31 August 2008 @ 12:29 pm
Outer and inner life – The Schlegels believe in being cultured and nurturing the character; the person is what counts, not the money or any material stuff. But the Wilcoxes do not pay attention to the inner being. They only know how to enjoy material wealth. Which is why the Schlegels spend money to go to concerts but the Wilcoxes would probably think it just a waste of time.
“The Schlegels and Wilcoxes represent different approaches to life, that which celebrates the inner life, and that which celebrates the outer life.”
“Margaret and Helen Schlegel celebrate the inner life. In their opinion, the inner life is what defines and shapes a person. Therefore, embracing and understanding it is fundamental to developing identity and confidence. Embracing the inner life encompasses a wide variety of things, such as Margaret working to understand Mr. Wilcox, the celebration of grounding oneself in a home as Margaret and Helen do when seeing their furniture unpacked at Howards End, or expressing one's honest opinion as Leonard finally does when noting the sunrise he witnessed was fairly disappointing. Throughout the novel, the outer life is often portrayed as related to "telegrams and anger." The Wilcoxes, especially Charles, embody existences dominated by the outer life. For instance, after a brief romance with Helen, Paul immediately returns to his outer life focus, and regrets allowing his emotions to rule his action. In fact, the entire Wilcox family, except Mrs. Wilcox, is astounded and upset by Paul's impulsive actions. Similarly, when Helen and Margaret see each other after eight months of not speaking, discussion, explanations, and questions fail to reestablish their bond. To reconnect with each other, they must access aspects of their inner life, which they finally do through seeing their furniture unpacked in Howards End and reminiscing over their childhoods.”
http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/howards/themes.html
I think they differ in their ideals:
• The Wilcoxes believe that “There will always be the rich and the poor” and thus does nothing to help the poor. The Schlegels, on the other hand, believe that they should give money to the poor to help them.
• The Schlegels are more liberal and believe in rights for women (well, Margaret does, at any rate) while the Wilcoxes are more conservative and a little more unable to accept new ideas.
• Wilcoxes = practical, Schlegels = romantic (Margaret was a little disappointed that she didn’t get kissed all the way until she reached home)
“She is stimulated by the very differences of their way of life and acknowledges the debt of intellectuals to the men of affairs who guarantee stability, whose virtues of 'neatness, decision and obedience ... keep the soul from becoming sloppy'.”
http://emforster.de/hypertext/template.php3?t=howa
“contrasting the "seen" with the "unseen"--the physical, material world of the Wilcoxes with the imaginative, spiritual world of the Schlegels”
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/howardsend/analysis.html
Way of life: Transport (Schlegels take train I think. And they do walk. But Wilcoxes drive wherever they go)
“His motto is "Concentrate," while hers is "Only connect."”
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/howardsend/section5.rhtml
And I think they sort of do have different mindsets about money. True, they both think it is very important, but to Margaret, it is not a priority or anything. She and Helen need Aunt Juley to tell them about the importance of investment, otherwise I don’t think they would have remembered that they don’t have an income. The Wilcoxes are fixated on money, on the other hand…
And the Wilcoxes play sports but the Schlegels don’t. They watch performances instead.
Current Location: at home
Current Mood: Accomplished
Current Music: "Mata Ashita" from Ouran High School Host Club Soundtrack and Character Songs 2
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