own lives without interference and may be far happier
than others suppose. Mr. Wilcox and Evie are titillated at the
idea of Mr. Bast's nighttime stroll, suspecting him of risqué, or
indecent, motives. But Mr. Wilcox becomes a bit jealous of Mr.
Summary
Bast when Margaret insists that he is "a real man" who likes
adventure, just like Mr. Wilcox. Evie tells her father she likes
Helen a bit but doesn't care for Margaret. The narrator says
Chapter 15
that a suitor and marriage are in Evie's near future.
The Schlegel sisters go to a dinner and discussion group with

other women. The topic is how the rich should spend their
money. The Schlegel sisters bring up Mr. Bast, who is then
Analysis
used as a stand-in for all poor people in their debate about the
The question of the responsibility of the rich to deal with the ills
obligation of the rich to the poor. Margaret argues that the
of modern society was a very real and disputed one, as
poor should each be given a large, annual sum of money, in
illustrated in the differing opinions of the ladies at the dinner
order to learn to become independent, rather than small,
party in Chapter 15. Forster explores, rather explicitly, through
irregular bits of charity. The sisters happen upon Mr. Wilcox as
the ladies' discussion circle, the social responsibility the
they sit outside after the meeting. He is richer and more
bourgeois felt so keenly in the wake of the Industrial
successful than ever and enjoys hearing about the subject of
Revolution. This was a time when the newly super-rich, like

railway and steel magnate Andrew Carnegie in America, began Margaret does not understand, however, is Mr. Bast's sense of
to set up charitable organizations to benefit society and the pride or shame about the class differences between them,
less fortunate, believing it the duty of the wealthy to improve which Mr. Wilcox's clear division in his own mind between the
society with their excess funds. These types of organizations haves and have-nots makes evident. In turn, Mr. Wilcox fails to
created large-scale social programs from the Carnegie understand Margaret's attempt to create a bridge between
Corporation's funding of libraries and universities to smaller, themselves and Mr. Bast, warning her that she "behave[s]
more local efforts like soup kitchens and clothing drives. There much too well to people."
was a school of thought that held to the worry of the "earnest
girl" in the discussion group that giving money to the poor Readers see in Chapter 16 the first hints of Mr. Wilcox's
would "pauperize" them or make them dependent upon charity, romantic interest in Margaret but also an indication that Evie
believing that the rich knew better what was in the best and Charles aren't going to like it. Margaret objects to Mr.
interest of the poor than they themselves. It is interesting to Wilcox and Evie's suggestion that Mr. Bast was doing
note that in Chapter 16, Mr. Wilcox, a self-made man rather something untoward on his nighttime adventure, proclaiming
than one born into wealth, disputes such a viewpoint, arguing him to be "a real man." Mr. Wilcox feels jealous of her
instead that the poor should have the privacy and wherewithal comments, which suggests that he wishes her to be attracted
to manage their own affairs and that they greatly resent to him instead. Readers should note that Mr. Wilcox is appalled
interference. when Mr. Bast suspects Margaret is trying to benefit financially

from him. However, this is precisely what his own son and
Chapter 16 points up other class differences and how they daughter have felt about Margaret when they learned of their
block the attempt of people to "only connect." Mr. Bast wants mother's desire to leave her Howards End. Evie announces her
to relive the glory of his previous literary discussion with the dislike of Margaret outright, so readers may consider Chapter
Schlegels, only to find them trying to warn him about losing his 16 as foreshadowing what may come if Mr. Wilcox were to act
job instead. Once again the author contrasts romance and on his new feelings for Margaret.
modernity, this time overtly through Mr. Bast's characterization
of the Schlegel sisters as Romance itself. He sees them as an
oasis from the grayness of the rest of his life, and he wishes to Chapters 17–18
keep a distance between the two. Margaret claims that even
they experience the dull grayness of everyday life, but readers
know that everyday life for the Schlegels is a far cry from the
Summary
difficulties of "Jacky and squalor" awaiting Mr. Bast at home.
Caught between being working class and having aspirations to

improve himself through "Romance"—the world of art and Chapter 17
literature—that he associates with the Schlegels, Mr. Bast
Margaret has not found a new home, and she is anxious to
becomes flustered and pretends to be certain that his
secure a place before they leave for their yearly visit to their
company is safe and secure. When he originally met the
aunt's in Swanage. The September deadline of the end of their
Schlegels, he feared that they stole his umbrella to con him
lease also looms over her. Just as she resolves to really buckle
and possibly rob him. Here, he becomes defensive, struggling
down to the task she receives an invitation to lunch from Evie.
to maintain his pride and ease his disappointment by accusing
Although she doesn't like Evie, she is touched by the personal
them of trying to get inside information out of him about the
invitation. She meets her, and her new fiancé Mr. Cahill, but the
insurance company for which he works.
two only have eyes for each other. Mr. Wilcox joins the group
In the process, Mr. Bast misses Margaret's compassionate for lunch, and Margaret deduces the whole thing has been his
attempt to connect with him. She recognizes his yearnings to idea. Twice he overrides Margaret's choices from the menu
improve himself through culture and through his magical and she submits to his decisions for her. Listening to her real-
nighttime walk as something important: "You tried to get away estate woes, he advises her to decide where she wants to live
from the fogs that are stifling us all—away past books and and what she wants to pay. She complains that she has no
houses to the truth. You were looking for a real home." What such control over her choice because "houses are alive." She

suggests that Mr. Wilcox visit an amusing restaurant offering performance to get what she wants. In light of Margaret's
"body-building dishes" to patrons interested in the spiritual sincerity and genuine feelings of love for Mr. Wilcox, if the
plane. After assuring himself that Margaret only finds such narrator is to be believed, other readers may conclude that she
things amusing, she asks him about Howards End. She says he behaves in this manner out a spirit of affection and concern for
should kick out the current tenant and rent it to the Schlegels. Mr. Wilcox's feelings.
The intimacy between Mr. Wilcox and Margaret continues to
grow, and the two do visit the restaurant Margaret suggested, The third-person narrator of Howards End, in addition to
with Tibby as a chaperone. The Schlegels leave for Swanage, providing readers with access to various characters' thoughts
Mrs. Munt's vacation home. and emotions, often acts in this way as a moral go-between for
readers. The narrator reminds readers not to condemn a
character too quickly, but to see that character as flawed, but
Chapter 18 human, even admirable. For example, the narrator
acknowledges that "some day ... there may be no need for [Mr.
At her aunt's for vacation, Margaret receives a letter from Mr. Wilcox's] type," but continues, "homage is due [to him] from
Wilcox offering to rent her his home on Dulcie Street, which he those who think themselves superior, and who possibly are."
plans to leave due to Evie's marriage. He instructs her to come This comment manages to balance criticism of Mr. Wilcox (as a
see the house at once to make her decision. Margaret's "type" who will one day disappear, and as inferior in some
intuition tells her that Mr. Wilcox has an ulterior motive and respects) with an admonishment to readers to show him some
may be interested in getting her alone to propose. She travels deserved respect. In this way, the narrator often helps keep
back to London and goes with Mr. Wilcox to see the house. the moral ups and downs of the novel and its characters in
She greets Mr. Wilcox's chauffeur, Crane, by name, to Mr. balance.
Wilcox's surprise. She says she knows the name of his maid,
too. As he shows her around, Mr. Wilcox asks her to be his In Chapters 17 and 18 Margaret is also revealed to be deeply
wife. She pretends to be surprised because she thinks that is intuitive. She deduces the real reason behind Mr. Wilcox's
how he expects her to react. She handles the situation letter easily, as she has had an inkling of his feelings since their
delicately as she knows "he must never be bothered with lunch with Evie. Her intuition about his feelings recalls Mrs.
emotional talk, or with a display of sympathy." Although she is Wilcox's knowledge of Paul and Helen's affair. As she
filled with happiness, she says only that she will write to him perceives Mrs. Wilcox's "welcome ghost" in the current Wilcox
her answer. She imagines Mrs. Wilcox "surveying the scene" as home in the moments after Mr. Wilcox has proposed, it seems
"a welcome ghost." clear Margaret, perhaps to become the new Mrs. Wilcox, is
truly the "spiritual heir" Mrs. Wilcox desired.
In Chapter 18 the author creates a major plot point in Mr.

Analysis Wilcox's proposal to Margaret. As readers are already aware,
the novel centers around the connection between their two
Modern readers may be annoyed or alarmed at what seem like
families. First they were connected when they met casually as
chauvinism or controlling behavior on the part of Mr. Wilcox
travelers, then more closely by the kiss between Paul and
toward Margaret, as well as her submissive, self-effacing
Helen. Their connection grew with the friendship of Mrs.
responses. In Chapter 17 he overrules her food choices, not
Wilcox and Margaret, then with Mrs. Wilcox's secret bequest to
once but twice, ordering something different for her. She
her of Howards End. Now the two families may be united
seems happy enough to let him. In Chapter 18, although she
through marriage. This development promises to unite their
suspects he is going to propose to her, she acts surprised
two narratives into one, although there are storm clouds on the
because she thinks that's what he wants, and she doesn't
horizon given the dislike and suspicion the Wilcox children
share her happiness at his proposal because "he must not be
have of Margaret and her siblings. Helen too has expressed
bothered with emotional talk." She gives up what she wants
dislike for Mr. Wilcox. Readers are left to wonder, at this point,
and hides her real responses in deference to his desires and
what the effects of this development in the plot will be.
needs. Readers may speculate that such behavior is a product
of social expectations and gender norms of the day, or they Despite his proposal of marriage, Mr. Wilcox has yet to reveal
may interpret her submissions as a more calculated

his deceased wife's bequest of Howards End to Margaret. She her 600 pounds per year, but he declines to share specifics
has told him the Schlegels have yet to find a new house, and about his own income. They also speak of what to do with the
even suggests that he should rent Howards End to them. house on Ducie Street, where they could live, and when their
Throughout their discussions, he makes no comment wedding will take place. They plan on a September wedding,
whatsoever about the fact that Mrs. Wilcox wanted Margaret after Evie's. He walks her back to her aunt's home as it grows
to have it. In fact, they are going through the house on Ducie late and abruptly kisses her, then leaves quickly. Later she
Street because he has proposed to rent it to the Schlegels. A reflects on the sudden kiss, which was not accompanied by
man who is eminently practical, Mr. Wilcox's hesitation to share any tender words, and it reminds her of the one between Paul
the information with Margaret is disturbing: does he want to and Helen.
marry her because he loves her or because, in doing so, he will
ensure that Howards End remains within his family?
Analysis
Chapters 19–20 Chapter 19 opens as the narrator continues what has become
a pattern in the novel of contrasting the fast-paced urban
growth of London with more suburban or rural parts of
England. In this case, there is a description of the landscapes
Summary that stretch beyond London all the way to the sea and escape
the reach of London, which "shall never touch" them. London is
lively and full of wonders, but also imposing, even domineering,
Chapter 19 in its ruthless drive for modernization and wealth. Margaret, for
example, has come to dislike its "continual flux," which seems
Mrs. Munt and Helen take visiting Frieda to a ridge overlooking
to sweep away everything in its path in favor of progress.
the British countryside. They observe the train in which
Margaret is returning from London and wonder if she decided
Mr. Wilcox proves to be a divisive figure who creates a rift
to rent the house on Ducie Street. Helen tells Frieda of the
between the Schlegel sisters, who have always been so close.
many homes the Wilcox family owns. They see Margaret and
Helen cannot understand how Margaret can marry someone
Tibby coming in a cart to join them. Helen runs toward them
so different from themselves, and Margaret doesn't
asking about the house. Margaret whispers her news of Mr.
understand why Helen sees the difference as insurmountable.
Wilcox's proposal and tells Helen she plans to accept it. Helen
She says her relationship with Mr. Wilcox will be thoughtful and
"burst[s] into tears" and begs her sister not "to do such a
stable in contrast to Helen's passionate, but brief, romance
thing." Margaret is puzzled by her sister's response. Helen has
with Paul. This, along with her assertion that she has thought
disliked Mr. Wilcox ever since her short romance with Paul.
things through very carefully, implying that Helen is impulsive,
Margaret explains that she has thought it through. She says
are sufficient evidence to her mind that her marriage is a good
Helen and Paul had a romance, but that her relationship with
idea.
Mr. Wilcox will be more like prose than poetry. She is aware of
Mr. Wilcox's faults and knows "there are heaps of things in me In Chapter 20 Margaret once again bows to Mr. Wilcox's
that he doesn't, and shall never, understand." She appreciates wishes. She now calls him by his first name of Henry, which
that men like him have made lives like hers and Helen's signals their increasing closeness. She tells him her exact
possible. income, but when he refuses to do the same, she doesn't insist
on knowing his net worth or how he will provide for her and his
children. She also accepts his refusal to allow her to live at
Chapter 20 Howards End. Margaret seems to take for granted earlier in
Chapter 19 that Mr. Wilcox will never be able to fully
Mr. Wilcox, whom Margaret now calls Henry, visits her in
understand her, and perhaps this is the reason she doesn't
Swanage with an engagement ring. The two discuss how he
press him on these issues. She knows that he will not be able
intends to provide for his family as well as his new wife.
to understand or appreciate her concerns, so she lets them go.
Margaret attempts to speak frankly of finances, telling him of
Or perhaps she does so because she's so in love with him,

nothing else seems to matter that much.

