“SS CONTENTS TE7 Ol. The 20" Century Literature G1-15 02. E,M. Forster: Introduction 16-24 03. Edward Morgan Forster; Aspects of the Novel— Complete Text 25-122 ‘Chapter 1: Introductory 25 ‘Chapter 2: The Story 38. ‘Chapter 3: People 48 Chapter 4; People (continued) 61 Chapter 5: The Plot 7 Chapter 6: Fantasy 83 Chapter 7; Prophecy 94 Chapter 8: Pattern & Rhythm 108 Chapter 9: Conclusion 120 04. Aspects of the Novel: Introduction 5. Aspects of the Novel: Plot Summary Aspects of the Novel: Detailed Summary ‘Aspects of the Novel: Eminent Literary Figures Aspects of the Novel: Important Object & Places pects of the Novel: Major Themes Aspects of the Novel: Literary Style rical Co07) Aspects of the Novel Eminent Literary Figures jane Austen jane Austen (1775-1817) was an English novelist whose works jepicting the British middle class are a landmark in the development af the modem novel. She is best known for the novels Sense ani sensibility G81), Pride anc Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) Euma (1815}, and-Persuasion (1817). Drawing examples from bot! Swine and Persuasion, Forster notes that all of the characters in Austen's novels are “round.” Arnold Bennett Arnold Bennett (1867-1931) was a British novelist, critic, essayist, and playwright whose major works include a series of novels set in his native region of the “five towns,” then called the Potteries (now united into the single city of Stoke-on-Trent), The “Five Towns” novels include Anna of the Five Towns (1902), The Old Wives’ Tale (1908), Clayhanger (1910), Hilda Lessways (1911), These Tenia (1916), and The Clayhanger Farnily (1925}. Forster discusses The Old Wives’ Tale as an example of a novel in which time is celebrated’ a the “real hero.” He concludes that, while The Old Wives’ Tale is “very strong and sad,” the conclusion is unsatisfactory, therefore “misses greatness.” Emily Bronte Emily Bronte (1818-1848) British writer whose only novel considere: a greater achievemen! ae Forster sl thar Emily Bronte “was 4 prophetess,” in I sense of the word, He explains that, while Wuthering Hei no reference to mythology, and “no book is more cuty Universale of Heaven and Hell,” the prophetic voice o! ), the sister of Charlotte Bron 1, Wathering Hleighs (1847), is * ement than any of her sister‘ 149.* 450) : Aspicrs OFTHE NOVEL BS (Long) gains its power from “what is jmplied,” rather. than from.whay yg" |) explicilly stated. ' Charles Dickens . | Chatles Dickens (1812-1870) is often’ consideret the: grieates) _ English novelist of the Victorian era, His ace ny of which. remain popular classics, include A Christin’ Cari ae Twist (1837. 3835), David Copperfield (1849-1850), Bleak House (1852-1853), A Tale of Two Cities (1859), Great Expectations (1860-1861), and, Our. Mutuat Friend (1864-1865). (His novels: were otiginally published in seriay form, often spread oul ‘over a period, of years.) Forster makes the int that most of the characters in Dickens novels are “fiat” and cin be summed up in one sentence. "However, he .asserts that ‘these, characters evoke “a wonderful feeling: of human ‘depth,”, by which ~ Dickens expresses “a vision of humanity that is not shallow.".In a discussion of narrative point-of-view, Forster uses the example of Bleak House, in vwhich the narrative perspective. shifts. around’ inconsistently, yet does not alienate the reader, due .to Dickens’ . stylistic skill. : 5 : Norman Douglas ae . , Norman Douglas (1868-1952) was, an Austrian. writet of 1. ScottishGerman descent who, travelled. widely in India, Italy, and =} ~ North‘Africa, and most of his works are set'on the Island of Capriin + “southern Italy. Master of a conversational: style of prose, he is best . els Siren Land (1911), South Wiad (1917), and Old *. | 4 known for the nov . Calabria (1915) and for the autobiography Looking Back (1933). ‘Forsler mentions Norman Douglas in a discussion of character. * * He quotes an open letter written by Douglas to D, H. Lawrence «| in which he criticizes the novelist for his undeveloped characters: 2 « Henry Fielding : - Henry Fielding (1701-1754). was a British writer, considered be-orie of the inventors of the English novel, His best known Wor include the novels Joseph Andrews (1742) and Tom Jones (1749): Forstet mentions Fielding as.a novelist, who ‘successfully. creaies “oul _ characters, In‘a discussion of point of view, Forster criticiz Fielding for his intrusive narrative voice, Which: is no better than! _ chattiness” that deflates the’ narrative. tension. In a discussion fantasy, Forster mentions “Joseph Andrews as. an example 6 » “abortive” altempt at parody.