WOMEN AND MARRIAGE IN E. M.

FORSTERS NOVELS In the Western Civilization and up to this day and age, men and women have become habituated to marriage, which symbolizes the desire for permanent union, the ideal of those to whom love means more than an occasional physical relationship. But how was marriage considered during Edwardian times? uring Edwardian England marriage was still associated with the idea of a reward for female virtue. !nly virtuous women deserved to become happy wives. "irls were prepared since early childhood to turn into faithful submissive wives and conse#uently devoted mothers. $hat was their sole aim in life. What else could they do to earn a living? $here were strict rules to blindly obey. %rudery, decency, housewor&, bearing and raising children, lac& of personal interests and a tendency to serve, admire and comply with their husbands stood at the pinnacle of the ladder of re#uisites. If the girl fulfilled all these conditions she could be reward with the prize of marriage. 'ingle motherhood was not even discussed ( at least openly ) and single mothers were not accepted in society. Children born out of marriage were considered bastards and ran the same fate as their mothers. $hey were regarded as outcasts and underwent eviction from society. *oney, property, social class, family status, character, prudery, morality and even manoeuvring were associated with marriage. In Howards End, +unt ,uley *unt, an upper)middle class matron, receives all the benefits society gives rich women and thus models an interesting contrast to ,ac&y Bast, the aging former prostitute. *rs. *unt and *iss +very-s comments on marriage are not very idyllic and they show the importance of ad.acent issues attached to marriage. When referring to *argaret-s father-s marriage she considers that it was luc&y that *r. 'chlegel had married a wife with money but appreciates that her thoughts are sarcastically un&ind and silences them away. Even *iss +very, the lonely spinster, considers that /uth Wilco0 should not have married 1enry because he was not 2a soldier3, he was not a man able to become a forceful hero who fights to connect, to e0press his emotions instead of repressing them, thus implying he will not be a good husband for *argaret, either. In A Passage to India the +nglo Indian wives also en.oy and parta&e of the profits their husbands benefit from their positions in the government. $hey even ta&e advantage of them.

ivorce was still a taboo and women would not dare even to thin& of it since the law did not favour them. Wives were not allowed to sue for divorce unless their husbands had abandoned them. In 4567, $he ivorce and *atrimonial Causes +ct was passed, establishing new divorce and matrimonial property laws. $he +ct was not intended to change the financial status of married women, only to grant property rights to wives who were separated from their husbands. $he deserted married woman immediately assumed the property rights and status of a single woman or feme sole 8legal term for unmarried women with inherited9 e#ual with men, as long as she remained apart from her husband. $he ivorce and *atrimonial Causes +ct did not affect the rights or improved the conditions of women who were living with their husbands, who were mistreated or beaten by them, or those who were unofficially left by their husbands. In $he Longest Journey marriage is presented as totally destructive. $he title of the novel comes from 'helley-s Epipsychidion, a poem with the theme that marriage drastically limits one-s horizons: 2I never was attached to that great sect Whose doctrine is that each one should select !ut of the world a mistress or a friend, +nd all the rest, though fair and wise, commend $o cold oblivion, ) though it is the code !f modern morals, and the beaten road With those poor slaves with weary footsteps tread Who travel to their home among the dead By the broad highway of the world, and so With one sad friend, perhaps a .ealous foe, $he dreariest and the longest .ourney go3. In The Longest Journey marriage is a prison for both se0es, but especially for men since it cuts them off from brotherhood and friendship, particularly the friendship with homose0ual overtones between +nsell and /ic&ie Elliot. If The Longest Journey is indeed autobiographical, as many critics have advocated, one may recognize this to be the early account of a homose0ual author who chooses to write about marriage in most of his boo&s. + male round character that possesses feminine features is the protagonist in this novel. ;onetheless, flat women characters play an e0tremely important role, since they are the manipulating element within the married couple. In the

case of +gnes, /ic&ie-s wife, she is representative of the narrow minded woman who ta&es advantage of her role of married woman and manipulates her husband for her own personal benefit. 1er marriage to /ic&ie allows her to achieve the social position she has been loo&ing for. In addition, *rs <ailing, /ic&ie-s vindictive aunt manipulates /ic&ie-s life and emotions solely for her spiteful pleasure. . /ic&ie roundness is partly achieved by his lameness, and his deformity stands for his inability to conceive a happy marriage. <or /ic&ie, marriage represents an attempt to ascertain his own reality through +gnes and "erald-s frustrated love, what turns out into a futile and destructive ambition. $his round fictional person is out of reality and overwhelmed by forces he does not understand. =i&e 1enry Wilco0 he does not succeed in connecting, but /ic&ie-s roundness lies in his incapable of doing so, while 1enry-s flatness lies in his lac& of interest of a conventional type in doing so. +nsell, another round character with feminine overtones, insists that +gnes is not real, but to /ic&ie, she has more reality than any other woman in the world. /ic&ie>s inability to see her lac& of reality, together with +gnes-s incapability to recognize the dead, doom both of them to an unhappy destructive marriage. /ic&ie-s descent and deterioration result from the fact that he is terrified at reality? he is frightened at the magnificence and awfulness of the world. In addition, +gnes, li&e the world she creates for /ic&ie, is unreal, and it is only after he leaves her that he is able to avow successfully 2the cow is there. $he world is real again3. When +nsell lights a match this match e0ists on two levels: the realistic and the symbolic. !n the realistic level the match goes out its light 8temporarily9, whereas on the symbolic level the word match can be e#uivalent to the word union or counterpart. oes the fact that the match go out imply that no one is anyone-s permanent match, that marriage is not a viable institution? +nsell is sure that the couple-s happiness will not last and he rightly foresees that +gnes will, in due course, yearn for a 2.ollier husband3. @et +nsell fails to ac&nowledge that that woman is as trapped and shattered as the man she is aiming to manipulate. +gnes is plainly mismatched for him, and /ic&ie should have never married her. +s he is a poor .udge of ideas he fails to see that he truly is an artist and innocently falls under the oppression of arbitrary se0 roles and conventions. /ic&ie, unli&e *argaret fails to strive to connect, never becomes