Chapter 22
Whatever the case, Margaret does not know that Mr. Wilcox
Margaret hopes to help Mr. Wilcox "connect the prose in
continues to withhold from her his previous wife's desire that
himself with the passion without [which] we are meaningless
she should inherit the property. Ever the prudent businessman,
fragments." Mr. Wilcox has never learned how to embrace his
he stage-manages the situation, telling her only that the house
emotions, believing, for example, that "bodily passion," meaning
will someday go to his son. Chapter 20 opens with a frank
sexuality, "is bad." According to the narrator, Margaret will fail
assessment that marriage is an extension of the "twin rocks" of
to bridge this divide between the personal and the impersonal
"Property and Propriety," rather than a pure and unsullied
in Mr. Wilcox because it is beyond his comprehension.
expression of "Love." It is not that marriage may not include
love, but it concerns other, more worldly, issues as well, such Margaret tells Mr. Wilcox that Helen has had a letter from Mr.
as money. This applies clearly to Margaret and Mr. Wilcox's Bast saying that he followed their advice and left his job at the
situation. Porphyrion Fire Insurance Company. Mr. Wilcox
absentmindedly remarks that the Porphyrion is a pretty good
The first kiss between Margaret and Mr. Wilcox, in Chapter 20,
business, and that he's had a letter of his own. His tenant at
is unexpected and passionate, but furtive. Readers may
Howards End is leaving and wants to sublet the house.
wonder why he would grab her, kiss her, and then hurry away.
Margaret reminds him that Mr. Bast left his job based on Mr.
It suggests he is embarrassed by physical affection or is
Wilcox's recommendation, but Mr. Wilcox refuses to take
ashamed in some way, perhaps by this sudden, and
responsibility. When Helen is upset to hear that Mr. Bast took
uncharacteristic, show of emotion on his part. The kiss-and-run
the new, lower-paying job for no good reason, Mr. Wilcox
nature of the embrace, as well as it outdoor nighttime setting,
persists in denying any responsibility. She believes it is their
recalls the kiss shared by Paul and Helen. These parallels to
duty to help the poor, but he disagrees: "as civilization moves
the ill-fated young couple in the first chapters of the novel
forward, the shoe is bound to pinch in places, and it's absurd to
foreshadows trouble for the older couple.
pretend that anyone is responsible personally." He claims that
the rich and poor will always exist.
Chapters 21–22 Mr. Wilcox wants Margaret to leave her aunt's to go check on
Howards End. She says she can't end her visit so soon or she
will hurt her aunt's feelings. Mr. Wilcox says he will speak to her
Summary aunt, but Margaret insists that she doesn't want to leave early,
accusing him of bullying her. He speaks to her aunt, and
Margaret concedes that she must leave early.
Chapter 21
Sitting in their yard in Hilton with their two young children, Analysis
Charles blames his wife, Dolly, for his father's engagement to
Margaret. He claims that if she hadn't introduced Evie to her Readers are likely unsurprised to see in Chapter 21 that
uncle, Percy Cahill, Evie would have stayed at home and kept Charles still suspects Margaret is trying to get her hands on
her father company, preventing him from turning his own Howards End and maintains his disdain for the Schlegel
thoughts to marriage. Dolly says it is not her fault. Charles family's "artistic beastliness." Despite a lack of evidence, he
continues to suspect Margaret of manipulating his family in believes Margaret has orchestrated an engagement with his
order "to get hold of Howards End." He says that he will be on father in order to deprive him of Howards End, a house he
the watch for any mistreatment of his father or any sign of the doesn't even want. He takes his suspicions a step further by
Schlegels' "artistic beastliness." If that is the case, he will put worrying that Margaret will mistreat his father. The fact that he
his foot down. The narrator notes that Dolly and Charles are and his family have never disclosed the dilemma to Margaret
now the parents of two small children, with another on the way. herself does not cross his mind.
The narrator of Howards End usually tries to reconcile

opposing views of characters for the sake of human leaving early, Margaret gives in, telling her aunt that there really
connection. However, on some occasions, the narrator does is a lot to do, so she must go with Mr. Wilcox earlier than
not hesitate to offer cutting social criticism. In this case, it is expected. As usual, she seems content with her choice to
aimed at the all-encompassing greed that lurks behind submit to Mr. Wilcox's desires, rather than act on her own. This
Charles's hunger to hang on Howards End, and that represents points to a tension in their marriage between her desire to act
the ruthlessness of his social class: "Nature is turning out of her own free will and his desire to direct her actions as he
Wilcoxes in this peaceful abode, so that they may inherit the sees fit.
earth."
Forster returns to the theme of connection in Chapter 22 in

Margaret's desire to teach Mr. Wilcox to synthesize his
Chapters 23–24
emotions and desires with his intelligence. The reason behind
their furtive kiss in Chapter 20 is identified in Chapter 22. Mr.
Wilcox is ashamed of his sexual desires and of physical
Summary
passion. In fact, he prefers to avoid emotions of any kind: "I am
not a fellow who bothers about my own inside." Margaret has
great hopes that their lives will be happy if she can teach him Chapter 23
to "only connect" by getting in touch with his own emotions and
Helen tells Margaret that she dislikes Mr. Wilcox, but that if
those of others. His "obtuseness" is named as the obstacle
anyone can "attempt difficult relations" and make a marriage
that will prevent her from being able to show Mr. Wilcox how to
with him work, it is Margaret. She warns Margaret that she will
connect to his own feelings or recognize the emotional
lose something in the marriage and not to expect to come to
reactions of people around him. He simply cannot understand
her for help. Helen declares that she will go her own way while
why doing so is important on any level, nor does he recognize
continuing to love Margaret as much as ever. Margaret asks
Margaret's depth of perception about the issue.
Helen to be civil to Mr. Wilcox, and Helen agrees. Margaret
The author returns to the question of the social responsibility feels reassured that their "inner life" and relationship is safe.
of the rich in Chapter 22 by contrasting the views of the
Margaret meets Mr. Wilcox and Charles at their business
Schlegels and Mr. Wilcox. Mr. Wilcox claims that the rich and
before they drive down to Hilton together. As they drive, she
poor will always exist and that the progress of society makes
feels a "loss of space," the scenery blurring as they speed past.
the poverty of some inevitable. He believes that no one is
They stop for lunch with Dolly at Hilton, discussing what a
personally responsible for inequality, nor is a remedy possible
hassle Bryce has created by leaving Howards End only a
or necessary. Helen, on the other hand, believes that the
month into his three-year lease. They drive through the rain to
wealthy should help the poor, and she sees personal culpability
Howards End, then discover they don't have the key, so Mr.
on her own part, as well as Mr. Wilcox's, for Mr. Bast's
Wilcox leaves Margaret on the porch to go get it. She admires
increased poverty. Mr. Wilcox not only rejects responsibility for
the beauty of the place, and finds the door unlocked. As she
Mr. Bast's situation, he barely remembers the man ever existed
walks through the house, she "recaptures her sense of space."
in the first place. Whereas Helen is passionate in belief that Mr.
Then she hears a noise, and an old woman comes down the
Bast did not have to leave his job, Mr. Wilcox remains practical
stairs. She says she thought that Margaret was Mrs. Wilcox
and unemotional.
because she has "her way of walking." The woman leaves.
At one point in Chapter 22 Margaret appears to stand up to
Mr. Wilcox, when she tells him she won't leave her vacation at
Swanage early. She is thinking of her aunt, whose feelings will
Chapter 24
be hurt if they leave early, but Mr. Wilcox simply sees it as a
At tea back at Hilton, Mr. Wilcox tells of Margaret's startling
practical, rather than an emotional, issue. She even accuses
encounter with Miss Avery, a neighboring spinster who had the
him of bullying her when he tries to dismiss her wishes,
keys to the house. Dolly recalls that Charles's uncle, Mrs.
insisting that she doesn't really need to stay longer. However,
Wilcox's brother, had once proposed to Miss Avery, but he had
when he ignores her wishes, speaking to her aunt about

died. He had been the last of the Howards. Mr. Wilcox is and from their own humanity. In the car, whizzing down the
annoyed by Dolly's talk, and Margaret deduces that proximity country lanes, Margaret feels "a loss of space." Older methods
to her and his son is the real reason Mr. Wilcox doesn't wish to of transport allowed people to observe their surroundings, to
live at Howards End. feel a part of nature, but the rapid movement of the car blurs
and distorts the scenery it passes. People, land, and animals
The narrator recalls how, when they had been at Howards End become unrecognizable. Margaret feels dizzy, unable to focus,
earlier, Mr. Wilcox had showed Margaret around and told her and worried for the children and chickens who might be hurt by
more of its history, revealing his improvements to the property. the car as it speeds along the road. Automobiles bypass
Margaret found the wych-elm beautiful. To her, it bends over nature, perhaps even endanger it with their "sense of flux,"
the house, like a true companion. She looked for the pigs' echoed in the forward motion of the Wilcoxes, with their
teeth, and Mr. Wilcox was surprised to see them. He wondered emphasis on progress and profit.
how she knew about them, and she, following his lead, avoided
mentioning Mrs. Wilcox, simply saying she heard about them in Modern technology like automobiles is quite a contrast to the
London. bucolic setting of Howards End, which serves to connect
people with nature and is a place "where friends might shelter."
When she is on its porch, Margaret feels a connection to all the
Analysis plants around her. It is peaceful, safe, and inviting. A "sense of
space" returns to her as she walks through its rooms,
Chapter 23 opens with the description of a conversation that imagining people gathering there.
might have signaled a major rift between the Schlegel sisters.
Helen has been troubled by Margaret's engagement for a In both chapters readers also find evidence of Margaret's
while, but she has come to a decision. She thinks Margaret will mystical, spiritual connection to Howards End. The house
lose something and that the marriage will be difficult. She opens to her even though it is presumably locked. It turns out
doesn't like Mr. Wilcox, and she isn't going to pretend to. Helen Miss Avery has unlocked the house for her, and for a moment,
will do no more than try to be civil, and she doesn't want she even thinks Margaret is the late mistress of the house, Mrs.
Margaret to come running to her for help when things turn out Wilcox. Margaret feels a kinship with the house and the nearby
just the way Helen fears they will. Nevertheless, she assures wych-elm, which she calls a "comrade." The way the tree
Margaret that she will always love her. Margaret's response is bends over the house, embracing it, protecting it, represents
to ask Helen to be polite to Mr. Wilcox, and she seems another instance of connection. When she shows Mr. Wilcox
unperturbed at Helen's dislike for her future husband. Mostly, the wych-elm, Margaret knows the secrets of the pig's teeth in
she is relieved that the "inner life" between her and her sister is the tree's trunk because of her connection to Mrs. Wilcox, a
safe. In this way, the sisters manage to connect, reinforcing tale to which Mr. Wilcox is, as usual, oblivious. Instead, he
their love for each other, despite their differing points of view. discusses the history of the purchase and renovation of the
house, demonstrating his bloodless, practical side by
At this moment, the sisters manage to attain "proportion," or a remembering how it was mismanaged until he scooped it up.
reasonable balance, in their relationship. Proportion is Margaret understands this, but still loves him for saving the
something Margaret values, and she tries to bridge the gap house, trying, as always, to find a sense of proportion.
whenever possible to balance opposing beliefs. Lack of
proportion is a problem because it obscures the truth: "the
businessman who assumes that life is everything, and the Chapters 25–26
mystic who asserts that it is nothing, fail, on this side and that,
to hit the truth." The narrator suggests taking a different
approach, which is an ongoing process: "continuous"
movement between extremes is the only way to reach the
Summary
truth.
Forster explores one of the many ills of modern technology in