-He explains that Fielding 5! with the intention. of parodying ‘the novel. Paniela, by: of07 — ASPECTS OF THE NOVEL: Evaingiyy Lrresary Figuars {152 ichards, bul, through. the invention SEIS own “rou, d” éi Hicet up writing a completely original wage” “TP8NC” characters, pavid Garett David Garnelt (1892-1981) was a British novelist best known { his satiric-tales, such as Lady into Fox (1922) ang A Man in J te Zoo (1924). He also wrote several books based on his association with the Bloomsbury Group, including The Golden Echo (1953), Tie Pctse of te Forest (1955), The Familiar Faces: (1962), and Great Friends; Portraits of Seventeen Writers (1980). In addition; he edited a 1938 edition of Lelters of T. E. Lawrence (1938), Forster. discy sses on of The : a Lady into Fox, in which a woman is. transformed into a fox, as an example of the { fantastic in the novel. : Oliver Goldsmith. Oliver Goldsmith (1730-1774) was an Engli: | and playwright whose major works include the novel Tie Vicar of i Whalefield (1766), the essay collection The Citizen of the World, or Letters frou a Chinese Philosopher (1762), the poem The Deserted. Village (1770), and the play She Stoops to Conquer (1773) ). In a discussion of plot, Forster describes The Vicar of Wakefield as a novel in which the that in The Vicar of Wakefield, as in many novels, the plot is “clever and dresh” at the beginning, yet “wooden and imbecile” by the ending, Henry James _. Henry James (1843-1916) was an‘ American-born novelist who lived much of his adult life in England, creating characters who represent conflicts between American spirit and European tradition. His major works include the novels Daisy Miller (1879), The Portrait of : 4 Lady, Washington Squire (both 1881), The Bostonians (1886)7 ‘The «” Wings of a Dove (1902), and The Ambassadors (1903). in a discussion of :: Pattern, Forster describes The Ambassadors as a novel in which the narrative is. structured in the pattern. of an hourglass, stressing * Symunetry at the expense of character. D.HL Lawrence H. Lawrence (1885-1930) was an‘English novelist whose majo) Works include Sons and Lovers (1913), Women ‘ini Lové (1920), and: th highly. controversial’ Lady Chatterley’s Lover (Gist published in 1928, though ‘not ‘readily available to. the redding’ public until’ 1939 Tawing an exarnple’ from Womer in Love, Forster. asseris thAsexcas or tits NOVEM BS (Hong 192| 3 only prophetic novelig, Willing Lawrence is, to his knowledge “the today,""{in 1927). Herman Melville ‘haved , me os Jelville $ eclean Novella Whose + Heenan, Melville (1819-1891) was aa Amer ; hose aoastexple, Moby Dick (1851) is, considered one of. ie Breateat Novels ever written. li a discussion of prophecy Forster describes Melyitie. ! as‘a profoundly prophetic writer, citing passages from both Moly Dick and the short story “Billy Budd.” . Marcel Proust Marcel. Proust. (1881-1912) was a French novelist whose masterpiece is lhe seven-volume, semi-autobiographical novel, A la recherche di temps perdu (1913-27; Remembrance of Things Past), At the lime of Forster's lectures, the final volume of Rewiemibrance of © Things Past had not yet been published. In a discussion of clinracter,"* Forster refers {o Proust as ari exaiuple of a wxiler whose “flat” characters function to accent the “round” characters. In a discussion of rhythm in the novel, Forster praises thé work of Proust as an example of a novel that, while chaotic in structure, is held-together by thythny, the literary equivalent of a musical motif. Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) was a Scottish novelist credited with the-invention of the historical novel, Jvantioe (1819) is the best known of ‘his many novels and noyel cycles, In a discussion of storytelling in the novel, Forster uses the examples of ‘Tie Bride of Lanunermoor (1819) and of The Antiquary (1816; the last of a trilogy. Set. in Scotland from 1740-1800, knownas the “Waverly” novels). Forster, although.admitting that he does noi consider Scott-a good novelist, does concede that he is a good storyteller, to the extent that he.is able. lo narrate a. sequence of events that “occttr dver: time. Forster concludes, however, that the result of Scott's perfunctory, storytelling 13. a shallow and unemotional work, lacking the qualities which lend value to a.novel. % Tyaarence Sterne Laurence Sterne (1713-1768) was an lrish-Engli ter whose. masterpiece is the novel Tristran