The Inheritance of the Future in "Howards End" and "Disgrace"

The early 1900s proved to be a time of uncertainty, in Britain and elsewhere. After World War I, the British, conquerors by tradition, submitted to the side of the conquered and drew upon a fresh well of self-doubt. Two examples of the British "fall from grace" can be found within the texts of Forster's Howards End and Coetzee's Disgrace. Despite the fact that both works are from different periods in British history, they are excellent examples of the ways in which those in power must fall in order to make room for a new and diverse society to take hold. It is through the birth of the child of Helen Schlegel and Leonard Bast and through the conception of the child of Lucy and her rapists and the events surrounding these occurrences that it is possible to see the faltering of an older empire and the emergence of hybridity in the new.

The pre-war England of Howards End is rife with political and social oppositions as shown through the characters of Mr. Wilcox, The Schlegel Sisters, and Leonard Bast. Henry Wilcox is a solid capitalist, a businessman who represents Imperialism and the upper class portion of England. His direct political and emotional opposite is Liberalism, as represented by the Schlegel Sisters. Henry is disconnected, focusing on facts, while Helen and Margaret "only connect." They attempt a "connection" with Leonard Bast, who is upon the lower ring of the classes, to help improve him for the better, but do not realize that their connection with Leonard is abstract and destructive.