Chapter 24, which is the way it disconnects people from nature

recognizes Mr. Wilcox as a former client of hers. Mr. Wilcox

Chapter 25
accuses Margaret of orchestrating the encounter to entrap
Evie is unhappy to hear of her father's engagement and moves him. It takes Margaret a few minutes to realize, to her horror,
her own wedding date up. She wants her wedding to take that Jacky had been Mr. Wilcox's mistress, but she decides it is
place at Oniton, Mr. Wilcox's country home near the Welsh "not her tragedy; it was Mrs. Wilcox's" after he tells her his
border. Margaret aims to make Oniton her home, not knowing relationship with Jacky occurred ten years ago. He offers to
that Mr. Wilcox intends to sell it after the wedding. Mr. Wilcox release Margaret from the engagement.
expects Margaret to help him entertain wedding guests, and
Margaret finds she doesn't enjoy his friends, who are shallow.
Analysis
A group of wedding guests take the train to Shrewsbury, then
two cars to drive the rest of the way to Oniton. The car in Both chapters feature misogynistic episodes, in which women
which Margaret is riding hits what everyone supposes to be a are treated with contempt. In response, Margaret learns to play
dog. The women are herded into the other car, and Charles a part to get what she wants, "kowtowing to men" and "artfully"
drives them away from the unsavory scene. As they depart, arranging matters to influence their responses without their
Margaret hears a girl screaming. She gathers what has knowledge. Whereas readers may have wondered if Margaret
happened and tells Charles to take her back. He ignores all her was truly submissive to Mr. Wilcox or not in previous chapters,
commands, and she jumps from the moving vehicle, hurting her her role of helpless, self-effacing woman in these two chapters
hand. She walks back toward the scene of the accident, and is clearly a part she takes on in order to influence the men's
learns from Mr. Fussell that the car had hit a cat. The men action toward her by turning their misogyny to her own
assure her the girl will be compensated, and Margaret goes advantage.
back to the car. Margaret confesses to Mr. Wilcox that she has
After their car hits what they think is a dog in the road, the men
"been so naughty," calling herself "your poor Meg." Mr. Wilcox
herd the women away from the accident like sheep, placing
wants the whole story from Charles, and the two are unaware
them in another car. When Charles ignores her pleas to stop
that Margaret "had artfully prepared" them to interpret her
the car so she can return to the scene of the accident,
actions as fitting "all too well with their view of feminine
Margaret leaps defiantly from the moving vehicle. Later, she
nature." Charles continues to suspect that Margaret "means
explains her leap from the car to the men, not as an act of
mischief," and worries she will take his money, even thinking for
rebellion and agency, but as a silly, emotional choice, rather
a few moments that she is trying to seduce him.
than a rebellious act of will. By doing so, she knows it fulfills
what Mr. Wilcox and Charles believe about female behavior:
Chapter 26 women and their nerves! Rather than seeing a woman act on
her own behalf, they would prefer to stereotype her as illogical
Evie and Mr. Cahill are married, and Margaret plays the and overly emotional. Margaret chooses not to make an issue
hostess, "kowtowing to the men." That evening she and Mr. of what really happened in the car because it would not serve
Wilcox see new visitors arrive. Margaret goes to speak to them her to do so.
so tired Mr. Wilcox can rest, and find it is Helen, along with Mr.
In Chapter 26 Margaret similarly placates Mr. Wilcox's friends
Bast and Jacky. Helen yells that Mr. Bast has lost his job, and
by "kowtowing" to them in order to please her husband and
she found the two starving in London. She has paid their rent,
ingratiate herself. She also knows that angrily confronting her
gotten their possessions back, and fed them. Margaret
husband about Leonard's lack of a job will not get her what she
rebukes her sister for bringing them to Oniton and forbids
wants. Instead she goes to him apologetically, requesting his
Helen from confronting Mr. Wilcox, whom Helen holds
help. Readers can see why some women pretended to be
responsible for the couple's ruin. Margaret says that she will
submissive, silly, and emotional in order to achieve their own
speak to Mr. Wilcox about securing a new job for Mr. Bast, and
purposes, given the widespread misogyny of the time, although
tells her to go to a hotel with the Basts for the night. She then
Margaret does not find it a particularly comfortable part to
carefully broaches the subject with Mr. Wilcox, who agrees to
play. She also struggles throughout both chapters with her love
find a job for Bast, as long as this does not establish a trend.
for Mr. Wilcox and her perception of the differences between
They come upon Jacky in the yard. She is drunk and

them as she enters his world. Her desire for proportion and Leonard Bast sit up talking. Helen guesses that Jacky has
"diplomacy" sometimes has a troubling side, forcing her to be been a prostitute, a serious thing for which she doesn't blame
in a limbo zone "between things as they are and things as they her, "but men" instead. Mr. Bast hopes Helen doesn't ever learn
ought to be." that Mr. Wilcox was one of those men. Helen discovers that Mr.
Bast's family has disowned him because of Jacky, whom he
When Helen appears with the Basts, in contrast to her sister's married in order to fulfill his promise to her to do so. Helen
"diplomatic" approach, she bluntly expresses her outrage and claims that people like Mr. Wilcox take no personal
demands justice. Mr. Wilcox again fails to recognize Mr. Bast, responsibility. She contrasts them with other people, like
and Margaret still does not fully grasp the truth about Mr. herself and Mr. Bast who do. Mr. Bast is discouraged, and has
Bast's social reality: he has lost his job, and he knows this puts come to see the inevitability of the gap between the rich and
him in a downward spiral economically. As he ruefully notes, poor. Books and romantic walks no longer hold the same
echoing Mr. Wilcox's earlier statement in the novel, "there will promise for him, given the grim reality of abject poverty. He
always be rich and poor," and he knows only too well which claims that "the real thing's money and all the rest is a dream,"
side he is on. Margaret is caught here, too, between the new but Helen counters that death contradicts such a position, as
world of her engagement to Mr. Wilcox, and the world of her money means nothing in light of it. They each receive a letter
family life before she met him. from Margaret.
The author throws readers a huge plot twist in Chapter 26 with

the revelation that Mr. Wilcox used to sleep with Jacky.
Chapter 28
Interestingly, when confronted with his past sins, Mr. Wilcox
responds by claiming he is just a man like other men. There Margaret writes a letter to Mr. Wilcox assuring him that "this is
had been no hint of his having a proclivity for adultery, given his not to part us" while choosing her words carefully so as not to
adoration of his previous wife, unless it was his shame about come across to him as too personal or as "unfeminine." She
physical passion. Perhaps he could act out desires with a wonders if she really can overlook his past involvement with
prostitute that he was too ashamed to share with his wife. He Jacky, but resolves that her love will "make him a better man."
then becomes angry with Margaret, even though she doesn't She writes Mr. Bast to tell him Mr. Wilcox has no job for him. In
even really understand what's going on, accusing her of her letter to Helen, she mentions about finding Jacky drunk
orchestrating the meeting with Jacky in order to trap him. In outside, but not Jacky 's history with Mr. Wilcox. She
the end, he's just as suspicious of Margaret as Charles is, more admonishes Helen to come to Oniton for the night, and that
evidence of their shared misogyny. Margaret is shocked by her "the Basts are not at all the type we should trouble about,"
fiancé's relationship with Jacky as well as his accusation of although she promises to see them herself to "do whatever is
entrapment. But she reflects that it is "not her tragedy; it was fair."
Mrs. Wilcox's," because it happened long before he had met
Margaret. Readers are left to wonder at the end of the chapter
if Margaret will indeed end her engagement and what will Analysis
happen to the Basts now.
In Chapter 26, Helen continues to cling to a metaphysical and
philosophical view of life, insisting that the pursuit of beauty
Chapters 27–28 and ideals matters, while Leonard Bast seems to have
succumbed to the more practical one, which has heretofore
been represented by Mr. Wilcox. Readers may recall
Summary Margaret's metaphor of money as an island upon which people
stand to avoid being swept into the sea. Mr. Bast is keenly
aware that he now has nothing upon which to stand. The
Chapter 27 stench of the abyss, as Margaret called it, is all around him and
his wife. As he says, there's nothing like a bailiff in your house
At the hotel in Shropshire, Jacky is in bed, while Helen and confiscating your books to drive out any romantic notions of
the possibility of the sublime. From his perspective, it is easy

for Helen to cling to her ideals and "dreams" because she has
money. He cannot do the same, because he has none.
Summary
Chapter 26 proves that Mr. Bast takes responsibility for the
outcomes of his choices, in contrast to Mr. Wilcox. He does not Chapter 29
love his wife but that he stays with her out of a sense of loyalty,
just as he married her out of a sense of duty. He tells Margaret Mr. Wilcox tells Margaret he is not worthy of her and releases
that his family has disowned him because of his wife's past as her from their engagement, but she objects. He proceeds to
a prostitute. He knew that this would happen before he wed, disparage her privileged life a bit and wonders if she is properly
but he married Jacky anyway, and is determined to stay with "womanly," then tries to explain to her why he had the affair
her. This sense of personal responsibility, which she calls the with Jacky—he had been far from home and subject to
ability to say "I" in life, is something Helen very much temptation. Margaret reflects that "the skies would have fallen"
appreciates. She contrasts it with Mr. Wilcox's inability to do if the tables were turned and she told him that she found his
the same. In response to the news of the loss of Mr. Bast's job, male servant somewhat attractive. Mr. Wilcox can't quite
Mr. Wilcox denies any role, placing the blame solely on Mr. believe her when she says she forgives him, nor does she
Bast. In response to the earlier revelation of his affair with believe that he is truly remorseful. They discover that Helen did
Jacky, Mr. Wilcox again refuses to take responsibility, first not sleep at Oniton but instead at the hotel. Margaret worries
defensively offering a "boys will be boys" argument, then that Helen may have spoken to Jacky and learned Mr. Wilcox's
blaming Margaret for planning the confrontation. It is no secret. A servant at the hotel says Helen left, alone very early,
wonder Helen admires Mr. Bast and dislikes Mr. Wilcox as she while the Basts left later. When Margaret returns from her
values personal responsibility so highly. inquiry at the hotel, "the old Henry fronted her ... and the great
thing now was to forget his failure." When she tells him of her
In Chapter 27, still reeling from the discovery about Mr. Wilcox, worry of rumors, he tells her to never mention Jacky again, and
Margaret decides that she must forgive him—she will use her she agrees, except if it is necessary for practical reasons. They
love, over time, to make him a better person. She seems leave Oniton, and Margaret, who loves the place and wants to
resentful of the Basts now, and her generosity toward their live there, is unaware that it is the last time she will see it.
plight turns to a desire to keep them at a firm distance. This
contrasts with her earlier desire to build bridges between
people. While Mr. Wilcox has been the one to embrace Chapter 30
practicality over emotion, it is now Margaret who "feels that
she [is] being practical." And it is she, not Mr. Wilcox, who An upset Helen goes to visit Tibby at Oxford University. She
decides that there is no current job opening for Mr. Bast. Her tells him that she has learned something disturbing about Mr.
letter to him is businesslike—curt and devoid of emotion. It Wilcox and doesn't know what to do. Tibby guesses that Mr.
shows none of the compassionate understanding she Wilcox has had an affair, and Helen confirms it. She shares the
demonstrated toward him in the past. When she promises details of Mr. Wilcox's treatment of Jacky and Mr. Bast,
Helen to "do whatever is fair" for the Basts, it seems unlikely claiming that he "has ruined two people's lives." She tells her
she means more than paying their hotel bill and travel fare. In brother that she can't face Margaret and plans to go abroad.
fact, she dismisses the Basts from their lives by declaring that She leaves the fate of the secret about Wilcox and Jacky up to
"the Basts are no good ... they are not at all the type we should him. She tells him that she will give Mr. Bast half of her
bother about," words readers would expect to hear, not from inheritance, and Tibby is shocked, but he agrees to get the
Margaret, but from Mr. Wilcox. money to Mr. Bast. When he receives the check, Mr. Bast
returns it, refusing the offer. At Helen's instruction, Tibby goes
to insist that in person, but he finds only the Bast's
Chapters 29–30 possessions. They have been evicted for nonpayment of rent,
and have disappeared. Helen reinvests her money and earns a
profit.