Shandy pick cee whichis narrative digression. dominates. the story line, Ina discussion oft fantasy and Prophecy, Forster mentions Siena “anion a number ol novelists in whose works both fantasy and prophecy re essenti07— ASPECTS OF THE NOVEL: EMINENT LITERARY FiGurEs |153 HG Wells BH, G, Wells (1866-1946) was an English novelist best known for his now-classic science fiction novels: The Tune Machine (1895), The sland of Doctor Moreau (1896), and The War of the Worlds (1898), as well 3s the comedic novels Tono-Bungay (1909) and The History of Mr. Polly 4910). In a discussion of character, Forster notes that Wells’ characters, like those of Dickens, are almost all completely “flat” yet guceced in the context of his novels due to his great narrative skill. WATRYL IMPORTANT LITERARY PEOPLE E.M. Forster M. Forster was a British novelist whose main body of fictional work was written and published early in the 20th Century, A Room with a View and Howards End being the most well received, both critically and by the public, of his four early novels. Several years later, in 1924, he published what many authorities consider to be his best work, A Passage to India, One final novel, Maurice, was published in 1970, the year after his death. He considered its subject matter—a hopeful, positive portrayal of a homosexual relationship—too potentially controversial for the book to be published during his lifetime, He was also the author of several published short stories, a series of radio broadcasts for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and a number of critical essays-and lectures. Aspecis of the Novel is a compilation of several of these essays. Written and presented in 1927, the theories he develops and presents are the result of years of work, as a writer, resea. rcher, and thinker. Forsler was a complicated individual: a world traveller who made his home, for most of his life, with his mother; a conservative Victorian by birth and by social conditioning, but a liberal by spiritual inclination; sexually repressed, but emotionally effusive; extremely Well read, but self-righteously limited in perspective. All these aspects of his personality come into play in Aspects of the Novel. His ’xperience ‘of the world lends a find of blunt honesty to his Perspective on the provincialism of English fiction writing, but he Seems self-righteously unaware that in. many ways, he and his Writing are just as provincial. Also, his tendencies towards emotional efusiveness, spiritual liberalism and alternative sexual expression a be seen as additional manifestations of a desire for transcendent freedom, a desire expressed in Aspects, as is his support of innovators‘ EL, 1b4| Aspects or THENOVI BS Cony like Gertrade Stein and Andre Cue. fader ae ‘Victorian side, however, leads him td 2 P! that can make his lectures seern dictatorial. Ultimately, however, the dominant characteristic life and work was a steugeling, striving umanismn ~ desire that he as an individual, and. humanity as a individuals, might adopt and live from a broader To, Bhteo ys, _ B des Collection Perspective, . restive Neg Of Forster, PEraty. : Hy waited to live more, feel more,.and experience moro, he. wa others todo the same, and if they did, he believed that race could be more ultimatel through Aspecis of the Novel, William George Clark Clark was’ an alumnus of Tzinity College at Cambridge University in England. Forster was an alumnus of the same university. Ch lark was a traveller, writer, left instructions in his name, be presented by. Cambridge. Univ. included in Aspects of the Novel were inspired by Clark and ‘sporisoted by his estate, . The Genuine Scholay/the Pseudo-Scholar Forster defines these two kinds of scholar in Section 1 of Aspecls The pseudo scholar, For : ig George, for example) —essentilj with supecticiality. The genuipe scholar, Forster says, “ct foutemplate the river of time .. not ge a whole, but he can see facts, the personalities, floating past him, and ectimate the rat between them.” He also hints, however, that the scholar’s condusi™ Be more ‘important fo, the scholar than they: are to anyone oMerwise the. scholar “would lo ivilized. the i", Tace.” Forster lassifies ie eae himself, with ting sone! With a alin, humour, as a pseudo eck lar, . I self-deprecating Homo Sapiens / Pomo Fictug 5 Homo Sapiens” is.the offical ecto ee a,_ce sion sifical si modem human being. “Homo Pictu’ (Scientific clas: ing i for there being in fiction, an entity whe han is Forster's term pe Sapiens But