Howards End by E.M. Forster

In Howards End by E.M. Forster, the contrast between the two Schlegel sisters is central to the development of the novel. The story is very much a matter of character development and revelation, and Forster has strong feelings about his characters which can be discerned in the way he treats them and in the degree of attention he gives to each of them. Helen is presented in a way that shows a complex attitude on the part of the author, and attitude reflected in the relationship between the sisters and in the way each responds to the situations as they develop.

While the two sisters are contrasted to a degree, they also have numerous similarities. Forster contrasts the Schlegels with the Wilcoxes. Helen and Margaret's mother is a British woman who comes from a family with money and their father a German idealist from whom they have inherited a certain attitude toward the world. Because of him, they have passionate beliefs about art, human relations, and the intellectual life. The Wilcoxes are capitalists with a passion for motor cars and other things that can be purchased rather than intellectual pursuits. The Schlegels and the Wilcoxes have more than one encounter, with differing consequences, and Margaret and Helen react differently to these encounters.

Helen is introduced first in the novel through the letters she is writing to her sister, and the author thus first takes us into the consciousness of this young lady directly. She is the younger of the two sisters by

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wish left behind by Ruth until she actually inherits the house through her marriage to Henry and long after the fact. Margaret is described as more sensible than Helen, and she based her life on her belief in the ideals of her father. Her father is convinced that Germany should rule the world, and Aunt Juley is convinced that Britain should. Margaret is direct and willing to argue her point of view, and when she brings her father and Aunt Juley together to argue with one another, she is surprised to find that they will not do so: "Her conclusion was that any human being lies nearer to the unseen than any organization, and from this she never varied" (31). Helen is described as having similar views but as being less responsible: In character she resembled her sister, but she was pretty, and so apt to have a more amusing time. People gathered round her more readily, especially when they were new acquaintances, and she did enjoy a little homage very much (31). Forster describes Helen as having a better time of it than Margaret because she is prettier and better able to gather people around her, and yet it is Margaret who has a more open view of people and who tries harder to know what they are really like: But looks have th

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