important role in this chapter. At first, he is merely annoyed by

Analysis Helen's visit and her requests for his help. A student at Oxford,
he is bookish and doesn't really take an interest in other
In Chapter 29, both Margaret and Mr. Wilcox are eager to put
people's lives as she does. But even Tibby is moved when Mr.
the mess of the previous night behind them, though for
Bast turns down Helen's money, deciding that "Leonard Bast
different reasons. Margaret isn't really interested in hearing his
seemed somewhat a monumental person after all." There is
excuses about the affair with Jacky. She thinks it needn't have
something behind his sister's intense devotion to the Basts
anything to do with their relationship and would rather forgive
after all. Unfortunately, they have suddenly disappeared. They
him and move on. While her response initially surprises him, Mr.
were evicted for not paying their rent, and there is no way to
Wilcox seems to get over his disbelief for a more practical
know where they have gone. Readers are left to wonder if the
reason. Accepting Margaret's forgiveness soothes his
impoverished Basts are really gone for good. Helen resigns
conscience and provides a convenient shortcut to putting his
herself to their disappearance and seems to give up on helping
past mistake out of his mind. Mr. Wilcox simply wants to forget
them. She reinvests her money, making an easy profit. Her
the whole thing happened.
healthy finances go on as they always have in contrast to the
Their discussion also gives readers a closer look at the Bast's steady decline into ever greater poverty.
importance of gender roles in Margaret and Mr. Wilcox's
relationship. Even as he claims to be ashamed of his affair, he
criticizes Margaret, questioning whether she is "altogether Chapters 31–32
womanly" because she is thoughtful and "reads books that are
suitable for men only." Mr. Wilcox orders her sternly to never to
speak of Jacky again, unaware that she has already taken Summary
steps to close the Basts out of their lives forever. Even before
they marry, Margaret and Mr. Wilcox have begun to settle into
a pattern based on gender roles: Margaret "played the girl until Chapter 31
[Mr. Wilcox] could rebuild his fortress and hide his soul from
the world." As Margaret understands that his male ego and his The Schlegels' belongings are moved out of Wickham Place.
sense of emotional detachment have suffered a rude shock The empty property turns into a "corpse, void of emotion" as
from which he is trying to recover by "rebuilding his fortress." "houses have their own way of dying." It is demolished,
She is aware that her husband is not really remorseful. The vanishing "back into the gray." Mr. Wilcox offers the Schlegels
narrator is not convinced either, noting how Wilcox "improves Howards End as a place to store their belongings. He is in
[his] emotion." Nevertheless, Margaret "play[s] the girl" in order possession of it once more because his tenant, Bryce, has
to help him resume his life as a powerful man in control. recently died abroad. Mr. Wilcox has moved past the episode
with Jacky, even confusing it in his mind with "another episode
Readers learn in Chapter 30 that Helen does indeed know of
... in the days of his bachelorhood."
Mr. Wilcox's past with Jacky, although it is not said how she
came across the information. Readers also see evidence of the Margaret and Mr. Wilcox marry in a small ceremony with family.
sincerity of Helen's convictions. When she visits Tibby, he Although they honeymoon in Austria, they do not see Helen,
notices that she has "altered." Previously in the novel, Helen who is traveling nearby in Germany, much to Margaret's
has impetuously and passionately leapt from one trendy theory annoyance. She writes to Helen about "the need of charity in
to another. She seems to be all talk and no action. But now she sexual matters," but Helen only thanks her "for her kind letter,"
puts her money where her mouth is, promising half of all she which Margaret finds strange. She speculates that Helen
has to the Basts in an effort to right the wrong she feels Mr. simply "disliked meeting Henry." Margaret makes her marriage
Wilcox has done them. Helen mistakenly assumes, however, a pleasant one by curtailing her intellectual pursuits somewhat,
that it was Mr. Wilcox who forced Margaret to write the letters making herself available whenever her husband wishes, and
about the Basts, not realizing how her sister actually took letting him win every discussion. However, she has "a bad
matters into her own hands. attack of ... nerves" when he tells her he has found a tenant for
Oniton. She is annoyed that he had rented out the place she
Tibby does not appear often in the novel, but he plays an

wanted to be her home without asking her. He claims that Wilcox and Charles, to return the gift. If she accepts it, she will
Oniton is damp, and he had originally bought it for Evie. He have to invite Miss Avery, who they consider their social
proposes they should live at Ducie Street for the winter, until inferior, to her wedding. As Dolly says, "What is a girl to do?"
they decide on a permanent home. She then speculates that Miss Avery "meant to be invited to
Oniton, and so climb into society." Like her father-in-law, Dolly
assumes there must always be a hidden agenda, a desire to
Chapter 32 increase one's status. As Margaret points out, this is an unlikely
scenario, but even she is unnerved to discover that Miss Avery
Dolly visits Margaret the next spring. Margaret is looking over has been unpacking the Schlegels' possessions. She writes a
the plans for the house she and Mr. Wilcox have plans to build "pleasant note" telling her to stop, then rushes to Howards End
in Sussex. Dolly comments on how odd it is that Helen is still to secure her property by packing it all back up.
abroad; it has been eight months. Margaret learns a piece of
gossip from Dolly about Evie. It seems she returned an The author returns to the notion that houses are alive and have
expensive wedding gift of a pendant from Miss Avery, who souls in Chapter 31 with the demise of Wickham Place. It has
then threw it into a lake and wrote Evie "a perfectly awful been empty of inhabitants for some time, and by that
letter." Charles has sent Dolly to tell Margaret that Miss Avery September, when the lease is up, the removal of the Schlegels'
has been unpacking the Schlegels' things at Howards End. belongings turns the house into a "corpse, devoid of emotion."
Margaret writes to ask Miss Avery not to unpack their things. The narrator states that "houses die," and Wickham Place is
She goes alone to Howards End to pack them back up herself. torn down by workmen who resemble "undertakers." The news
from Dolly in Chapter 32 that Miss Avery is unpacking the
Schlegels' belongings serves to draw Margaret back to
Analysis Howards End. Her return to the house, which is so central to
the novel, is the first step toward the events that will lead to
In Chapter 31, readers learn that Jacky wasn't Mr. Wilcox's first the novel's climax. Chapters 31 and 32 also offer two small
sexual impropriety. He had another "episode" before his first clues about what is going on with Helen, which also
marriage, and in his mind he lumps the two indiscretions foreshadow the novel's climax. In Chapter 31 Helen responds
together as "one crop of wild oats." He doesn't seem to think to Margaret's letter asking for her to show "charity in sexual
that either affair affects anyone but himself. There is no matters" by thanking her. Readers must ask themselves the
thought for how this affected any of the women involved, reason for this seemingly strange response, especially after
including his first wife or Margaret. It is easy for him to forget she seemed so upset about Jacky's past affair with Mr. Wilcox.
the past and be happy with Margaret as a result, especially The next clue, in Chapter 32, comes from her extended
since he sees her as "so lively and intelligent, and yet so absence from England. She left after Evie's wedding, around
submissive." His desires take precedence over hers in their the time Dolly's last baby was born. Dolly notes that Helen has
marriage, while his overall view of women's inferiority remains now been gone for eight months.
unchanged. He appreciates Margaret's intelligence when it
makes him look good ("it distinguished her from the wives of
other men"), but otherwise puts it down, perhaps because he Chapters 33–34
feels threatened by it. At one point, he refers to Margaret to
her face in the third person, as "it": "What a practical little
woman it is! What's it been reading?" His choice of words
reveals Mr. Wilcox's need to dehumanize her in some way to
Summary
maintain his sense of power and control.
The odd story of Evie's return of Miss Avery's wedding present Chapter 33
demonstrates how gender and social class influence one
another. Dolly calls Miss Avery "dotty" and "an old maid." She Margaret travels to Hilton. Miss Avery's niece walks her to
looks down on her because she is "only a farm woman." Evie Howards End, and they find Miss Avery inside. She opens the
gives in to pressure from the men in the family, including Mr. door for Margaret who discovers, to her surprise, all of the

furnishings from Wickham Place arranged throughout the whole. In Chapter 33 the narrator asks, "Why has not England
house. She explains repeatedly to Miss Avery that there has a great mythology?" The desire for a national mythology
been some sort of misunderstanding. She and Mr. Wilcox will reflects Forster's belief in the power of myth to counter the
not be coming to live at Howards End. Miss Avery responds damage of modern life represented by London, with its
cryptically: "You think that you won't come back to live here, reckless urbanization, alienation, and emphasis on progress at
Mrs. Wilcox, but you will." They walk over the grounds. It is all costs. A shared national mythology would connect people to
clear Miss Avery's loyalties lie with the Howard family. She nature, to history, and to shared stories created by poets. For
speaks disparagingly of the Wilcox family, with the exception the author, this national mythology would repair problems like
of Mrs. Wilcox, who she believes should have married a man the displacement of people shunted into an urban setting
other than Mr. Wilcox. Margaret, exasperated, asks Miss Avery which is increasingly dehumanizing.
for the keys to the house. Margaret leaves to ask Mr. Wilcox's
advice, which is to store the furniture and books in London, Readers may notice in Chapter 33 that Miss Avery seems to
"but before this could be done an unexpected trouble fell upon have some sort of psychic understanding of the house or of
her." Margaret. She implies that she knows the future, insisting,
despite all Margaret's protests, that Margaret and Mr. Wilcox
will indeed live at Howards End. Readers are left to wonder if
Chapter 34 Miss Avery is crazy, as so many suggest, or if she really knows
something no one else does. She was very close to the
Margaret learns of her aunt's illness, and fearing she will die, Howard family, who originally owned the house, and to the late
goes with Tibby to Swanage. They write to Helen, who says Mrs. Wilcox, who had a similar spiritual connection to the
she will come briefly, but later telegrams that she is in London house. Perhaps Margaret is too quick to write off Miss Avery
and will not come there if her aunt improves or if she dies. as senile. Miss Avery also presents Margaret with another
Margaret becomes alarmed that Helen is avoiding the family. challenge: she does not think much of the Wilcoxes,
Helen won't share her actual location, only providing the particularly Mr. Wilcox, who Margaret tries desperately to
address of a bank at which to contact her. Margaret arranges defend. When Margaret argues that "so long as my husband
to meet her there, but Helen does not show up. Margaret and and his sons govern [the world] ... it'll never be a bad place,"
Tibby guess at what could be the reason for her extraordinary Miss Avery dismissively replies that the Wilcoxes are "better
behavior: they worry that she might be losing her mind. n'nothing."
Margaret traces Helen's strange behavior all the way back to
her kiss with Paul. At Tibby's suggestion they go to Mr. Wilcox In Chapter 34, the extreme change in Helen's character
for help. He believes the "sick ha[ve] no rights" and may be lied evidenced by her avoidance of the family even in light of her
to "remorselessly." He tricked his first wife into going to a aunt's grave illness causes Margaret and Tibby to speculate
nursing home for this reason. His plan is to trick Helen the that she may be mad. Margaret tries to think back to when her
same way, telling her the books she has requested are at sister began making odd choices, and she pinpoints the
Howards End. When she arrives to get them, they can have a strange behavior's start as the kiss with Paul Wilcox. All of
car waiting to take her to see a doctor. Charles advises his Helen's behaviors since then are now cast in the light of mental
father to leave Howards End out of it, but Mr. Wilcox implies it illness as Margaret looks back over her behavior with the
is not Charles's concern, which offends his son. Margaret Basts, her negative reaction to the truth about Mr. Wilcox, and
doesn't care for the deceit of the plan but goes along with it, her extended absence abroad. Margaret both suggests and
writing Helen with the day and time for her to be at Howards denies that Helen is insane, but agrees that she needs help and
End. Charles warns his father that this "may be taking on a something must be done. Interestingly, no one conjectures that
bigger business" than he thinks. there could be a logical explanation for why Helen doesn't
want to see them. As readers later discover, the family's
speculations about Helen are misguided, revealing how
Analysis Margaret and Helen are moving in different directions and
leading very different lives.
Throughout the novel, the narrator occasionally meditates on
Mr. Wilcox continues to seem more problematic as the novel
the bustling metropolis of London in contrast to England as a