also satics Of My all the chasacteristics © a! be, ful an Additional one — “homo fictus" ie, or at wae re fully. completely and consistently understood, “Host In Forstey’s Perspective, rarely is; . Sasor King’s College a) and academic, who his will that an annual series of lectures, given ig ersity. The lectures the huni ly. This perspective Ubreads its vy ana07— ASPECTS OF THE NOVEL: EMINENT LITERARY FiGuRes | 155 Fictional Characters (Round/Flat) Forster defines fictional characters as round (complex, multi- faceted, capable of surprising the reader) or flat (simple, with one defining characteristic, never behaving in surprising ways). Both characters, in Forster's perspective and experience, have value in ficion—values that in many ways complement each other and balance each other out. Sir Walter Scott/Gertrude Stein ‘This pair of authors serves as a key point of contrast in Forster’s exploration of story. Scott exemplifies the power and durability of an effectively put-together story, while Stein exemplifies, for Forster, the admirable attempt to deconstruct story, to bring mose of a sense of the randomness and chaos of the human experience into the novelist’s art. George Eliot/Fyodor Dostoyevsky This pair of authors evokes Forster's perception of the contrast between. preacher (Eliot—a novelist who attaches moral value to spiritual exploration) and prophet (Dostoyevsky, a novelist who embraces spiritual possibility without attaching moral or religious judgment). Herman Melville, D.H. Lawrence, Emily Bronte The three authors whose works Forster discusses at length in relation to the aspect of prophecy in.novels. He regards all three as prophetic in their approach, in their awareness of transcendence in the human experience, of something beyond. Jane Austen, Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Henry James, Leo Tolstoy, H.G.Wells, James Joyce, Walter Scott, Daniel Defoe, Andre Gide Other authors referenced by Forster throughout Aspects of the Novel whose works have stood the test of time, in that their names and work are still spoken of in contemporary literary studies. George Meredith, Laurence Sterne, Norman Matson Authors referenced by Forster whose works have become less Well known than they were during Forster's lifetime. WAUAY ANNALERAspects of the Novel important Objects and. Places Sao, ‘Trinity College Trinity is one of several colleges that function. within the umbrella organization of Cambridge University. It. was the alma mater of William George Clark, the sponsor-of the lectures containeg in Aspects -of the Novel. Another college, King's, is the alma mater of EM. Forster, who delivers-thése lectures. The British Museum Library This place is evoked by Forsier “in Section 1 of the book (“Introductory”) as the setting for a hypothetical gathering of all the British writers who have créated novels over the course of history. The British Museuri is one of the largest.and most expansively furnished museurhs in the world, and its library has one ‘of the most extensive collections ‘of. historically significant documents from @ll over the planet, The ‘library is therefore the perfect setting for Forster's imaginary gathering-of writers, The Novel Novels ate the subject of detailed examination and commentary in these lectures, which consider them in both theoretical and actual terms. After discussing a partictilar theory about novel writing, BM Forster often cites examples from actual published works. Time ‘Time is'the first of several aspects of the nove] considered &Y Forster, and is inextricably linked with the second, story, beoa™®? i a ‘ xist second is a function of the first. In other words, story cannot. without time. eee08 — IMPORTANT OBJECTS AND, PLACES, 187 Story Story is defined by Forster as.a Series of oy, limeling vad y f events Placed along a Character Character is detined by Forster as a Collectio, (fat or rowna, narrowly or broadly defined) Playin, story. Value Mt of individuals § Out the nevel’s Forster defines “value” as the emotional or - Piritual experi of the chatacters in reaction to the events of the story, the “eosin of those events. g ning’ Plot Mut is defined by Forsier ag the 5um of story, character and value,.or the way the novel answers the question of why events heypen as opposed to simply recoun: fing what those events are, Pattern and Rhythm, These two aspects of the novel are explored. less extensively han the others, and as.such come across as being less important in Forster’s perspective, They are defined as a-formalization of shape, a careful control of structure that can bring and/or inspire beauty. Rintasy and Prophecy These two aspects of the novel are dealt with separately fiom te others because they both deal with non-technical aspects — Piritual elements related to meaning, as opposed to’ the more Situctural ly oriented aspects relating to composition. 