Book contents
- The British Novel of Ideas
- The British Novel of Ideas
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Dedication
- Introduction The British Novel of Ideas
- Part I 1850–1900
- Part II 1900–1945
- Chapter 5 The British Novel of Ideas in an International Context
- Chapter 6 H. G. Wells
- Chapter 7 G. K. Chesterton
- Chapter 8 E. M. Forster
- Chapter 9 Aldous Huxley
- Chapter 10 Katharine Burdekin
- Chapter 11 Mulk Raj Anand
- Chapter 12 Storm Jameson
- Part III 1945–1975
- Part IV 1975–Present
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 8 - E. M. Forster
Liberal Propositions and Liberal Proceduralism
from Part II - 1900–1945
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 December 2024
- The British Novel of Ideas
- The British Novel of Ideas
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Dedication
- Introduction The British Novel of Ideas
- Part I 1850–1900
- Part II 1900–1945
- Chapter 5 The British Novel of Ideas in an International Context
- Chapter 6 H. G. Wells
- Chapter 7 G. K. Chesterton
- Chapter 8 E. M. Forster
- Chapter 9 Aldous Huxley
- Chapter 10 Katharine Burdekin
- Chapter 11 Mulk Raj Anand
- Chapter 12 Storm Jameson
- Part III 1945–1975
- Part IV 1975–Present
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
This chapter draws a distinction between ideas-as-content and ideas-as-form in E. M. Forster’s Howards End, arguing that the novel stages an ongoing tension between liberalism as a set of propositional ideals (content) and liberalism as a procedural approach for investigating ideas (form). Although the novel is invested in liberalism as an ideal, an ethos best encapsulated in the novel’s epigraph to “Only connect,” its commitment towards a liberal methodological treatment of ideas – to balanced debate and discussion that takes conflictual views into account and tries to reconcile them – means that this liberal ideal is also constantly undermined and challenged throughout. This chapter traces the dynamics of this tension and Forster’s attempt to resolve it.
- Type
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- Information
- The British Novel of IdeasGeorge Eliot to Zadie Smith, pp. 150 - 165Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024