Shaping the Culture of Tolerance: A Study of Forster’s Humanism in Howard’s End and A Passage to India

Abstract

This paper attempts a postcolonial reading of Forster’s humanism and suggests that the concept of tolerance is central to his conception of humanism. Taking a cue from Edward Said’s theorizations on humanism, the paper argues that Forster’s humanism is centered upon the agency of human individuality, especially in his novels Howards End and A Passage to India. Forster sees tolerance as a “force” able to connect different races, classes, and nations. The paper, through an exploration of Howards End and A Passage to India, emphasizes that Forster’s novels articulate and shape the culture of tolerance, which entails the ability to use one’s mind “rationally” “for the purposes of reflective understanding and genuine disclosure” and enables the “sense of community” crucial for the sustenance of civilizations and human race. The paper, thus, situates Forster’s works in the larger philosophical setting of Said’s humanistic beliefs and seeks to demonstrate that Howards End and A Passage to India may be viewed as a fictionalization of Edward Said’s theories of humanism.

Keywords

• e. m. forster
• edward said
• humanism
• culture
• tolerance
• postcolonial