goes on. He feels about the sick as he does about the poor: she resolves to defend her sister against their "impertinences."
they are weak and therefore beneath him, and subject to his They park the car out of sight, and Margaret, seeing Helen
control. Chapter 34 also reveals how his "business mind" from the back on the porch, runs ahead of them "before her
favors deceit as a means to an end. He does not hesitate to lie husband could prevent her." She "learn[s] the simple
to his first wife when she becomes ill, promising her "a trip to explanation of all their fears" when Helen turns toward her.
Hertfordshire," while planning secretly to send her to a nursing Helen is pregnant. Margaret calls her sister "darling," unlocks
home. Forster links this lack of ethics to British imperialism. By the house, and pushes Helen inside. She then locks the door
Forster's time, the British empire had expanded to include and stands in front of it.
taking over parts of Africa and Asia, exploiting its natives and
creating a booming industry in trade. Mr. Wilcox's involvement
is implied by his ownership of a company that imports rubber: Chapter 36
he is "the man who had carved money out of Greece and
Africa, and bought forests from the natives for a few bottles of Mr. Wilcox wonders why Margaret has shut Helen in the house
gin." and remarks that his wife looks upset. For a moment, she is at
a loss for words, but then tells him to go away. He orders her
Charles stays true to form as well. He again shows himself to to give him the keys. She notices the doctor approaching, and
be possessive of Howards End because he resents the Crane and the driver of the fly both standing up, watching. She
Schlegel sisters for getting their hands on it. He doesn't want realizes that "she [is] fighting for women against men ... [and] if
his father to involve the house in the scheme to catch Helen. men came into Howards End, it should be over her body." The
He is offended when his father implies that the house is not his doctor whispers to Mr. Wilcox revealing Helen's pregnancy,
concern, and he seems to resent Margaret all the more. His and Mr. Wilcox is horrified. They try to persuade her to get
warning to his father about the scheme being "a bigger Helen to come out, but Margaret refuses. She tells them that
business" than he supposes serves as yet another ominous she will handle it alone, insisting that the doctor is "not qualified
piece of foreshadowing adding tension as the book to attend" Helen. Mr. Wilcox again commands her to give him
approaches its climax. the keys, and again she refuses. She tells the doctor "I do not
need you in the least," and, more gently, tells Mr. Wilcox to go
away. The men back down and leave. Margaret goes inside
Chapters 35–36 and asks Helen for forgiveness.
Summary Analysis
In Chapter 35 the real reason for Helen's absence and refusal
to see the family is revealed. She is pregnant. A pregnancy
Chapter 35 outside of wedlock was a very shameful thing during the
novel's time period. Women went to all manner of lengths to
Margaret and Mr. Wilcox have breakfast with Dolly, and they
hide such a thing because it would ruin a woman's chance at a
learn that Helen has already arrived in Hilton. Margaret is
good marriage, wreck her social standing, and cast permanent
overcome with concern. Mr. Wilcox worries she is not up to the
shame on her family. Margaret understands this the instant she
confrontation. While she is in the restroom, he tells Dolly he
sees her sister is pregnant. Helen isn't crazy. She has been
thinks it best to go to Howards End without Margaret. Just as
trying to spare her family dishonor, and she may be a bit
he is leaving, Margaret hears Dolly scream as the driver
embarrassed herself. Readers, along with Margaret, now
narrowly misses her child in the yard, and Margaret is able to
understand that the timing of Helen's departure eight months
jump into the car. Although she is furious that her husband is
earlier, as well as why she has been gone so long, although the
treating her just the same as he is treating Helen, she acts
paternity of the child is still unclear. Her odd response to
completely calm. They stop to pick up the doctor, and he and
Margaret's earlier letter, which urged "charity in sexual
Mr. Wilcox discuss Helen and the mental health of the Schlegel
matters" now also makes sense in light of her pregnancy.
family. Margaret is angry that the two men "label" Helen, and
Helen herself will need exactly this kind of compassion herself.

While Margaret begins Chapter 35 by feeling that she must

"trust [her husband] absolutely, events take a dramatic turn, Chapters 37–38
causing a profound shift in her relationships with her husband
and sister. Margaret has an epiphany, a moment of sudden
insight. She realizes that Mr. Wilcox treats her as someone Summary
with no rights the same way he set up the plan "to catch Helen"
like an animal. His misogyny is never clearer than when he
suggests she freshen up, so he can leave for Howards End Chapter 37
without her. Despite her protestations, he decides that she is
"not fit" for the confrontation with Helen, based on nothing Margaret and Helen find it difficult to talk to one another as
more than a momentary gesture, when Margaret "lift[s] her Helen suspects Margaret of trying to trap her, and Margaret
hand to her eyes," because she is so concerned about her wonders why Helen didn't confide in her about her pregnancy.
sister. For Mr. Wilcox, this is evidence supporting his Helen says she will leave England for good because she has
assumption that women are too emotional, and thus weak and "done something that the English never pardon." She plans to
fragile. live with her child and her friend Monica in Munich. Margaret is
pained at the thought of Helen's moving away permanently,
Margaret races out of the bathroom and jumps into a moving and Helen feels talking is useless. But the sisters find they are
car. Her action echoes Chapter 25, when she thwarted Charles able to reconnect over shared childhood memories revived by
with a show of her own willpower by returning to the scene of the furniture and belongings from Wickham Place. Helen feels
a car accident. Margaret still hides her true motives from Mr. at home at Howards End, claiming that "we know this is our
Wilcox, however, acting calm when she is actually fuming "at house, because it feels ours." Margaret believes Howards End
his dishonesty." She decides that she isn't going along with his "has wonderful powers ... [because] it kills what is dreadful and
plan for her sister and runs ahead of him to meet Helen, makes what is beautiful live." Miss Avery sends a little boy
shutting the garden gate in his face. When she pushes Helen named Tom over to deliver milk. He asks if they want eggs in
inside Howards End, Margaret's spiritual home, it becomes a the morning. Helen asks Margaret if the two of them can spend
fortress to protect her sister. She tells off both the doctor and the night at Howards End. Margaret knows it will upset
Mr. Wilcox, refusing their commands and insisting they leave. Charles. He already resents having their furniture in his
Although she is still kind to her husband, she does not obey mother's home. Margaret, still "a loyal wife," feels obligated to
him, refusing to hand over the keys or allowing the doctor to ask Mr. Wilcox for permission. She leaves to speak to him,
see Helen, and in fact she becomes the one issuing remembering Miss Avery's "prophecy" in Chapter 23 that
commands, telling the men to go away. Margaret would live in Howards End.
In Chapter 36 Margaret understands that protecting Helen is a

struggle between men and women, and that Howards End can Chapter 38
be a sanctuary for women. She orders the men off the
grounds, insisting she is the only one qualified to take care of Margaret speaks to her husband about the house, and "the
her sister. She decides she will not allow men to treat either of tragedy beg[ins] quietly enough ... by the man's deft assertion
them as though they have no rights, which is at the heart of the of his superiority." Mr. Wilcox asks Margaret if Helen is
men's plan and worldview. In the face of her resolve, theirs pregnant, and when she confirms it, he asks if she has learned
seems to melt. Perhaps they want to avoid an emotional scene the name of Helen's "seducer." She has not. He tells her that he
or maybe they are stunned by Margaret's display of strength, has contacted Charles and Tibby, although Margaret says this
but in either case Margaret has decided to protect her sister was unnecessary because it has nothing to do with them. She
from the pack of men seeking to overpower and control her. asks if they intend to force the man to marry Helen, and if they
Margaret, not the men, holds the keys, literal and spiritual, to have considered what to do if the man is already married. Mr.
Howards End. Wilcox does not understand the connection is making to his
own past sexual history with Jacky. He says if the man is
married, he will "be thrashed within an inch of his life."

When Margaret asks if she and Helen may stay the night at has sent for Charles. Surely he must be on his way to Howards
Howards End, Mr. Wilcox refuses. She points out that he End even as they speak. Margaret realizes uneasily that Miss
doesn't use the house at all and how much it would mean to Avery's prophecy has come true. Margaret is coming to live at
Helen to have one last night among her family things before Howards End, if only for a night. Miss Avery sends the boy,
she leaves. He still refuses, and Margaret lets loose. She calls Tom, over with milk and promises of eggs in the morning, as if
him "stupid, hypocritical, [and] cruel" because he "cannot Margaret and Helen are already permanent residents. Readers
connect": he fails to recognize that "what Helen has done," he wonder if there is more to it than a single night. What does the
has done, only his actions were worse since he was married. old lady know about the future of Howards End and the two
She reminds him of his refusal to take responsibility for the families it ties together?
"bad financial advice" which led to Mr. Bast's tragic decline.
Margaret regrets she has "spoiled" her husband for so long. He The opening of Chapter 38 announces the coming climax of
says his case is not the same as Helen's and repeats that he the novel to be a "tragedy," one started by a man "asserting his
does not give the sisters permission to stay at Howards End. superiority." This is vague enough to peak reader's interest and
wonder if the man is Mr. Wilcox or another and how he will
assert himself. Readers have only to finish the chapter to
Analysis recognize the tragedy, still unclear in and of itself, must be
started by Mr. Wilcox's refusal to let Helen and Margaret stay
When Chapter 37 opens, the sisters struggle to communicate. at the house. He is clearly trying to assert his authority over the
The situation is awkward, and they have taken very different house, as well as over his wife and her sister.
paths. As the chapter continues, however, the sisters reconcile
Misogyny, represented again by Mr. Wilcox, comes out clearly
and reinforce their bond, inspired by seeing their family
in Chapter 38. He assumes that Helen's pregnancy is a
possessions arranged around them. The scene takes place
problem that men need to solve for the sake of social
during the spring, a time of rejuvenation and renewal. Margaret
propriety. He calls together the other men in the family,
understands that Howards End itself restores life because it
Charles and Tibby, to sort out the mess without consulting
"kills what is dreadful and makes what is beautiful alive." Over
Helen or Margaret. He does not seem to hear Margaret when
the course of the chapter, Helen returns to her old self,
she claims that this is unnecessary because the matter doesn't
returning readers to the very start of the novel: "she was the
concern the men. In fact, men don't figure into this for her
Helen who had written the memorable letters four years ago."
much at all. She hasn't even thought to ask the name of the
She notes that "we know this is our house." By taking
father of Helen's baby. By describing the man as a "seducer,"
possession of Howards End, even for a single night, the sisters
Mr. Wilcox assumes that Helen has been manipulated and
take possession of themselves and their destinies. However,
used. In contrast, Margaret sees Helen as an equal participant
for Margaret, this is a thorny issue. Helen may be ready to be
in her pregnancy, rather than as a victim.
defiant and claim their right to a night in Howards End.
Margaret, despite her act of rebellion, is still "a loyal wife." In Chapter 38, Margaret finally says what readers have been
Instead of simply agreeing with Helen, she hesitates, worries thinking for so long in her confrontation with Mr. Wilcox. She
that Charles won't like it if they stay there, and then says she explodes in anger and disbelief that he is unable to see the
must speak to her husband about it. connection between his own behavior and Helen's. She shouts
at him, saying all the things she has left unsaid for their
It is a simple request, to spend the night in an uninhabited
courtship and marriage, even announcing that she regrets not
house, yet Margaret is wary to ask because of Charles's
saying them, "spoiling" him as one might coddle a child. She
feelings. She knows that even their furniture in Howards End
says he is a stupid hypocrite who has mistreated women
annoys him.
through his affairs, even as he threatens the father of Helen's
When she decides to make the request anyway at the end of child with a beating. He remains obtuse as ever, denying any
Chapter 37, the author is building tension leading to the climax. connection exists. She says "Helen has done" just what Mr.
Readers are meant to wonder what Charles's reaction will be. Wilcox has done. She equates the two. He certainly does not,
At the end of Chapter 39, readers wonder what Margaret will claiming the two are completely different. He clings to his
do when Mr. Wilcox refuses to give her permission. Mr. Wilcox authority over the women around him by denying their simple

request and disregarding their feelings and needs. Readers are that Mr. Wilcox will forgive her "outburst," but she wonders if
left to wonder what their relationship will be like now that she she can return to things the way they were. The two sleep at
has told him what she really thinks of him. Howards End.
Chapters 39–40 Analysis