a ma.or creative force, but unrealistically surrenders to +gnes- negative view of life. $he conventional se0 roles are inverted in this novel since the woman entraps the man. $he flat character entraps the round. /ic&ie fails to ma&e connections. 1is main fault, that of idealizing people and ascribing them with feelings and values they do not possess, ma&es him an easy prey unable to escape. !ne can assume that, in this particular case, /ic&ie, the male character, e#uates 8with9 the woman protagonist of most of <orster-s wor&s. +gnes, the manipulative flat character, confesses that she must be dominated or dominating, therefore, as /ic&ie does not dominate her she becomes dominant and as a result she deteriorates, in conse#uence, enhancing /ic&ie-s deterioration as well. /ic&ie and +gnes have their own peculiar views of marriage, different both from +nsell-s and from each other-s. +gnes- peculiar concept of marriage is introduced very early in the novel. $he picture of her earrings associates marriage to ritual marring: they are 2her only frea&3, something she has always wanted to own but does not get until "erald proposes to her and buys her the primitive 2little gold &nobs, copied from something prehistoric3. +fter she has her ears pierced, "erald &isses the blood on her hand&erchief, thus symbolically e#uating this act to her se0ual deflowering, and the closest +gnes and "erald come to the consummation of their love. +gnes feels that those earrings represent her individuality and that they are intimately attached to "erald. !nce "erald dies all this vanishes and the +gnes who marries /ic&ie is not the same woman he has visualized in her embrace with her proper match. /ic&ie>s early ideas on marriage are evident in his reaction to +gnesengagement to "erald. 1is attitude towards +gnes and "erald-s romance becomes more forceful than anything he ever feels for +gnes herself. +s he observes them embracing he ac&nowledges his first response to the power of se0. 1e falls in love with love. 1e is stimulated by "erald-s physical appearance and is beguiled to idealize it. 1e re.ects but at the same time he envies him and the only way he can accept this attraction is to transform it into inspiring love, conse#uently, he falls in love with both of them. 1is attempt to give them the money that would enable them to marry is rightfully re.ected by "erald who interprets /ic&ie-s unconscious desire to marry both of them. /ic&ie-s understanding of this vision is not at all realistic, but he becomes so obsessed with it that it leads him to destruction. When "erald dies he sees the

opportunity to ma&e their clasp his own and proposes to +gnes who accepts him unenthusiastically. $hus his marriage to her is based on illusions and ideals. +gnes changes /ic&ie as early as their engagement. $hese changes are all negative and his deterioration sets as soon as he becomes engaged to +gnes. 1e marries a girl who has previously given her entire soul to a lover who has died. $he marriage between /ic&ie and +gnes is ironically announced as a wedding that has ta&en place behind the scene and 2had been no mighty landmar&3. 84749 $heir pathetic matrimony is one of convenience, li&e many of the marriages portrayed in <orster-s novels. /ic&ie falls in love with a goddess, an empress, a sibyl, but not a woman. 1e worships +gnes as an ideal woman, so he is unable to .udge her clearly as a person. $heir marriage is one of good)fellowship rather than passion. 2$he tone of their marriage life was soon set. It was to be a fran& good)fellowship, and before long he found it difficult to spea& in a deeper &ey3 84749 /ic&ie constantly reminds +gnes that her 2greatest thing is over3, that what "erald gave her is greater than anything she will get from him. /ic&ie does not accept physical se0uality at all, and he .ust accepts the physical side of their relationship reluctantly, thus dooming their relationship. +gnes perceives something abnormal in /ic&ie, perhaps his homose0ual aspect, but dismisses it as nonsense and is, at first, content with her lot. +s his perception of +gnes is faulty he accepts everything +gnes demands from him, and becomes less alert, less sensitive and less receptive. 1e &nows that he has a talent for writing and the 2the important thing3 is freedom to create but he feebly yields to +gnes- demands. +gnes entraps /ic&ie wishing she were the man, since for her the whole world lies before men and they can do anything. +lthough one does not li&e +gnes- attitudes and behaviour, one sympathizes with her plight as a woman. +gnes role in the novel is that of a good house&eeper, a .ob that provides no outlet for her energies, thus diverting her unused force into direct, vicious manipulation. 1er smooth manner hides her inner motives, and no one is supposed to admit that such a woman may have caught a man. +lthough she complains about the ine#ualities of her position as a woman, she ta&es advantage of the unfair 2privileges3 of her femininity. %ersonally not very bright, she moves around difficult #uestions of philosophy and religion by ta&ing advantage of the fact that women are not e0pected to thin& for themselves. 1er liberation is opportunistic and her happiness is at the e0pense

of others. 1er intolerance of the different and the anomalous ma&es her hate /ic&ie after "erald-s death and is responsible for their mutual unhappiness. 'he never really stops loathing /ic&ie since she resents the fact that he is alive while "erald is dead, so she tears him to pieces, or at least she wants to destroy /ic&ie-s spiritual portion, a facet that "erald never had. /egrettably +gnes personal tragedy lies in her inability to love more than once. ;evertheless, her loss is primarily physical but as she is not capable of discerning this she never becomes conscious of this fact. 'he is maliciously mean and vindictive since she blames her suffering on men, but she has harmed them much more than they have damaged her. *rs. <ailing, /ic&ie-s father-s sister, also plays a decisive role in his catastrophe. $his vindictive flat character-s function is to interfere in /ic&ie-s marital life. 'he is vindictive, cruel, intelligent and cold. 'he is as devoid of love as his father was and she functions as a continuation of her brother-s spitefulness. 'he maliciously tells /ic&ie a partial truth ) that 'tephen is his half)brother. 'he is so wic&ed and spiteful that she conceals the fact that 'tephen was /ic&ie>s mother-s son, not his father-s, and also agrees with +gnes to hide the information of their relationship from 'tephen. $hus they both intentionally prevent him from accepting and realizing his brotherhood with 'tephen. In re.ecting 'tephen, /ic&ie dooms himself? in accepting +gnes- condemnation of 'tephen he forgets that he himself is lame, so he is abnormal and different, too. But /ic&ie still entertains one more hope: a child is to be born to them. 'orrowfully, he still has to go through another ordeal since his daughter is born lame and being her defect worse than his, she soon dies. Ironically, +gnes easily overcomes the tragedy as she gets over everything, but /ic&ie undergoes this new trial once again in solitude. In addition, /ic&ie also loses his independence under 1erbert %embro&e. /ic&ie, strained by the demands of his marriage into the life of 'waston 'chools, ta&es to practical needs. 1e considers he only yields to insignificant re#uests in his daily search for money because they seem correct for him, without realizing that in this way he becomes a despot among his students and a weapon in 1erbert-s gloomy attac& on the dayboys. 1erbert-s attitude to marriage is pathetic grotes#ue and caricaturist. 1e proposes marriage at two days- notice when possessing a wife is an indispensable #ualification for his .ob. +fter being violently re.ected by the first woman, he considers marrying another one, a narrow)minded woman representative of the rigid local society in which he lives. Being unable to

