Howards End - Edward Morgan Forster

Although many, many themes appear in this novel, to me it was a tale of an evolving society, of the big changes that happened a century ago; the spreading of the use of motorcars, the growing of London, the beginning of a social awareness, and more importantly, the slow emancipation of women.
Margaret and Helen, the very contrasting Miss Schlegels, both strive to love, and to a certain extend to freedom, but use different strategies. While Helen is unrestrained and free-spirited, refusing any compromise, Margaret, the oldest, shows very early on the insight and the knowledge of a grown woman, and uses understanding, compassion and quiet talk to reach the same objective: a better harmony within her family, a better life for her and her sister. They very much resemble a modern version of Elinor and Marianne Dashwood in that respect.
However, men in this novel aren’t really appealing; Charles Wilcox is aggressive, Tibby Schlegel useless, Paul Wilcox a coward, Leonard Bast a poor tortured soul, and Henry Wilcox the most patronising man ever heard of. Yet the female characters live around and love these men, and one ends up wondering why.
Is it the need to “connect”, to live together, to respect the other no matter what ? Why do these women bother at all ? Is it their heritage from centuries of brainwashing, or do they have some insights into human nature that is lost on a 21st century woman like me ? What is the message here ?
All's well that ends well, for sure, and Margaret was right all along – she’s tamed Henry, conquered the other Wilcoxes, created a happy place for Helen, and both can even remember Len with fondness. A true heroin.
And although this is a clear triumph of the gentle “womanly” way, the subtle level-headed manipulation over the loud and impatient self-righteousness struggle, Margaret did eventually need to pick a fight, the only fight of her life, to come to this satisfactory outcome.
So this is a tale of choosing one’s battles wisely.
And it feels very patronising for the Helens of this world (me included).
On a totally unrelated note, although the audiobook from librivox was beautifully read, the reader thought it was okay to use an over the top German accent when cousin Frida was speaking. This is so offensive that it got my blood boiling. Probably my Helen Schlegel side.

Note for later: try to like the men, or to at least find some quality in them. They can’t all be that bad.