The author contrasts Tibby and Charles in Chapter 39 to show
how they represent two very different kinds of men. Tibby
Summary proves himself to be a progressive man, or at least one
uninterested in controlling women, as he is happy to let his
sister make her own choices. He seems even more docile next
Chapter 39 to Charles who badgers him for information. Charles seems
even more traditionally male, domineering, aggressive, and
Tibby and Charles meet at Ducie Street, and the two are
controlling in comparison to Tibby. Charles has a plan, and is
complete opposites. Helen's pregnancy confirms Charles's
determined to get the information he wants, while Tibby seems
worst thoughts about the Schlegel family. He feels that she
willing to go along with whatever is decided by others.
must be made to marry, whoever the father may be. He just
knows that "Howards End was the objective" of the family and
In Chapters 39 and 40 readers learn the identity of the father
that he "was determined to defend it." Tibby, detached as
of Helen's baby and a little of the circumstances that led her to
always, isn't bothered by the scandal. He believes that Helen
have sex with him. In Chapter 39 Tibby identifies,
should do whatever she thinks is best. Charles badgers Tibby
unintentionally, not only the person with whom Helen had
for any ideas of who the father could be. Tibby mentions the
relations but also the event that made their meeting possible.
Basts as the last company Helen kept before leaving the
He recalls that Helen had brought the Basts to Oniton on the
country, inadvertently giving Charles a clue to pursue.
night of Evie's wedding. In Chapter 40 Helen confides in
Margaret that she got carried away with her pity for Leonard,
"dr[awing] him to her" and "press[ing]" him to tell her the truth,
Chapter 40
which leads them to sleep together at the hotel. Readers may
infer that Mr. Bast is the father of her baby. By comparing that
Mr. Bast will be the future subject of a newspaper article, but
night to her surreptitious kiss with Paul, Helen acknowledges it
at present Helen and Margaret are simply talking about him
to be a futile mistake.
next to the wych-elm tree. Helen tells Margaret how she felt so
angry at Mr. Wilcox's coldness that she felt even sorrier for Mr.
In Chapter 39 Charles's resentment and suspicion of the
Bast than she would have otherwise. She says she "drew him
Schlegels is turning to aggressive action. He wants to force
to her," persuading him to tell her the truth about Jacky and Mr.
Helen to marry the man who fathered her baby and make her
Wilcox. She now understands how Mr. Wilcox "ruined him in
pay for the scandal she is bringing on his family. He doesn't
two ways, not one." Helen also admits that she offered Mr.
care what sort of man the baby's father may be or about the
Bast some of her money to make her feel as if she didn't have
impact such marriage would have on Helen, whose wishes
to see him again. She compares her night with Mr. Bast to the
don't register for Charles. Nothing matters but his own sense
kiss she shared with Paul as both began with "loneliness, and
of self-righteousness and feeling of being threatened by a
the night, and panic afterwards." Helen says that she will never
family who is out to take what is his. It is unclear at this point
like Mr. Wilcox, but she does not hate him.
what Charles intends to do with the clue Tibby gives him about
Mr. Bast, and readers can only wonder what Charles will do
Margaret feels as if everything they have been through,
next. The tension in the plot is reaching a breaking point.
Howards End, and they themselves, are "only fragments" in
Mrs. Wilcox's mind, who "knows everything ... is everything."
Howards End grows in spirituality and mysticism as Margaret
Miss Avery bids the ladies goodnight. Helen asks Margaret to
wonders in Chapter 40 if they all aren't just "fragments" of Mrs.
go to Germany with her. Margaret considers it. She imagines
Wilcox's mind, she who seemed to know all. Ever since Helen's

visit to the place, the Schlegels and Wilcoxes have been drawn When Charles returns home after Mr. Bast's death, he stops at
back to Howards End and toward each other. Even Miss Avery, the police station to tell them what has happened. He then
who foretold their return, spookily appears when Margaret goes to explain the incident to his father. He was speaking with
invokes Mrs. Wilcox's name. It is as if they are all just Margaret. She had just asked him to tell his father that she
characters in a dream. would be going to Germany with Helen when she cried out Mr.
Bast's name. Charles believes that Mr. Bast had been in the
house, "hiding" with the two women. According to Charles, he
Chapters 41–42 hit Mr. Bast once or twice across the shoulders with the flat
side of the sword hanging in the house, which was the handiest
thing available, and Mr. Bast pulled the bookshelf down on
Summary himself. Charles assures his father that the "real cause" of Mr.
Bast's death was heart disease. He secretly hopes that what
he has told his father will cause him to separate from Margaret.
Charles anticipates a police inquiry, which Mr. Wilcox confirms
Chapter 41
the next morning, and Charles boasts about how he "shall
Mr. Bast has been wracked with guilt in the eight months since naturally be the most important witness there."
his night with Helen. He feels as if he has ruined a priceless

piece of art. The only good to come of it has been his
newfound sympathy and tenderness for Jacky, whom he feels
Analysis
is no different from him now. Unemployed, he has been forced
Both Chapters 41 and 42 move backward chronologically to
to beg his family for money. He recalls seeing Margaret and
tell past events from other characters' points of view. Chapter
Tibby by accident, when they had been in London looking for
41 goes back eight months to cover Mr. Bast's experience of
Helen, but when he decided to approach them to confess, they
the night with Helen and the events that followed in his life. The
had already left. He spent several days trying to find Margaret
narrator explains how remorse over the event motivated Mr.
and eventually asked after her at the house on Dulcie Street.
Bast to confess to Margaret. Chapter 42 goes back to when
He learned from the maid that she had gone to Howards End.
Charles left his meeting with Tibby the day before Mr. Bast's
He takes a train to Hilton and goes to the house. As he
death. Charles had visited his father where he learned of the
approaches, he hears voices. He enters the hall and declares
Schlegels' request to stay the night and about Mr. Wilcox's
he has done wrong. Charles grabs him by the collar and hits
fight with Margaret. The author includes these events from
him with the flat side of a sword. Mr. Bast collapses with a pain
various characters' perspectives to show what led up to the
in his heart. A shower of books falls over him. They take him
death of Mr. Bast, the climax of the novel. Because of these
outside at Charles's command where Helen splashes water on
peeks back in time, readers know what led Mr. Bast and
his face, but he is dead. Miss Avery carries the sword out of
Charles to come to Howards End that day and what their
the house and calls what has happened murder.
intentions had been. Readers understand Mr. Bast's motivation
as a pure, well-intentioned one and see Charles as motivated
Chapter 42 by self-righteous indignation and unfounded suspicion.
Chapter 41 is the climax of the novel. Charles's beating and

After Charles had left Ducie Street, he went back to Hilton.
inadvertent killing of Mr. Bast is the culmination of all his
Margaret didn't return to Charles's home that night, where Mr.
animosity toward the Schlegel family, and it will also be, as
Wilcox expected her. Mr. Wilcox confided to his son that he
readers will find out, the catalyst for their permanent residence
fears she is at Howards End. He refused to call his earlier
at Howards End. All of the tension between the Schlegel and
blowup with Margaret a quarrel, and described her as having
Wilcox families, which began in Chapter 1 with Paul and Helen's
been simply "over-wrought." Charles felt further justified in his
kiss, has been building toward this confrontation, which is
distrust of the Schlegels and said he would go up to Howards
really motivated by jealousy over ownership of the house.
End in the morning. His father urged him to "use no violence."
Helen's interactions with Mr. Bast, beginning with her innocent
theft of his umbrella, has woven their stories together and led

to his tragic demise. Now he is also connected to Howards darkness ... that comes with a commercial age." She thinks he
End. will continue doing what he has always done, growing his
wealth and being "tenacious of power." Margaret believes in
Readers are likely unsurprised at Charles's reaction to the eternity and wonders if she will meet him after death.
death of Mr. Bast in Chapter 42. He remains true to character
and is completely untroubled with what has happened. He feels Mr. Wilcox sends Crane to fetch Margaret. She locks up
that he did just what was proper considering the scandalous Howards End, then goes with Crane. Her husband asks her
behavior he attributes to Mr. Bast and the shame it has cast on comes inside, but she refuses and makes him sit on the grass
his family, right in his mother's own house. He sounds like he outside to speak to her. She tells him that she is leaving him.
wants to impress his father with his actions, which he sees as He tells her that there is to be an inquest and that Charles will
totally justified because he was defending his family. He argues likely be charged with manslaughter and go to prison. She is
that the death was not related to his actions anyway: Mr. Bast shocked at the thought Charles could go to jail. When he is
died of heart disease. This contrasts sharply with Miss Avery's found guilty and sentenced to three years, Mr. Wilcox becomes
comment at the end of Chapter 41, in which she labeled Mr. a broken man. He asks Margaret to care for him, and she takes
Bast's death "murder," not because Charles meant to kill him, him to Howards End.
but because Charles represents how one class heartlessly
decimates another. Mr. Bast's death by heart attack is
symbolic of how the lack of "connection," or compassion, Chapter 44
devastates the poor and vulnerable.
Fourteen months later, Margaret, Mr. Wilcox, Helen, and her
Charles sounds a lot like his father when he explains what baby live together happily at Howards Ends. Helen and Mr.
happened. His main concern is justifying his own actions, Wilcox have learned to like one another. Helen praises
avoiding any emotion, and evading responsibility. For his part, Margaret for creating their content family. Margaret claims she
Mr. Wilcox writes off Margaret's blistering assessment of his had to care for Helen and Mr. Wilcox because both were ill.
character as another instance of a woman being "over- Margaret says that Mr. Wilcox is one of those people who
wrought," meaning overemotional. He won't even admit that he "noticed nothing" their whole lives, and such people "collapse
and Margaret quarreled or that anything she said was just, and when they do notice a thing." She bids Helen not be sad that
he still insists that Margaret and Helen must leave Howards she cannot love Mr. Bast the way Margaret loves Mr. Wilcox.
End. She says difference creates "color in the daily gray." She, for
example, cannot love children as Helen does. Helen and
Margaret watch the hay in the field being cut while the
Chapters 43–44 neighbor boy, Tom, plays in it with the baby. Inside, suffering
from hay fever, Mr. Wilcox is speaking to Evie, Dolly, Margaret,
and Paul, who has returned from Africa. Mr. Wilcox lets them all
know that he is leaving the house to Margaret and to her
Summary
nephew after she dies. They acknowledge his wishes. Dolly
remarks that it is strange that Margaret should get the house
as Mrs. Wilcox wanted, after all. Margaret asks Mr. Wilcox
Chapter 43
about the remark, and he reveals the truth about Mrs. Wilcox's
bequest, characterizing it as the scribble of confused sick
Helen fills Mr. Bast's arms with flowers from the garden as he
woman, but Margaret is touched by it. Helen comes in with the
lies dead on the gravel drive, hoping that his child will enjoy the
boys and announces the hay has been cut.
"beauty and adventure" life offers to some. Margaret answers
the doctor's questions about Charles and Mr. Bast. She is
resigned to her decision to leave Mr. Wilcox and go to
Germany with Helen. She doesn't regret her words to him.
Analysis
They were what needed to be said not only to him, "but to
Margaret doesn't back down from what she said to Mr. Wilcox
thousands of men like him—a protest against the inner
earlier. On the contrary, readers learn in Chapter 44 that she