ac#uire a wife, his selfishness urges him to use +gnes as house&eeper to promote his own advancement at 'waston 'chool. 1is outloo& on marriage also contributes to doom +gnes and /ic&ie-s married life since he influences on his sister to such an e0tent that +gnes is closer to 1erbert than to /ic&ie. +s the novel develops /ic&ie becomes isolated from his wife, who does not respect him or his wor& and, as he deteriorates, his marriage deteriorates with him. 1e does not realize that the lie about 'tephen has ruined their lives until he becomes conscious that +gnes- attention to *rs. <ailing is concerned legacy)hunting. /ic&ie begins to understand +gnes and is aware of how greatly she has shattered his freedom. 1e openly accuses her of responsibility for *rs. <ailing-s re.ection of 'tephen, but when he tries to grab the letter that reveals her guilt, everything falls apart. 1e cannot defeat the domesticities? save for the moment when he discovers that 'tephen is the son not of his father but of his mother, conse#uently he finally disallows both +gnes and 1erbert and declares his independence. 2I never did belong to that great sect whose doctrine is that each one should select ( at least, I-m not going to belong to it any longer3. Anfortunately he dies without learning to react to people as people rather than as ideals. 'tephen advises him: 2 on-t hang on me clothes that don-t belong ( as you did on your wife, giving her saint-s robes, whereas she was simply a woman of her own sort, who needed careful watching.3 'tephen-s simplicity of mind and capacity for intellectual brooding are shown in his conversation with /ic&ie while riding in the countryside. 'tephen-s thoughts about marriage and the marital relationship are summarized in his words: 2B. But that she should never have all my thoughts. !ut of no disrespect to her but because all one-s thoughts can-t belong to any single personB3 8C749. ;ow /ic&ie has to accept +nsell-s words that 2+ man wants to love man&ind, a woman wants to love one man3. +fter all he does not belong to that group of men 2who have accomplished the longest .ourney loc&ed up in

each other-s arms3 8C749. Ironically after he dies his writings are published and his wor& transcends beyond his death. $he home life of *r. and *rs. Elliot is as awful as /ic&ie>s own married life. 1is parents- marital life is created out of the lives of many Dictorian couples, whose marriages were arranged by convention. 1is parents never loved each other and came to live apart. 1is father is a terrible man who forces his family to live in a suburb similar to 'waston and sends his son to a public school similar to the school he wor&s at and abhors. *r. Elliot patronizes and sniggers at both his son and his wife. $he revulsion he stirs in /ic&ie suggests a compensatory veneration for his mother, a sweet, tender woman whose act of rebellion gives the plot of the novel its turn. 1er plight as wife stands for what can happen to a woman entrapped in miserable marriage. 1er e0clusive function in the novel is to stand for that type of woman who is not allowed to live for herself. +lthough she is much happier after her husband-s death, she only survives him for eleven days. 'he e0ists only to suffer, to be her husband-s slave. 'he e0ists only as a wife and mother. 'he is particularly unfortunate in the people who react to her, for *r. Elliot is spiteful and estimates her only on taste, /ic&ie idolizes her, and 'tephen is never familiar with her since he is never allowed by society to be ac#uainted with her. +lthough she is unconventional because she brea&s away from society-s conventional pattern in her love affair with /obert, she cannot stand by her own, separate from her husband-s fate, and her life ends with that of her husband. 'he is practically driven into her love affair with /obert due to *r. Elliot-s unforgivable faults. 1e refuses to ta&e seriously his wife-s claim to 2save3 her from what she considers betrayal. 1owever, undergoing salvation is impossible and /obert-s se0ual rescue of *rs. Elliot is only momentary. +fter an idyllic seventeen days affair /obert drowns and *rs. Elliot feels that her soul has sun& with him, but she realizes that she could still love people passionately. +lthough she is forced to return to convention she is more honest and fairer than +gnes. If one compares /ic&ie-s mother to 1elen 'chlegel one is to conclude that there are similarities as well as differences in these characters. *rs. Elliot-s urges are more honest than 1elen-s and at least she &nows what she is loo&ing for. *rs. Elliot-s bastard son, .ust as 1elen-s illegal son, functions as saviours of their societies. $hey both represent the hope of the future. +lthough /ic&ie cannot have another child, 'tephen does have his own child and names her after their mother, thus giving /ic&ie the only physical posterity he can get. 'tephen guarantees that their maternal line will stay alive.

'ome fictional people function .ust as prototypes in the novels. E. *. <orster wants to define them only through their roles as wives and or mothers. *rs. Elliot has neither a first nor maiden name, while *rs. <ailing has no maiden name. $hey e0ist only as roles within the novel but *rs. Elliot is a round character whereas the latter is flat. +lthough *rs. Elliot is dead she is a spirit that stands as a symbol of woman-s life. <orlorn by a hateful husband and embedded in a miserable marriage, she defies conventions and loves a manly sensitive farmer following instinct and e0periencing love. !n the other hand, *rs. <ailing, who is alive, is associated to failure, malice and barrenness. 1er husband chooses the way of love and intellect since he was a respectable *ember of %arliament, a landowner loved by his tenants for the reforms introduced in his estate and a political theorist. 1is wife is the false show and the denial of what was genuine in her husband. $he reader can easily identify her with +gnes since she is as conventional and manipulative as /ic&ie-s wife. *rs. <ailing-s marriage, li&e +gnes- and /ic&ie-s and li&e *r. and *rs. Elliot-s is a total failure. !ne concludes that /ic&ie is not simply a heterose0ual man who marries the wrong woman but a homose0ual who destroys himself by pursuing a heterose0ual life. 1e 2believes in woman because he has loved his mother3. 1e can neither disprove of women nor ac&nowledge them subse#uently the battle against his apprehension of se0ual inade#uacy ad.usts him to assert his virility as well as his manhood. 1is deformity not only stands for his homose0uality but it also stands for his inability 2to connect3 his dreams and ideals with reality. $hus his marriage is only a portion of the tragedy of his e0istence. +s a reader one presumes that /ic&ie and +nsell-s attitudes are those of round characters. $hey change in their outloo& of marriage as the novel progresses, while +gnes and *rs. <ailing-s remain static. $hey are the same character from the beginning to the end of the story? they are manipulative and vindictive, pulling /ic&ie-s strings for their en.oyment, urges and whims. In Howards End round and flat characters interact to present another view of marriage. 1ere marriage is neither presented as destructive nor does it symbolize the outcome of spiritual and passionate love. /uth and 1enry Wilco0-s marriage seems to be more a marriage of convenience than a marriage of love. 1enry Wilco0 is in charge of the business aspect while