1 The: Antiquary (Walter Scott), Moll Flanders (Daniel Defoe), | Les Faux Monnayeurs (Andre Gide), Flecker's uae (Norman Matson), Ulysses. (ames Joyce),’. The Aubassadars (Henry James) : i These books: are ail teferenced ‘at length by Forster each is, . : ivid and ne ‘eed, quoted extensively, and held by him oe : ‘ning Sxamnple of at least one of his key aspects of the AOAC NL USL09 Aspects of the Novel mom Major Themes The Literary Critic Throughout his lectuze s er includes onuCiitaty on the role he plays as a‘literary critic in relation to literature, He makes observations about his methodology as a critic, occasionally refers tg the assertions of other critics, and sometimes questions the validity of the critic in the world of titerature. In his introduction, Forster dismisses, for the purposes of his discussion, standard methods in literary criticism based in the tracing of historical development and the influence of earlier writers on those who come after them, i Likewise, Forster mentions the notion of tradition put forth by'T/S, Eliot, who asserted that it is the task of the ¢ritic to preserve the best | of literary. tradition. Forster immediately dismisses this as an impossible task. He does, however, agree with Eliot that the critic is required to see fiterature in its entirety and not as it-may be determined by the constraints of a historical timeline. Throughout Ihe book, Forster occasionally cites other literary critics, often in order 0 present a counterargument. He also continues to question & relationship of the critic to literature when he observes that perhiops his lectures have moved away from literature itself, in the pa abstract theorizing about literature. Ultimately, however i asserts that the most important measure by which literature Oe st be judged is that of the “quman heart,” concluding that the important “test” of a novel is “oliraffection forft.” The Universal sient e ele In his discussion of prophecy, Forster touches upon a she of the universal as the most profound. aspect of ine a pis universal, as Forster uses it, could also be thought of - io in the broadest sense of the term, although not necessarily 15809— ASPECTS OF THE NOVEL: Major Tuemas {159 oa specific exeed ox religion. Forster explains that the universal in a novel may. refer to. specific religions or spi aL practices, or it may lat © profound, fi HOURS sach as love and hate, He notes atthe element of the universal in a novel may be ifidicated directly, wit may Ge implied through subtle, indixect means. In -order 6 ifystraie what he means by the PeSphetic, Forster compares passages (ron Coorge ERot’s Ada Bed’ and Fyodor Dostoovsky’s Kegnuizdy: He observes that, though both authors are Christian background and both wish to express the idea of salvation\a(z asinspited in the sinner by love and pity, Elioi’s direct reference to Ciuistianity comes off as a ‘théavy:handed:“séniion, (whereas. Dostoevsky’s subtle and indirect reference to Christian spirituality sncceéds in being prophetic. Forster goes on to observe that, though Blot is sincere in her inveestton of thé'spiritual; her references to Christianity remain in the realm.of realism 4nd fail to inspire in, the wader a serisation of the spixitual. Dostoeviky, on the other hand, though also a master of realigm, jmnbues-his characters with the spirit * of the infinite, ox universal, so that, “one can apply’ to them the saying oft, Catherine of Siena that God isin the soul and the soul isin.God pnt. pe asthe sea is in the fish and the fish. is fn.the sea:”. * » id , . 