Howards End Study Guide Quotes 44
doesn't regret it or want to forgive him, much less be forgiven. family, a curious combination of its previous family and friends,
She has found her voice and her independent spirit. She now lives at Howards End. In a way Mrs. Wilcox is still there
reflects that what she said to her husband needed to be said, too, through Margaret, who is now a stabilizing influence on the
not only to him but to so many other men like him. She plans to family. Mr. Bast's son is enjoying the sunshine, having an
leave him and join Helen in Germany. Margaret's rebellion is outdoor adventure his father would have enjoyed, the Schlegel
only curtailed by her love of Mr. Wilcox and, it is implied, her sisters are united at Howards End, and the novel ends on a
sense of duty to care for him when he collapses after Charles's triumphant note. The hay has been cut. They have what they
sentencing. She continues to love him, while at the same time wanted.
condemning his faults. She is able to connect even if he can't.
The fact that she has cared for him at Howards End shows her
capacity for true compassion.
g Quotes
In Chapter 43 the author identifies the cause of Mr. Wilcox's
obtuseness and what makes him "rotten at the core": the
commercialism of the modern age. He has worked hard his
"These ... would be swept away ...
whole life and "noticed nothing." The demands of business so and another promontory would
preoccupy the majority of people, trying to get ahead and
acquire wealth, that their emotional development is stunted.
rise upon their site, as humanity
Such is modern life. Even those who try to see "adventure and piled itself higher and higher on
dreams" like Mr. Bast, cannot escape its confines.
the precious soil of London."
Margaret finally learns the truth about Mrs. Wilcox's bequest in
this final chapter of the book. As usual, it's loose-lipped Dolly
— Narrator, Chapter 2
who lets the family secret slip. Margaret doesn't appear to be
angry at the revelation but does feel a deep stirring at the
knowledge. Howards End really is hers now with Mr. Wilcox's Older homes in London, like the Schlegel's house, Wickham
declaration of his will to the family, but it has really been hers Place, are destined to be torn down. Newer apartment
for much longer. The knowledge of the bequest confirms what buildings will be constructed upon their sites to meet the
she has long felt about the place. She has a spiritual housing needs of an ever increasing urban population caught
connection to it and to the late Mrs. Wilcox. up in the relentless flow of modern life. The narrator depicts
the urbanization of London in a negative light, portraying the
Mr. Wilcox is still using sexism as a buffer to maintain his sense growing population as piled one on top of another. This
of control and evade responsibility or guilt. He passes off his contrasts with Howards End, a modest and welcoming country
late wife's bequest of the house to Margaret as a passing house that acts as a refuge from a troubled world.
fancy from the mind of confused, dying woman who was "not
being herself." Knowing his ability to excuse himself from just
about anything, that is probably what he really believes. "She seemed to belong not to the
However, even he has come to make a change: he ensures
that Margaret will inherit Howards End, and even more young people and their motor, but
surprisingly, that Helen's son will inherit the property. The
to the house, and to the tree that
scandal the baby represents has apparently been forgiven, or
at least reconsidered. None of Mr. Wilcox's children object to overshadowed it."
the inheritance.
The author brings the novel full circle with the final chapter.
Just as it began at Howards End in summer, with Mr. Wilcox
inside because of his hay fever as the hay is being cut, so it Mrs. Wilcox is different from her modern, materialistic family.
ends. Paul reappears, returned from his distant travels. A new Instead, she seems much more a part of the world of Howards

End, which is a spiritual place, the home of her ancestors, and,

"To them Howards End was a
due to its rural location, immersed in nature. In contrast, the
rest of the Wilcox family values the fast-paced, urban, house: they could not know that to
commercialized world. Mrs. Wilcox knows that her family could
her it had been a spirit, for which
never appreciate Howards End as she does. This is why Mrs.
Wilcox seeks a spiritual heir for the house in Margaret. she sought a spiritual heir."
"Money pads the edges of things ...
God help those who have none." Most of the members of the Wilcox family deal only in the
material realities of modern life, owning and leaving house after
— Margaret Schlegel, Chapter 7 house, as is convenient to their current needs. They do not
appreciate the spiritual qualities of Howards End or Mrs.
Wilcox's attachment to the house. She had recognized, like
Margaret, who lives comfortably on a steady income derived Margaret, that houses are alive, and she loved the permanence
from investments, acknowledges how money provides of her family home deep in the countryside. Mrs. Wilcox found
protection and a convenient escape from some of the world's in Margaret the spiritual heir she wanted for Howards End, and
harsh realities. She also admits that she is glad to have it ("Am I even after her death Margaret feels as if Mrs. Wilcox is still a
for poverty or riches? For riches," she declares). On the other part of the place.
hand, she is also conscious of how being financially
comfortable can insulate people like herself, who fail to
recognize or understand the plight of the poor.
"Don't brood too much ... on the
superiority of the unseen to the
"They avoided the personal note in seen. ... Our business is not to
life. All Wilcoxes did. ... It is the contrast the two, but to reconcile
best—perhaps the only—way of them."
dodging emotion."
— Margaret Schlegel, Chapter 12
Margaret writes to Helen to counsel her to see the value in the
The Wilcox family is uncomfortable with, and perhaps unable "seen," meaning the practical, material world, rather than
to deal with, emotional issues. Their strategy is to avoid dismissing it simply because it is not the "unseen," represented
emotion whenever possible. This is especially true of Mr. by the world of imagination and ideas in the form of philosophy,
Wilcox, who excels at handling practical, logistical matters. His art, or music. Margaret sees the value in both the seen and
business thrives, but when it comes to matters of the heart, he unseen, and her mantra of "only connect" is a goal toward
is at a loss. He dismisses them as quickly and efficiently as which she works throughout the novel in order to reconcile
possible, even if it means modifying his memory of events or them.
writing off women as fragile and ridiculous—anything to keep
things from getting too personal. This contrasts with the
Schlegel sisters, who lean more toward emotion. Margaret "[Mr. Bast was] one of the
hopes to help Mr. Wilcox connect more with his "inner life,"
meaning his emotions, but struggles throughout the novel to do
thousands who have lost the life of
so. the body and failed to reach the

the seen (the world of hunger and poverty), which he now

life of the spirit."
accepts as inevitable. In a state of despair, he concludes that
neither poetry nor philosophy nor dreams ultimately have the
power to change his circumstances. Social class—the brutal
gap between the rich and poor—is impossible to overcome. For
Mr. Bast is like thousands of others who have come to work in this reason he feels that there is no way for the Schlegels to
London after the Industrial Revolution rather than remain help him or for him to help himself or his wife.
farmers or shepherds in the rural world of their ancestors. He
has lost a presumably happy existence involving physical labor
in nature, the life of the body. It is replaced by his cultural "In these English farms ... one
aspirations, the life of the spirit, but he lacks the money to
develop them. This inevitably leads Mr. Bast to a sense of
might see life steadily and see it
failure and depression. whole ... connect—connect without
bitterness until all men are
"Only connect! ... Only connect the brothers."
prose and the passion, ... and
human love will be seen at its
height." Margaret reflects on the countryside around Howards End,
and is struck by its melancholy and idyllic beauty. She hears
— Narrator, Chapter 22 children playing, and she enjoys the balance she experiences
between her inner life and this striking outer world. This place
establishes a deep connection among all living things that she
Margaret is frustrated by her husband's "obtuseness," his
longs for and finds so lacking everywhere else.
inability to synthesize the spiritual with the physical, to
acknowledge both emotions and actions as part of reality. She
wants to inspire him to connect the two parts of life, because
only through both can love, in its fullness, truly exist.
"A new feeling came over her; she
was fighting for women against
"Poetry's nothing ... . One's men."
thoughts about this and that are — Narrator, Chapter 36

nothing ... . It's the whole world
Margaret uses Howards End as a sanctuary to shield pregnant,
pulling. There will always be rich
vulnerable Helen from the men who seek to rob her of her
and poor." rights and force her to be examined, treated, and perhaps
locked up, against her will. She has decided to take action and
— Leonard Bast, Chapter 26 stand up to the men who wish to do this to her sister by
forbidding them entrance to the house. Margaret recognizes
that the struggle in which she finds herself is one that extends
Mr. Bast left one job, only to lose another. He and Jacky have
beyond her and Helen's immediate circumstances to a
been evicted from their home, and found starving by Helen. He
question of human rights for women.
explains to Margaret that he has abandoned his ambitions to
the unseen (the life of the mind) under the pressing weight of

Howards End Study Guide Symbols 47
Margaret finally confronts her husband about his inability to

"I have done something that the
connect his past misdeeds with Helen's pregnancy and Mr.
English never pardon." Bast's misfortunes. The narrator claims that her criticism of Mr.
Wilcox, for his single-minded focus on materialism and his lack
— Helen Schlegel, Chapter 37 of self-awareness ("that inner darkness"), is an example of the
ills of modernity that applies not only to her husband but to
many others.
Helen acknowledges that her pregnancy outside of marriage
will make her a social outcast. To complicate matter, the father
is a married man (later revealed to be Mr. Bast). It is really no
worse than Mr. Wilcox's affair with Jacky, with the difference
"I feel that our house is the future
that Mr. Wilcox was able to hide his affair for years. He as well as the past."
appeases his own conscience with excuses and need never be
troubled by remorse again. Even after the affair is discovered,
— Margaret Schlegel, Chapter 44
he loses nothing. Helen knows that as unwed mother the same
will not be true for her should she stay in England. This
exposes the injustice in how men's and women's sexuality is Now the undisputed heir of Howard End and mistress of her
viewed in Edwardian England. own little family of Mr. Wilcox, Helen, and her nephew,
Margaret shares her hope that society will change. She sees
the encroaching city, but she is still safe within the rural,
peaceful grounds of Howards End, which has remained
"They may take the title-deeds and
unchanged for so long. She hopes Howards End also
the doorkeys, but for this one represents a better future, an alternative to the frantic forward
motion of the modern world.
night we are at home."
— Helen Schlegel, Chapter 37
l Symbols
Helen recognizes the spiritual ownership she and Margaret
feel toward Howards End, even if they only spend one night
there. She distinguishes it from legal ownership,
acknowledging that they may be turned out of the house at any
Gray
point, but she knows that the house emotionally and spiritually
belongs to them. It is theirs because of how they feel attuned
to the house and what it represents: a place of renewal, vitality, In the novel the color gray comes up frequently. It represents
and connection. monotony, hopelessness, depression, and the ills of
urbanization and industrialization. Margaret assures Mr. Bast
that "there was something beyond life's daily gray." Life in
London is described as "swimming the gray tides." Gray is also
"[She had] spoken not only to her
associated with fog, a phenomenon common in England,
husband but to thousands of men especially London due to pollution. Poor Mr. Bast's existence is
described as "a gray life." Margaret thinks that giving the poor
like him—a protest against the larger sums of money would be better than small charitable
inner darkness ... that comes with offering which serve only in "making the gray more gray" for
them by contrast. Fog obscures and confuses. Helen praises
a commercial age." Mr. Bast for trying to "get away from the fog that is stifling us
all," by exploring nature in his nighttime walk in search of a
— Narrator, Chapter 43 more transcendent view of life. Sadly, he describes the dawn