/uth-s main occupation is the domestic running of the house. 1er 2life had been spent in the service of husband and sons, had little to say to strangers who had never shared it3 85E9 When she first meets *argaret she is 2alarmed3 by *argaret-s 2clever tal&3 and is even happy not to have to vote. *argaret soon comes under the influence of the seemingly conventional *rs. Wilco0, who thin&s it is 2wiser to leave action and discussion to men. 'he has only one passion in life ( 2her house3. What about her home? What does E. *. <orster mean when he states 2her house3. $he reader is highly surprised when she be#ueaths 1owards End to *argaret but on later thoughts one can realize that <orster has anticipated this resolution 8page FG9. $hrough this act she will leave *argaret not only her house but also her home, her family. *argaret will inherit /uth-s husband, her children as well as her house, thus roundness will be passed from one character to another and the spirit of both characters will fuse into one. $he reader has to ta&e into account that according to the laws of men, marriage deprived /uth of her right to leave her own property (2the house had been all her dowry3 ) 8page 4GC9 to the person she considers it belongs but according to the laws of the spirit her wish will be fulfilled. !nce /uth is introduced she is described as 2trailing noiselessly over the lawnB.3 +nd 2she seems to belong to 1owards End and to the tree that overshadows the house.3 8HI9 $hat image pervades throughout the novel. 1owever, she is a spirit that lingers throughout the novel more than a true character. /uth-s presence is felt everywhere and she presides over 1owards End, the place where she belongs. 'he has an instinctive understanding of people as well as of situations. 'he seems to embody the conventional woman without much hope, typical of the Edwardian period, but her comprehension and understanding emotionally force her to leave her dear house to the people whom she considers belong in there, turning into an unconventional woman in the eyes of her society. ;ever understood by her husband and children, who give more priority to money rather than to feelings and wishes, the house does not go to the proper owner for a long time. 2$o them 1owards End was a house: they could not &now that to her it had been a spirit, for which she sought a spiritual heir3. 8%age 4G79. $hey label *rs. Wilco0 an invalid in order to ease their conscience and not to follow her wish. =ater, <orster comments: 2$he woman who had died did say to them, 2 o this,3 and they answered, 2We will not33. 8%age 4G59 It is only the passing of time, *argaret-s struggle 2to connect3, *iss +very-s interference and the spiritual ruin of the Wico0 family what ma&e /uth Wilco0-s wish possible.

*argaret soon comes under the influence of the outwardly conventional *rs. Wilco0, who never discusses anything with her family at home, and who is alarmed by *argaret-s clever tal& and thin&s it is 2wiser to leave action and discussion to men3. *argaret becomes increasingly identified with her and, after the death of the former *rs. Wilco0? she marries the widow and becomes another *rs. Wilco0, but still &eeping her uni#ueness of thought and ideas. *r. Wilco0-s marriage proposal is not ran&ed 2among the world-s great love scenes3. In fact it is businessli&e 8%age 4I59 but *argaret is overcome by 2immense .oy3 and a 2central radiance3 that means love to her. 'he understands that 1enry is not involved 2with emotional tal&3 847G9, yet she was 2thrilled with happiness3. <urthermore, *argaret feels that /uth-s ghost surveys this scene, but she does not feel bitter. !ne may conclude that now *argaret and /uth have become only one self. When she tells 1elen of theJher proposal she confesses her sister that she does not love 1enry yet, but that she will because she has started loving him the moment he spo&e to her. 'he e0plains to her sister that her lovema&ing 2will be prose3, that is to say that she will connect romance with action. @et, marriage deprives *argaret of most of her independence but 2she was to &eep her independence more than do most women as yet3 8 47E9. 1er materialistic husband does not have the least understanding of her spiritual portion. When they discuss marriage arrangements 1enry-s only interest is money and property. !ne could agree that her acceptance of 1enry-s proposal of marriage is conventional. It certainly is. $here are clear signs that she broods on the idea of becoming an old maid and does not li&e this option very much, but at the same time she understands 1enry-s wea&nesses and is aware of what might come to them. 1enry also embodies the importance of wor& and she recognizes that the world of culture would not e0ist without the Wilco0eshard wor& and that life of an inherited income lac&s the essential ingredient of wor&. But she loves him and she intends to change him, to ma&e him see and loo& at things from a different perspective, to connect the poetry and the prose, the business world and the intellectual, the private and the public, materialism and idealism, masculine and feminine, her world and his world. 1er purpose is not the best reason for marrying him, but very few women would dare to be involved in such a #uest in her time. 'he is a strong woman who wal&s the less travelled road to achieve her aim, and even confronts her passionate sister with her prosaic and e0asperating husband. 'he uses her abilities and &nowledge in order to con#uer her boorish husband and to rescue

