Howards End story
Howards End is a 1992 romantic drama film based upon the novel of the same name by E. M. Forster (published in 1910), a story of class relations in turn- of-the-20th-century Britain. The film — produced by Merchant Ivory Productions as their third adaptation of a Forster novel (following A Room with a View in 1985 and Maurice in 1987) — was the first film to be released by Sony Pictures Classics. The screenplay was written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, directed by James Ivory, and produced by Ismail Merchant.
12 total · 2 choice · 5 major · 5 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| life in late modern Britain | choice | Everything about the film was stereotypically early 20th century British - likely more so than the book. |
| sexual norms in society | choice | the story centered around contemporary sexual norms, especially extramarital affairs |
| conservative vs. liberal | major | the Wilcoxes were very conservative, in particular with respect to women's rights; The Schlegels were the opposite and Suffragette supporters |
| engaged couple | major | Margaret and Henry |
| friendship | major | Margareth and Ruth |
| husband and wife | major | esp. Margaret and Henry; the Bast's |
| inheritance fight | major | The Wilcoxes burned Ruth's informal last will to leave Howard's end to Margaret |
| infatuation | minor | Helen and Paul briefly |
| love triangle | minor | Jacky, Leonard, Helen |
| murder | minor | We must ponder how serious a crime was Charle's manslaughter of Leonard. |