5 i ingame ‘The Novel as an Expression of “Value” ¥ Value is-defined by Forster in Section 2 ("fhe Story”) as that'in buman experience which gives events their meaning. Without value, Wents are simply events, occurrences strung along a timeljne in an ‘parently. random “order. Value, or the emotional and spiritual "sponse to, those events, .is what gives them meanmg, and Consequently, fo a novel. as a whéle. In other. words, while | Sttucturaily anovel is the sum of its parts its meaning is the sum of its Shies—in the.gatine way events, in Forster's description, are atv along the time sense like pearls ona string, values are rane aa te spiniual Senge, Zvents and values contribute fo the Agi 1 A hing evenis make a narrative whole, wellsirung value *ititval entirety, : ' # efi Forster inge, L*te is a potential pitfall in this perspective sre eal eS, While prophecy is defined simply DY @ are ne ae a Mittal, of the universal, -perkaps simply of Ute we spposition Pl § essential value is morally preachy, it functions. in oppes ies i he novel's essential purpose, to expand human wnderstace ing Nee than, define, it in narrow boundaries. Lf however,.a. work's. ya spiciual ¢ te the novel must be pz Dan ati Oper , open heariey umanity. P’ saand movil i and shallow in ther evocation: ase y po be eaving, absolutely 5: Jead te the expansiet = point lo such writing a3 if does a5! humanity, only its restriction. WAREAspects of the Novel Litezary Style Fone. and Structure an audience of college and university students and. professors in the halls of Trinity College, Cambridge, Forster's alma mater, in ‘the name of the distinguished. Clark lecture seties, An éditor’s note that opens the reprinted Tectures observes that their fone is “informal, indeed talkative.” Because of this informal, chatty: tone, Forster's voice throughout, this collection of lectures is télatively intimate and, on a surface level, appears. to make unexpected digressions or include various asides, which one might not find ina work originally intended solely for. the printed page. The overall structure of Forster's discussion, however, is not the least haphazard: or off-the-cuff. Each chapter/lecture progresses through a clearly planned series of paints to present @ specific postion on each of the seven aspects of the novel with which Forster is concerned. Thus, though informal in narrative tone, the underlying structure of Aspects of the Novel progresses through a well-developed argument, ilhistrated by carefully chosen examples. Perspective As discussed in the “Important People” section, EM. Forster was a well-respected and popular novelist. Therefore, his perspective is a valuable one, ag he was able to practice as well as preach, However, he makes few, if any, references to his own books during his lectures, of even to his own weiting process.. There are occasional indications that He does not consider himself capable of writing the kind of novel he advocates there - full of rich, round characters, 161162 ASPECTS oF THE NOVEL capable of surprise, expressing transcendent values. Does this m, he considers himself not up to his own ideals? He obvioug Passionately in his suibje importance of the novel, and in what the novel should reader, seems absolute. Ultimately, believes’ in transcendence, us {Hong ) value 4 evok Forster's perspective ig shoul and that it should awaken ag transcendence in the teader, OTe of ‘The novel in Forster’s mind and lénching must be about more - more than the day to day, more ‘than rigid spiritual or philosophical belief, more than narrow any kind. These lectures were prepared for a particular audiene’. students and faculty at Cambridge University: At the time de lectures were Presented, Forster's fame was clase to i fore. Forster chose to expand intended “audience beyond the confines of Cambridge by publishing: the lectures, Forster's desire ta connect with a ‘broader audience reflects the key point of his lectures - that boundaries an! limitations ought to; and must, be transcended. Tone There are three k ey aspects to the tone of the book, which! ultimately afi engaging blend of the ac passionately subjective. The first ig esseritially its el dimension. Forster ‘presents his various theses in way$ bee ‘ Obviously been carefully thought out and researched, developing themes and ideas in a well ox our ganized, carefully crafted, uccasionally repetitive, fashion. The second aspect of tone 18 +a q geliet emotional dimension. Even in the midst of developing 49°. well-crafted’ logical atguments, is Sul Fosster’s passion for a Paton” clear. He cares deeply and transcendentally about the nove” ces anices spiritual and emotional resonances, ang how. those resonance ye asp brought 16 bear on the experience of humanity, The et the book’s tone is-what makes ita pleasure to read -Fo softs huniown ineverent at times, @ little sad at ote evel’ deprecating, He sees human foibles and frailties irt poe ie theit work, and while at times he can become oom ne 32 (particularly in his comments on Henry Jarses, w! aay SY OUSLY belioves ct - his faith in the ultimate belief Systems ef | ‘ademically objective and i in thy | thatt he that the meaning of a hovel transcend human experienc he, 4 are that rival), generally he is compassionale and all: too age axa as hutran as those. whose work and ideals hei 10> ASPECTS OF THR NOVRLA LITERARY Stitt {403 i joroushly. In is Senge, the book's fone van be seen ag emboilyhig, anv ot iI key tl vennnes + Vhe linscondent power af Wumanity, Forster's, j jnuinanity, seen. in his passion and humour, transeends: the boak's i qayral academic tone.and trausforang the work into. call fron one | ginive spuit to another, Sleacture f ‘The novel's structure is quite straightforward. The lectires are | resented ina logical progression, one follawing thie other in an order (he Introductory and the Conclusion. notwithstanding) that suggests. | their priority within Forster’s. perspective. Given Forster's Apparent taliel in the transcendence of the novel, and his contention that | wanscendence is best served by the elements of Fantasy and I | | Prophecy, it may seem odd that the tecture on those wo elerients © xeurs so far into the sequence. However, Forster contends throughout that the values: of Fantasy. and Prophecy. are only achievable through the appropriate application and development of : the other elements. In other words, without well-shaped and skilfully : cralted Slory, People, and Plot, there can be no appreciation of the F spiritual. The road nwust be prepared so: the destination: can be | reached, Therefore Story, People and Plot must be considered first, Meanwhile, the placement of the relatively brief chapter on Patteriv and Rhythm at the conclusion of the sequence suggests that these tiv ‘Spects of the novel are low on.Forsier’s list of priorities, and this teilerated by the almost dismissive way he writes about them. Pattern. : and Rhythm, for Forster, are either afterthoughis or by-products - if. - "e Tovelis| enters into his project with these two aspects’ in th Oreftont of his mind and creative spirit,’ his efforts are doomed shallowness and deemed dismissible. Thus thé stricture ‘of Aspecis of. she Novel ‘Can be seen.as havifestation of: its theme and: perspective. In giving his work the Stucture he. has, does Forster . contradict himself?’ He argues felensively that a dominant goal for the novel and ils creator oe jttom from restrictions imposed. by time and experience, ad y °l argument is placed-within the coritext of what cones ee e beng“ formal, ‘restrictive structure of ‘the sort he ate a Padingly: against. In fact, he proves the point he ie novel 4 Nuctantly, at the end of Section 2 - that there z “out story. and/or structute? GAASANANBISTEALDIONAspects of the Novel . Historical Context English History and Literature iscussion covers three centuries of the novel; his own life and alanine the late nineteenth through the late twentieth centuries. His life was affected by such major events as World War], in which he participated, and his novels bridge the historical transition from Victorian to Edwardian England, as well as the literary transition from romanticism to modernism. World War I and the Post-War Exa ‘The period of World Wi ar |, from 1914 to 1918, had a profound effect on Forster, who served as a Red Cross volunteer throughout the War, and many of the writers of his generation. A landmark in British politics of the post-War era was the People Act of 1918, which extended the right to vote to women over the age of thirty and to al met over the age of twenty-one, regardless of property holdings. In 1928, the right to vote was extended to women ages twenty-one to thirty. Footer was an active supporter of the Labour Party, which won its first major victory in 1924 when James Ramsay MacDonald wes the first Labour Party leader elected fo the position of prime minister of England, MacDonald, however, held this office only nine months before he was replaced by Stanley Baldwin, who remained remain ister until 1929, taking the offices again in 1935, where be ined until 1937. The 1920s and 1930s in England came to bt : *h enco; Seriod in whit Forster first wrote Aspects of the Novel in 1927, Altoneh host! was : Fee make little reference to politica menu events. His only direct Teference to British polities is pation of Prime Minister Asquith, who ined in power £0" 1908 until 1916. temained in pi WAGAN AMUN oeanarEN 16442 Aspects of the Novel oo Critical Overview Forstcr is best remembered as a master of th i pultu: hed five novels between 1905 and 1924, incl English novel, He Ludi agel Fear to Tread £4905), The Longest journcy (1907), A Reson View (1908), Howard's End (1910), A Passage to India (1924), the last iwo being his undisputed masterpieces. He was to publish no more novels in his lifetime, although Maurice, originally written in 1914 was published posthumously in 1971, Norman Page, ia E, M. Forster (1987), observine “hat Forster produced only six novels in his lifetime, notes, “Forster's 1 apact on the twentieth century has gone far beyond what his modest outpu might lead one to expect.” ‘Of Forster's lifelong literary.