her sister from social re.ection. 'he is torn between two forces but succeeds in ma&ing her husband feel affection for her and have 1elen by her side. 'he does not develop according to romantic conventions but to her profound instincts, basic common sense and great &nowledge and understanding of human relationships, to her ability to connect. In the course of the novel *argaret changes her loyalties. uring Evie-s wedding she defends her husband against her sister, but at the end she defends 1elen against 1enry. +ttitudes towards se0 ma&e her do so. *argaret can accept 1enry-s incapacity to connect his own se0uality internally. But when he condemns 1elen for doing the same thing with =eonard that he has done with ,ac&y, the lac& of connection is too important to bear, and *argaret stands up to him. *argaret-s reaction to 1enry-s love affair is e0tremely unconventional. 'he does not condemn the specifically se0ual aspect of 1enry-s infidelity. What annoys her most is that he has betrayed another human being. *argaret accepts 1elen at this point, but her acceptance does not lead to a brea& with 1enry until 1enry himself refuses to accept 1elen. *oreover, their love is rooted in common things, so *argaret remains a conventional wife and as&s 1enry for permission to allow 1elen to stay overnight at 1owards End. 1e refuses and proposes to marry 1elen to the seducer. +t first *argaret seems to accept but on second thoughts she refuses. 1enry as&s for the name of the seducer but *argaret brilliantly stands up to 1enry and tells him that he cannot connect that what he has done is what 1elen has done. 1enry still does not give his permission but *argaret stays there with her sister in spite of him. 'he decides to leave 1enry and live with 1elen. Charles- murder of =eonard reunites *argaret and 1enry. In the end 1enry is bro&en and *argaret is left to 2ma&e what she can of him3. +t the end of the novel, *argaret, 1enry, 1elen and 1elen-s baby are all living at 1owards End .$he only relationship that survives intact is *argaret-s and 1elen-s relationship with each other, and one could argue that at the end of the novel they underestimate the casualties of their own private war. $hey have done away with the men who have opposed their goal. *argaret self)confidently and steadily sees the house, representative of the beliefs of its previous possessor, delivered to the hands of its proper spiritual owner, 1elen-s son, the offspring of the most unconventional of the sisters. *argaret and 1elen mould a curious comple0 match, living in a world of dreams and ideals with very peculiar common sense and intellect. +t the end of the novel *argaret is no longer the woman the reader meets at the beginning, while *r. Wilco0 is the same man. *argaret has grown into a

mature woman whereas her husband, though older is the same conventional aristocrat who cannot either understand 1elen or *rs. Wilco0 wish. +lthough 1elen has much in common with *argaret, she is more beautiful, more impulsive, idealistic, uncompromising and enticing. 'he chooses to remain single. 'he predicts she will never marry because there are no men for her, but, she is constantly loo&ing for e0cuses for not committing herself to anyone and although she is passionate and emotional she cannot entrust to only one man. 'he is the first of the sisters to fall under the charm of the Wilco0 men although she can never understand them. 'he falls in love with %aul Wilco0 as #uic&ly as they brea& up. +fter this incident she has a marriage proposal, which was 2the wor&3 of a "erman relative who wanted to win her bac& to the 2<atherland by matrimony3. 1elen re.ects this 2proposal3 on the grounds that that she will not marry 21err <Krstmeister someone3 because she will not li&e to live in a house in a solitary and damp forest. 8%age 44H9 $his absurd proposal shows her lac& of interest in getting married, because at least she could have met him, how defenceless poor women were, and how advantageous 1elen-s position is. 'he can re.ect proposals because she has an income of her own but other women cannot. *any Dictorian women are forced to marry in search of economic support. When she gets pregnant of =eonard-s child she flies to the Continent because she realizes she cannot be a single mother in England. 1er sister-s attempt to &now of her brings her bac& to her country, but that society will find it impossible to accept her, her ideas, or her child. Dirtuous women would neither have love affairs with married men nor with men above their economic position. $he thought of having children as a result of this type of love affair would never come to the broad minds of Dictorian society, which would e0clude 1elen. +s stated before 1elen chooses to remain single but one may conclude that no Edwardian respectable man would ta&e her as a wife. 'he has sinned in the eyes of her society and her sin cannot be forgiven by such prudish society. 'he has to be e0cluded, .ust as *rs. Elliot, but *argaret-s ability to connect allows her to find a place of her own for her and for her son, a place in 1owards End, a home in 1owards End. ;othing is said of *rs. Elliot social condemnation but it is evident that *r. Elliot and his sister never forgive her, thus ostracising her from further family contact. !n the other hand, 1elen and *argaret are cast in an unusual pattern. ,ac&ie-s marriage to =eonard symbolizes the typical marriage of a woman of low birth, in this case an aging prostitute who is eager to save

herself from decadence by entrapping a husband, in this case a young one. $his 2article3, 8%age 4C49 will provide her with the respectability she needs in order to find a place in her social class. +s she is very poor and decadent she has to save herself from old age and needs a man to rescue her from her eminent fall. +fter her marriage, it is =eonard-s .ob to worry about money, not hers. <or the poor, marriage is an economic, not a spiritual state. ,ac&ie is a vulgar woman, cheaply but pretentiously elaborately dressed, not at all respectable, who finds the art of conversation difficult and tiring. 'he relies on her smile, her caresses and her body to attract. Culture, boo&s and music mean nothing to her but they are very important for =eonard. $his character is more a caricature than a flat character. !n the other hand, her husband strives hardly to 2obtain3 culture no matter how painful the process will be and to &eep ,ac&ie away from his pursuit fearing she may spoil his 2life of culture3. 1e is a dreamer who thoughtlessly marries a woman twelve years older than him .ust because he has promised her to do so. Evidently their marriage was a based on ,ac&ie-s personal convenience and not on love. @et, it seems that she is very intuitive due to her past occupation. When she finds the 'chlegels- visiting card her intuition ta&es her to Wic&ham %lace to loo& for =eonard the wee&end he embar&s on his wal& into the county of 'urrey to follow the %ole star and leads her to suspect of 1elen 2to the last3. Anfortunately she cannot foresee into the future to prevent suffering and death. =eonard thin&s of his marriage as 2scarcely been a tragic3 one. 1e considers that tragedy cannot be generated where there is no money and no inclination to violence. 21e could neither leave his wife nor did he want to hit her3. 8%age 4CF9 Evidently he is destined to lose. Anfortunately he has made too many bad choices and cannot find a way out of his miserable life since neither his choice of a wife can ma&e him happy nor can his dreams of a cultured life come true. Certainly an unambitious domestic old wife cannot correspond to an aspiring poor young husband for they have nothing in common. 1e also fails to see the 2connection3. !nly 1elen understands him. 'he notices that he has escaped to the woods leaving his wife alone because she is 2an old bore3 8page 46G9 and he needs to be alone. Ironically, it is violence what tragically ends their marriage with =eonard-s death in Charleshands. Conventional young *r. Wilco0 is embar&ed on his 2"entleman duty3 and he &ills 1elen-s lover accidentally while loo&ing to redress what he considers sinful seduction.