Howards End Study Guide Themes 48
the next day as still "only gray." In Chapter 44, Margaret

declares an antidote for all this "grayness": "eternal m Themes
differences, planted by God in a single family, so that there
may always be ... color in the dally gray." It is the differences, or
uniqueness of individuals, that bring color to the world.
Connection
Cars In Howards End, modern life is defined by property and

progress in overdrive: a rush to acquire material goods
accompanied by rapid technological and urban growth. This
causes human beings to become disconnected from their inner
Cars symbolize modern technology and what is lost as a result.
lives, from each other, from nature, and from a shared sense of
Racing down dirt country roads, cars kick up dust, blurring and
the past. In contrast, Margaret Schlegel, the novel's
separating riders from nature. Margaret "lost all sense of
protagonist, favors the need to "only connect," to reconcile and
space" in the seat of a moving motorcar as "trees, houses,
balance different aspects of life through empathy and
people, animals, hills, merged and heaved into one dirtiness."
understanding. This includes forging a connection between
Cars not only obscure and bypass the view of nature as they
what she calls the "seen" and the "unseen." The seen
race along, they endanger it. The car carrying guests to Oniton
represents the practical, or outside, world, while the unseen
kills a little girl's pet in the road, and the driver is unconcerned,
represents the inner world, formed by the emotions, the
even resenting the girl for what he interprets as her rudeness.
intellect, and spiritual life. Reconnecting with England's rural
There is no concern for the animal, nor its owner, only that the
past and the natural world are also essential components of
driver and his passengers resume their trip as soon as
healing the damage modern life has caused.
possible. Charles, the very representation of greedy
materialism, loves nothing more than his car.
The Wilcox family values wealth, materialism, and power over
emotion, intellect, and empathy. This is in stark contrast to the
inner life the sisters value so highly, based on personal
English Country Homes relationships and their enthusiasm for philosophy, current
events, and the arts. Helen argues that the inner life is the real
and more important one, but Margaret recognizes the value of
both. She tells Helen that the inner life is like poetry,
The author includes several English country homes in the imaginative and passionate, while the outer life is like prose,
novel, in addition to Howards End, including Oniton and more ordinary and functional communication. She claims
Charles's somewhat smaller home in Hilton. All represent what Helen's romance with Paul is as much like poetry as her own
stands to be lost in the urbanization of the country. These love for Mr. Wilcox is like prose. She is aware of his faults, of
homes, which have seen so much English history and have his limitations, and his "furtive passions," yet she hopes to one
been passed down to succeeding generations, were integral to day to help him "only connect the prose and passion ... and
the community as well as the culture. Surrounded by human love will have seen its heights."
countryside, these houses in the novel are peaceful and idyllic.
They represent a view of life which was threatened during the
Edwardian era by the onslaught of modern technology and
growth hurtling England into the future. Howards End, a Rich versus Poor
modest country home with a beautiful garden and an ancient
tree, symbolizes a place of healing and rejuvenation, where
love and human connection can flourish. Its setting in the
The theme of rich versus poor, and the obligations of those
English countryside links it to the long history of rural life
with money to those without, surfaces over and over again in
supplanted by the urban factories of the Industrial Revolution
Howards End. The differences between three families, the
that fueled modern life in London, as presented in the novel.

Howards End Study Guide Themes 49
Schlegels, the Wilcoxes, and the Basts, demonstrate how destroys him.
money defines three different kinds of lives.
The question of the responsibility of the rich to the poor is
The Schlegels and the Wilcoxes represent two different facets much debated in the novel. The Schlegel and Wilcox families
of the English upper class. The Schlegels were born with a hold opposing positions. The Schlegels see it as their duty to
certain level of privilege that allows them to live comfortably help Mr. Bast where they can, even if only by encouraging him
without working. They each draw a certain amount of money and giving him advice. Helen tries to bail him and his wife Jacky
annually from investments. When asked if she is for riches or out of financial trouble by buying back their belongings after an
poverty, Margaret declares. "For riches. Money forever!" She eviction, then offers them half of her own fortune. Margaret too
recognizes that "riches" represent freedom, freedom for the is in favor of giving the poor a steady reliable income rather
Schlegels to do what they want with their time, such as than small handouts, believing it would make them
exploring the world of art and culture or traveling. They don't independent, much like herself, although on a smaller scale. Mr.
have to worry about rent or where their next meal comes from. Wilcox, on the other hand believes that the existence of rich
Being well-off does not mean Margaret is callous or devoid of and poor is inevitable, and therefore he has no responsibility to
compassion. She is an empathetic, thoughtful person who change things. He believes that "if wealth was divided up
wants to help solve society's ills and who makes an effort to equally, in a few years there would be rich and poor again just
connect with others. However, she does not always fully the same." In his view, the economy is a meritocracy, and the
recognize how extensive and definitive the gap between the poor deserve what they get. They are experiencing the reality
rich and the poor really is. that "the shoe is bound to pinch in places" as society
progresses forward.
The Wilcoxes, on the other hand, lack any empathy for the
suffering of others. Mr. Wilcox is a self-made businessman. For
him and his family, money equals status and power. Their
multiple cars and homes broadcast their privilege, but also give Feminism
them a sense of superiority to others less fortunate. They see
other people as predators, plotting to take what they've got or
otherwise undermine them, when in fact they are predators
Feminism is at the heart of Howards End. Set against the
themselves: ruthless pragmatists, who assess every person or
backdrop of the suffrage movement, which was dedicated to
event to see how it betters or worsens their own
fighting for women's rights during the Edwardian era, the novel
circumstances. They are not above manipulating, qualifying
shows in vivid detail how women struggled to establish their
their actions, or lying if it serves their best interests.
independence personally and politically. The novel was
Although their money comes from different sources, it provides published in 1910 as women lobbied for the right to vote. Most
both families with what Margaret calls "a golden island," mentions of the suffrage movement in the novel come in the
keeping them from the sea of poverty in which so many others form of men convincing women of its futility, and women
struggle. The true cost of poverty to the human spirit is acknowledging the strength of the arguments against it. Some
represented in the novel by Mr. Bast, a clerk with aspirations to women declare that they are glad they don't have the vote.
better himself through music and literature. He leaves his job One woman argues that clever women already influence their
on the advice of Mr. Wilcox, who tells him, wrongly as it turns husbands' vote, which should be enough.
out, that the company for which Mr. Bast works will fail. This
Forster offers an alternative, feminist view. He deliberately
causes a humiliating descent into abject poverty. This poverty
makes Margaret, his main character, the head of not only her
is a trap that that starves Mr. Bast's potential: he simply does
family but eventually of a group of three families that she
not have the time or resources to educate himself, although it
unites to live together at Howards End. She has raised her
is what he wants most. Instead, he struggles to make ends
siblings after her parents' death and manages her own money.
meet and finally comes to believe that he is both beyond help
She has turned down marriage offers in favor of independence,
and beyond hope. By the end of the novel, despite the efforts
and she enjoys intellectual pursuits and has liberal social views.
of the Schlegels to help him, Mr. Bast agrees that the divide
Still, she must live among men who believe women to be
between rich and poor is inescapable, and it ultimately

Howards End Study Guide Suggested Reading 50
inferior because they are at the mercy of their emotions, and

therefore require protection.
Her marriage to the chauvinistic Mr. Wilcox is a study in how

sexism represses women. Margaret learns to "play the girl,"
carefully editing what she says and does to help her husband
maintain his sense of power and dominance. If she acts on her
own behalf, she presents those actions as silly or flighty to
keep the peace. Secretly, however, she chafes at her
husband's need to control her. While he recognizes Margaret's
worth to some extent, Mr. Wilcox also belittles her, denigrating
her family's cultural interests, referring to her as the "little wife,"
and treating her as if she is too emotional to be trusted. Mr.
Wilcox makes decisions for Margaret, selling a house she
longed to live in without asking her. When Helen becomes
pregnant out of wedlock, creating a potential scandal for the
family, he steps in to control the situation without consulting
either of the sisters. The last straw for Margaret is her
husband's complete inability to empathize with Helen's
situation. It is then that Margaret decides to tell him what she
really thinks of him. and opting to do everything she can to help
her sister.
Forster offers other examples in the novel of women asserting

themselves and expressing their desire for change. Helen
imagines a future in which women, like men, will face the
assumption that they pursue an occupation. She travels freely,
without a male chaperone, and has no plans to marry. Monica,
Helen's Italian friend, even earns her own living as a journalist.
Such ambitions may strike readers as basic human rights, but
in light of the cultural expectations of women at the time, they
were quite progressive.
e Suggested Reading
Delaney, Paul. "'Islands of Money': Rentier Culture in Howards
End." E.M. Forster: Contemporary Critical Essays, Edited by
Jeremy Tambling, MacMillan, 1995, pp. 67–80.
Forster, E.M. Howards End. DB, 2012.
Moffat, Wendy. E.M. Forster: A New Life. Bloomsbury, 2010.
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jurisdictions and may not be reproduced or distributed without the express written consent. Contact Course Hero
with respect to reproduction or distribution. This document was downloaded from Coursehero.com on 07-19-2021
by 100000817764887.

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ABOUT THE TITLE

k Plot Summary ............................................................................................. 9

c Chapter Summaries .............................................................................. 16

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Women's Rights As a young man, Forster attended Tonbridge School, followed

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h Characters London from the countryside for work. He works as a clerk at

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Other Major Character

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Full Character List Baby

Leonard Bast is a young clerk, Burton is the Wilcox's butler at Oniton.

Helen Schlegel is the impulsive,

Miss Avery is the elderly, spinster

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Evie Wilcox is Mr. Wilcox's outspoken, The unnamed male friend of

Herr Förstmeister is a fat German

Albert Fussell is a well-​off young man. Monica is an Italian journalist and

Colonel Fussell is Albert's father and a

Jacky is a 33-​year-​old, emotionally

Richard Jefferies is a British author Mr. Pembroke is an honest,

Bruno Liesecke is a German who Penny is the elderly gardener at

Dr. Mansbridge is a doctor in Hilton. The reader of the paper is an ill

An unnamed female friend of

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Mr. Schlegel is a German who fought The woodcutter is a man who

Charles Wilcox is the self-​important,

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In the meantime, Charles has been busy trying to figure out

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9. Helen goes to Germany.

1. Helen kisses Paul, but the two break up soon after.

2. Margaret and Helen meet Mr. Bast at a concert.

3. Mrs. Wilcox bequeaths Howards End to Margaret and dies.

8. Helen and Mr. Bast sleep together.

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15. Mr. Wilcox leaves Howards End to Margaret and her

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June, early 20th century

Helen kisses Paul Wilcox at Howards End and writes to

Mrs. Munt tries to confront the Wilcox family, but Helen

The Schlegels meet Mr. Bast after Helen takes his

Margaret and Mrs. Wilcox become friends.

A few weeks later

Mrs. Wilcox, now gravely ill, writes her husband a letter

Mrs. Wilcox's funeral takes place at Hilton, near Howards

Two years later

Mr. Bast visits the Schlegel sisters and impresses them

Mr. Wilcox tells the Schlegels that Mr. Bast's company

Margaret and Mr. Wilcox become engaged to marry.

Later that summer

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Mr. Bast loses his job, and he and Jacky struggle to

Helen takes the Basts to Oniton, where Mr. Wilcox's past

Later that night

Helen and Mr. Bast have sex at the hotel in Oniton.

Helen tells Tibby to give her money to Mr. Bast, who

Helen leaves the country, Margaret marries Mr. Wilcox,

The following spring

Mr. Wilcox and Margaret trick Helen into going to

Albert Fussell is a well-off young man. Monica is an Italian journalist and

Jacky is a 33-year-old, emotionally

Charles Wilcox is the self-important,