-. veer, Clauue J, Summers, in E, M. Forster. (1983), notes that, at least since the 4900s, “he was regularly ... described. as England’s great-: ving novelist.” By the time of his death, “he had earned an intern...onal reputation.as am incisive interpreter of the human heart and a eh «pion of the liberal imagination,” Forster speni the ast forty-five years, of his life writing various forms of non-fiction, a¢ wel! as a féw short stories. While mast agree that Forster cannot be considered a great literary critic, critics vary in their overall assessment of Aspects of the Novel. Lionel Trilling, in E. M. Forster (1943), an early nd influential essay, claims that Forster is ‘not a great critic, not a great ‘thinker.”” Trilling qualifies this ~ atu. sent, conceding that Aspects of the Novel “is full of the finest perceptions.” He nonetheless observes, “Ever if we grant Forster every possible vittue of his method - and it has virtues - he is never wholly satisfactory in criticism and frequently he is frustrating. However, Trilling suggests that “the laxness of the critical: manner in which Forster sets forth his literary insights” is in fact a conscious protest against the Western over-valuation of rational thinkin g- Harty T. Moore, on the other hand, in E. M. Forster (1965), ae 2 ue : ‘Aspects of the Novel “is valuable not only for what it telleot oe 8 ways and means of writing, but it is also an important study o: = \ 165a Ff THE NOVEL 166] ASPRCTS Ol BS. thong of fiction.” Wilfied Stone, in The Cave and the Mouniain (1966) «1. that Aspects of fle Nove is “Forster's most ambitious ag snes statement.” Moore, in.E, M. Forster (1967), observes of both Asi ‘e the Novel and Forster's other works’of literary criticism: “surptice y delight with unexpected insights, practical and impractical, casting light on Forster and his own fiction, obscuring both in. orjer ilominate some corner hitherto deprived of adequate light” py assesses the significance and impact of Aspects on the Nove] on liters criticism, as: well as on’ Forster's’ career, in. observing, “thoy, st informal in tone, [these lectures] were to have a wide influence ie : period when the theory and criticism of fiction was relatively unsophisticated, and they increased Forster's reputation as a man ¢ letters.” Summers observes of Aspects of the Novel that it is “Forster's most sustained critical statement,” in which the casual, conversational style of the writing masks: an ambitious “ideological work’ of etiticism. Summers concludes, “Aspects of He Novel is extraordinarily well-written, amusing and lively as well as rueful’-in tone. Throughout, the book is enlivetied by sharp judgments and original insights on particular.-works. and individual authors.” Finally, Suminiers asserts that “Forster’s essays, criticism, and biographies. are a significant fraction of an important literary career.” Philip Gardner, in Dictionary of: Literary, Biography, points to. Forster's humanism as the overriding theme throughout his essays: Through all his essays ... ote registers Forster-:as a man with-an alert eye for thé telling detail, who responds to what he sees, reads, Hig and. hears with emotions ranging from. delight to, indignation but always with intélligence and personal concern. His voice i never that of a detached academic observer, but that. of ahuman being react out to other human beings, on the one hand his readers; on.the ot the individuals, dead as well as living, about whom he writes. eight bo aks. Summers likéwise assesses the corpus’ of Forster's valetelf of non-fiction, Aspects of the Novel being among. yhe “most: pee hal successful” of these, in essentially glowing. terms. He ti -aadith of these works “collectively chart a caréer remarkable for'its jp these interest and depth of commitment.” He..goes oF ee “a ji books, Forster emerges as a sensitive and th n, 1 biog charming yet unsentimental popular historian, a. skilful and'an essayist-of rare power.” OIA ANNLEIINRSSR RIO ©