'ome characters sole function is to represent different roles women undertoo& within the married couple. <or instance, in The Longest Journey *rs. Elliot has neither a first nor a maiden name, while *rs. <ailing has no maiden name. $hey e0ist only as roles within the novel but *rs. Elliot is a round character whereas the latter is flat. +lthough *rs. Elliot is dead she is a spirit that stands as a symbol of woman-s life. <orlorn by a hateful husband and embedded in a miserable marriage, she defies conventions and loves a manly sensitive farmer following instinct and e0periencing love. !n the other hand, *rs. <ailing, who is alive, is associated to failure, malice and barrenness. 1er husband chose the way of love and intellect since he was a respectable *ember of %arliament, a landowner loved by his tenants for the reforms introduced in his estate and a political h +gnes since she is as conventional and manipulative as /ic&ie-s wife. 1er marriage, li&e +gnes and /ic&ie-s and li&e *r. and *rs. Elliot-s is a failure. In Howards End Charles- wife, olly, is introduced as 2poor *rs. Charles3. 'he is described wearing mourning clothes her husband has 2plunged her in3, 8page 4GG9 submissively following his orders as well as her father)in)law-s and wishing *rs. Wilco0 had died before her wedding since she finds herself in an aw&ward position not &nowing how to behave or what is e0pected of her. *r. Wilco0 terrifies her and &eeps her motionless. 'he is an empty)headed, fluffy little thing, 2a dainty blac& column3 constantly 2tripping after3 her husband, begging him to pay attention to her ( .ust having as a dry answer 2;ow, olly, I can attend to you3, only after he has finished what has been &eeping him busy. +ll the members of the family disregard her opinions and thoughts. 1er dictatorial husband scolds her, blazes out to her to 2hold her tongue3 when the whole family is e0changing opinions about *r. Wilco0-s will and nobody pays attention to her flush and tears after Charlesaggression. *argaret describes her as a pretty little creature, which does not seem very wise. 'he is the perfect submissive match for a dictatorial man as Charles Wilco0. 1er name ( olly ) is the perfect indication of her character. 1er functions in life are breeding children loo&ing after the running of their house and being scolded at and degraded by her authoritarian husband. 'he is presented devoid of any other feeling than that of fear. Charles and olly-s union symbolize another type of conventional aristocratic marriage of Dictorian England. +nother flat character that e0ists to portray aristocratic marriages of Dictorian)Edwardian England is that of Evie-s. 1er marriage is presented as a 2carnival of fools3, 8CH59 the typical conventional aristocratic legal formality

of Dictorian)Edwardian England. 1er name 2Eve3 discloses the outcome that lays ahead any woman who does not ma&e every effort to loo& for something further beyond her se0ual stereotypes. 'he hides her feelings beneath a disguise of .o&es and .ests. +fter her mother-s death her puppies and father were the only things she loves. +bruptly the author seems to suggest that Evie is old enough to get married, that she is ready for the 2net of matrimony3. In a few days she meets *r. %ercy Cahill and they feel attracted to each other. =ove does not seem to be enough for him who is 2a very good sort of fellow3, but rightly demands 2a suitable provision with her3. 2%oor little Evie3 trusts that %ercy Carhill will be a decent husband. !nly the preparations for the wedding, the presents, the invitations, and the ceremony itself are described as part of the conventions of the times. Evie and %ercy-s ritual is presented as a performance of duty, a signing of documents, and a 2blend of 'unday church and fo0)hunting3. *argaret wishes 2someone had been upset3. 'he finds everything e0tremely perfect without any incidents or complications. ;othing is said about the newly married couple-s love or future plans. $his wedding ceremony is presented in opposition to *argaret-s and 1enry-s, which is briefly and concisely described simply as 2#uiet3. !ne can reflect that Evie-s ritual portrays /uth-s and 1enry-s own ceremonial and preparations representative of Dictorian conventions. In many respects +gnes and /ic&ie-s couple show a reversal of roles and opposes *argaret-s and 1enry-s. *argaret and /ic&ie strive to be happy, to assert their uni#ueness, to search for truth and love and to find a place of their own, while 1enry and +gnes are incapable of showing emotion, understanding and connecting with the other. $hey are both conventionalists who belong to 2the benighted3 and are determined to own people, in the same way as they hold property. $hey are boorish, prosaic, and dull and lac& human warmth and emotion. In A Passage to India the reader is confronted with two e0tremely different types of marriage. !n the one hand, the Indian wives who are concealed behind their husbands- lives and who seem to have no individual or public life at all, and, on the other hand, the +nglo Indian wives who ta&e advantage of their husbands- political and economical situation in India and use them for their own personal benefit. In A Passage to India Indian women hardly e0ist to their fellow Indians? they live behind the purdah 84H9 in a state of oppression greater even than that

of Italian wives in Where Angels Fear to Tread. $he reader does not see much of Indian women, but the #uic& loo& one gets behind the purdah, when +ziz is tal&ing to his aunt, 1amidullah Begum, is alarming and distressing: 2It was difficult to get away, because until they had had their dinner she would not begin hers, and conse#uently prolonged her remar&s3. 84H9 Indian women-s only role is to be married and bear children, preferably boys? Indian society does not allow her anything else. *en marry simply because they see it as their responsibility to save women from the 2tragedy3 of an unmarried life and in order to have descendants? as in Italy, women do not e0ist in their own right. +ziz- marriage is the only one the reader is told in depth. It begins in the tradition custom, arranged by the family. 1is wife loves him, and he falls in love with her also, but unfortunately she dies giving birth to a second son. +ziz-s attitude towards his children defines the position of women in India, when he mentions his children to *rs. *oore? he lists the girl last, although she is elder child 8CC9. 1is daughter does not count for him? when +ziz is ill and asleep, he &eeps amusing memories of 2his honoured wife and dear boys3 844F9. =i&e =ilia in Where Angels Fear to Tread, Indian women e0ist to bear sons. Women are so absorbed in their role that, when 1amidullah-s wife is offered to come out of purdah by her own husband she refuses to do so, and will not see <ielding, who is a close friend. 'he has internalised purdah so deeply that she cannot see beyond it. $he feeling of lac& of personal and individual e0istence is difficult to overcome all at once and if there is any hope for a different future it lies in the young generation, only if +ziz can see his daughter as a person will purdah be successfully lifted in India, but +ziz does not seem to be aware of this issue. +t the very end of the novel, +ziz-s poems are all about !riental womanhood and they all agree that the purdah must go. 1e declares that both men and women must fight the invaders, but <ielding cleverly points out that +ziz does not want to create a new home and ,emila, his daughter, still comes last in his preferences. =ove and friendship run parallel in A Passage to India. +ziz feels that his wife cannot be replaced 8669. +t this point in the novel, +ziz still believes in the purdah but he shows his wife to his friends. 1is behaviour is a bit a

more compassionate and civilized than the Italian system, where caff brotherhood is firmly &ept apart from marital life or the English smo&ing room where women would never dare to get in. +ziz, who is tremendously perceptive of the rights and feelings of the oppressed Indian race, fails to connect or feel sympathy for Indian women, who are similarly sub.ugated. In particular, he shows no concern for unbeautiful women and is mainly infuriated for being accused of se0ual assault 2by a woman who had no personal beauty3 8CH69 and wants +dela to write a humiliating letter of apology to him claiming that she wished +ziz had come into the cave since she is an old hag and he was her last chance. <or him, women, are .ust worthless ob.ects inept to be have feelings, claims or re#uests. $hey have to comfort with what life offers them and have no right to as& for anything e0tra. /onny, a self)complacent civilian who is in India to do .ustice and &eep peace, e0emplifies the Englishmen-s point of view. When his fiancL becomes unpleasantly implicated in a public case, he releases himself from the engagement because marriage to her would hold bac& his progress in India. 1is duty to his country is more important than his fiancL-s feelings and aw&ward position. What else could be e0pected from this flat character representative of authority in India? $he reader is first introduced to +dela in con.unction with her prospective marriage to /onny. 'he has come to India half engaged to /onny to see him at wor& and at play prior to deciding whether to marry him or not. 'he sincerely considers that anything can be solved if you are concerned with it, but she is wanting in emotion, imagination and beauty. Before the incident of the caves, the crucial #uestion centres on whether they will get married or not and, as one li&es +dela and disli&es /onny, one is eager they will not end in matrimony. +dela and /onny have originally been attracted to each other because of a shared belief in 2the sanctity of personal relationships3 85C9, but /onny has become an official, and one is amazed that she persists with the idea of marriage. When she brea&s the engagement the first time, <orster highlights their li&eness: 2E0periences, not character, divided them? they were not dissimilar, as humans go? indeed, when compared with the people who stood nearest to them in point of space they became practically identical3. 85H9 /onny decently accepts her re.ection? he is at his best in his act of renunciation, li&e Cecil Dyse in A !oo" with a #iew. $he reader is glad when +dela brea&s her engagement, not because one prefers celibacy to marriage ( the cause of *r. Beebe-s e0pression of .oy when =ucy brea&s her engagement with Cecil in A !oo" with a #iew ( but because the idea of +dela-s future

marriage is horrifying. $he reader cannot imagine +dela-s loveless married life centring around the social club, entertaining and being entertained by the group of the +nglo Indian women and their manipulated husbands. !ne cannot imagine +dela being turned into a *rs. $urton, loo&ing down on the natives. !nly when +dela impulsively tells +ziz that she does not intend to move to India does she become conscious, for the first time, that she has no intention to marry /onny, but she later changes her mind again. If she had followed her first thoughts, the tragedy might have been avoided, but incongruously +dela, who insists on living a totally intellectualised life, ma&es the same mista&e as the capricious =ilia in Where Angels Fear to Tread and persuades herself that superficial se0uality is love. +ll these misperceptions, together with the incident at the caves lead to her personal catastrophe. 'he only achieves consciousness and personal understanding when she understands that she has a ma.or temper defect which would have ruined her marriage: she has an undeveloped heart and is incapable of feeling affection or emotion. *rs. *oore is the only female character that seems to have achieved happiness through marriage. +t the beginning of the novel she believes in that institution successfully since she has married twice and has had children with her two husbands. 2E0cellent it was to see the incident repeated by the younger generation38FC9. Even though, she is not very optimistic about +dela and /onny-s future marriage she mista&enly advises +dela to marry /onny. 2It is the children who are the first consideration until they are grown up and married off. When that happens one has again the right to live for oneself ( in the plains or the hills, as suits.3 subse#uent to this, after she comes out of the caves she no longer believes in marriage or personal relations. 2'he felt increasingly 8vision or nightmare?9 that though people are important the relations between them are not, and that in particular too much fuss has been made over marriage? centuries of carnal embracement, yet man is no nearer to understanding man3. 84HE9 ;ow, marriages seems futile to her. 2Why all this marriage, marriage?B $he human race would have become a single person centuries ago if marriage was any use. +nd all this rubbish about love, love in a church, love in a cave, as if there is the least differenceB.384F79. uring the trip to the caves she gets a touch of sun and becomes a bad)tempered, dying woman, instead of the figure of strength and perception the reader has met at the beginning of the novel. 1er weariness of needless complications, .ointly with her restlessness, impatience, old age and decaying health contribute to a

state of general confusion. 'he can no longer distinguish her thoughts very clearly so she decides to leave /onny and +dela by themselves and departs from India and its muddle. 1er personal outloo& of marriage also helps to bring about the catastrophe at the caves. 1er thoughts and actions oppose those of *rs. Elliot-s in The Longest Journey who lives for the others and sacrifices herself convinced that in this way she will grant the othershappiness. !pportunely, her une0pected telepathic faculty miraculously ma&es +dela understand her misappreciations. %rovidentially, *rs. *oore-s daughter-s marriage to <ielding, gives the impression of standing for a positive step in reconciling *rs. *oore-s concept of the institution of marriage. 'he can, in some way, re)establish the bro&en unity and grant harmony to her children, +dela, as well as her new friend +ziz. Where Angels Fear to Tread is the story of the devastating impact of an unsuccessful marriage between a pretty, gullible and hitherto repressed English widow to a young, virile, attractive, immature thoughtless Italian on the widow-s family. In Where Angels Fear to Tread E. *. <orster presents two different ideas or of marriage ) the English and the Italian. 1e presents English wives as perceiving family life as a game of power. *rs. 1erriton, a totally flat character, is defined as the model matriarch. 'he rules the 1erriton branch with unlimited authority, only worried that nothing or nobody should spoil her well)schemed routines or cautiously arranged plans. ;othing is said of *r. 1erriton-s or Charles 1erriton-s role or conduct within the family. $hey have both died before the main action of the novel ta&es place and *rs. 1erriton has ta&en control over the family unit. $hey are purely revealed as mere providers of social and economic welfare of the family and play no other important role in the development of the novel. *ost of <orster-s husbands illustrate his own lac& of familiarity with the presence of a male figure in the family circle and the supremacy of a feminine presence in his own personal life. In this novel the times have not yet come for women to do any real wor&. In rural areas women are still not allowed to do any real wor&, thus they have no effective creative outlet for their energies. *rs. 1erriton believes in domestic life up to the segregation of everything else, even romance or anything that would upset domestic life. 'he has no first name, and is defined solely by her roles as wife, mother, mother)in)law and grandmother ) she is

simply called by her husband-s name. 'he directs her energies into trying to live through her children and run their lives since she is not allowed by convention to do any real wor&. B.3 It was not nearly ten years since Charles had fallen in love with =ilia $heobald, because she was pretty, and during that time *rs. 1erriton had hardly &nown a moment-s rest. <or si0 months she schemed to prevent the match, and when it had ta&en place she turned to another tas& ( the supervision of her daughter)in)law. =ilia must be pushed through life without bringing discredit on the family into which she had marriedB3 When Charles 1erriton dies *rs. 1erriton sees =ilia as a threat to her power. +fter Charles- death, =ilia-s role as a widow is even more restrictive than her role as a wife and she is incessantly under the control of her 2late husband-s family3. Anli&e *rs. 1erriton, =ilia is a bad house&eeper, always in the pang of some domestic crisis and she is constantly criticized for not ta&ing care of her house. 1ouse&eeping was seen as a woman-s most important occupation, but =ilia searches for other means of release for her energies but all her efforts are frustrated by the 1erritons. =ilia, *rs. 1erritons- most pathetic prey, escapes to Italy, but the effects of her mother)in)law-s manipulation, and her potential future as a manipulative matriarch herself only place her in a worse position? that of an oppressed Italian wife. When =ilia marries "ino she tries to use her husband .ust as *rs. 1erriton has manipulated Charles and influences %hilip. +t first, "ino views =ilia as a superior being, but soon he loo&s at her as se0ual woman and therefore inferior. "ino perceives marriage under this light and declares that 2there should be one master in that house ( himself3 8EC?9. +s a conse#uence, she merely changes from an English prison to an Italian one since Italian women are li&ened to ob.ects that should be sheltered in airless rooms where no one can come in or go out. In Italy wives are dehumanised. Italian men agree to &eep women isolated and thus "ino and his friends and family agree to parallel =ilia to an Italian woman and &eep her secluded 2$he more precious a possession the more carefully it should be guarded3 866?9. In England she e0ists as 2*rs. Charles3 in Italy she is 2"ino-s wife3, his possession. =ilia ma&es two great errors in marrying "ino. 'he is not aware that Italian marriage is not a solution and that se0ual attraction does not e#uate

with love. 'he is so trapped in *rs. 1erriton-s hands that her perception of reality is 2foggy3. ;otably, there is no verbal communication between =ilia and "ino since she spea&s no Italian and he does not spea& English. With this detail <orster emphasizes the deep differences between these two cultures as well as the absence of any real communication between the members of married couples. =ilia and "ino give the impression of communicating better at the beginning of their relationship, when they were still separated by language, rather than they do later after language has stopped to be a hindrance. When =ilia becomes conscious that her marriage is a failure she becomes unhappy and possessive. "ino resents this behaviour and leaves her alone, thus laying the foundation for =ilia-s loss of the frail spar&s self) confidence she has gained in Italy. =ilia realizes the state in which her marriage to "ino lies. "ino succeeds in dominating =ilia, 2he made her do what he wanted3 86C9. +s time goes by, =ilia gets frightened of "ino-s brutality and obeys him blindly. When she as&s him for lac& of restrictions to go out for a wal& he rudely prohibits her such freedom. When she menaces him to cut off his allowance, he frightens her into absolute obedience. 'he realizes that "ino has married her for her money, but this piece of evidence does no good to =ilia. Instead she further submits to his whims and way of life: 2he had tamed her and she never threatened to cut off supplies again3 86H9 "ino asserts his manhood by &eeping =ilia and %erfetta in line: 2$hus did the two women pay homage to their outraged male3 86H9 =ilia-s last hope for happiness vanishes away when she learns of "ino-s unfaithfulness: 2she bro&e down utterly and sobbed and cried3. 86E9 'he feels intolerably lonely and has no further opportunities left. 'he broods: 2'he had given up everything for him ( her daughter, her relatives, her friends, all the little comforts and lu0uries of a civilized life ( and even if she had the courage to brea& away, there was no one who would receive her now3. 86E9 $otally intimidated, =ilia accepts whatever "ino does. If women are not encouraged to develop up in England, they are not even e0pected to e0ist in Italy. In this sense =ilia functions as a symbol for all women, out of their element in a world ruled by and for men. 1er suffering is that of many other submitted women of <orster-s times. In order to affirm her freedom =ilia goes for a solitary evening wal& but once again she returns to her confinement where "ino unfairly accuses her. eeply hurt and despondent she accuses him of infidelity but he merely responds with a laugh at =ilia-s reproof of his double standard. In some way "ino-s attitudes and reaction resemble *r.

Wilco0-s since "ino and 1enry fail to connect with women-s needs and rights and both of them sustain contrasting codes of life whenever their own behaviour is at sta&e. Italian women are totally segregated from male friendship and contact. $he role of women in Italian life is e0traordinarily tyrannical? by denying them male friendship, Italy denies them any &ind of friendship. =ilia-s female presence fulfils a double function. 1er beauty allows her to remain shallow, superficial and one)dimensional. ;ot much is demanded of her. Charles falls in love with her e0clusively because she is good)loo&ing and "ino-s attraction to her is partly because he had 2always desired a blonde3 8EE9. Altimately, =ilia-s function as a female is simply necessary to accomplish her role of producing the male heir to an Italian character and the female heir to an English family cluster.