Modern British Fiction Final Essay
Homosexuality in Maurice:
The Norms Established by Discourse and the Final Homosexual Utopia
The novel Maurice, by E. M. Forster, was written between 1913 and 1914 yet was not published until 1971, when his trustees did so posthumously. This was done because, in the novel, homosexuality is not discussed in the normal ways of early 1900s England. Rather than condemning homosexual acts, Forster rather found a way to create a homosexual utopian ending for Maurice Hall, the protagonist. Homosexuality was written about in ways that were not common in modern England, based on the norms that Forster constructed in the novel. These “norms” have been constructed within the novel by the author’s own discussion of them and the ways in which the greater society in the novel discusses the topics of masculinity, homosexuality, and the relationship between the two. Forster addresses the topics of homosexuality through various contemporary discourses to establish the Edwardian norms and then has the protagonist reject these and create his own homosexual utopian and re-image the meanings how homosexuality can exist harmoniously with heterosexuality without being defined by the negative, Edwardian social constructs.
Maurice Hall, the main character of the novel, is a homosexual man of working middle class status in Edwardian England. While in school at Sunnington, he is described as “a mediocre member of a mediocre school [who] left a faint and favourable impression behind” (Forster 21). At the end of his career at Sunnington, the narrator described Maurice as “average” (Forster 27). These descriptions, along with the fact that Maurice’s family had a few servants who tended to them, makes it clear at the beginning of the novel that Maurice’s family is securely within the English middle class. In an article titled “While Maurice Slept,” the author writes, “[Maurice is] a conventional upper-middle-class Edwardian in every respect…” (Gorton). Later in the novel, once Maurice has established himself as an adult in the working world, class distinctions become even clearer to the reader, and one begins to see how these distinctions played into the lives of those living in modern England. Previously, Maurice had not paid them much mind, but towards the end of the novel, he begins taking into account the norms of social classes and class distinctions. As he grew up, Maurice began to understand himself and his desires, namely the fact that he is a homosexual man. However, in Edwardian England, being a gay man directly went against one’s class as homosexuality was condemned by many groups and powers throughout the country. Maurice dealt with this conflict throughout the novel, which is seen by his struggle with himself when he does fall in love with another man, especially because this man, Alec Scudder, is in a lower social class than Maurice.
Members of Maurice’s class were expected to behave and think in a certain way, and these expectations stemmed from numerous discourses of the time; one very prevalent discourse that stood to dictate behavior and thoughts was religious texts, specifically in the case of Maurice and modern England, the Bible and what was preached in Christian churches. According to the Bible, and instituted by the Church throughout England, homosexuality was a sin. Once Maurice confessed the fact that he is a gay man to Dr. Barry, the doctor immediately responds with sheer horror and disgust. “Never let that evil hallucination, that temptation from the devil, occur to you again” (159). Through the doctor’s word choice, the reader is able to see that people looked down upon homosexuality and those who claimed to be gay. Early on in his life, Maurice has feelings in church that hint as his differences from what the church preaches. The reader can see that Forster uses this religious discourse early in the novel to construct the norms and set the protagonist apart from them. Forster writes, “Maurice’s secret life can be understood now; it was part brutal, part ideal, like his dream…even when receiving the Holy Communion filthy thoughts would arise in his mind (23). The use of the term “filthy thoughts” shows that the church looked down upon homosexual desires and condemned them. Similarly, Forster writes that Maurice “hourly committed sin in his heart” (155). The use of the word sin is also a direct reference to condemning homosexuality by religion. Furthermore, when Alec tries to interrupt Maurice after they “shared” about the expectations of the church, Maurice interjects and cuts him off by saying, “Damn the church” (Forster 196). This is because Maurice knows that the church will not look kindly upon the acts the two committed or look upon them kindly as individuals as they are homosexual men. Towards the end of the novel, the reader also sees Maurice abandon the religion that once caused him feelings of confusion and guilt because he realizes that since he does not fit into the norms of the religion, he has no use for that religion that only seeks to persecute those that do not conform to their expectations.
Heterosexuality was established as an Edwardian norm through social and cultural discourses. During this time period, it was socially unacceptable for one to be homosexual, even to the degree that it was unacceptable to even speak of someone as being homosexual. “English society doubled down on the view that ‘the love that dare not speak its name’ was something so vile that it couldn’t even be mentioned” (Gorton). This assertion is certainly shown in Maurice, most notably after Maurice’s first visit with a doctor to discuss the matter. After Maurice consults Dr. Barry and the doctor realizes that Maurice loves men rather than women, he ends the conversation on homosexuality as quickly as possible by dismissing Maurice’s claims as “rubbish, rubbish!” (Forster 159). In fact, after Maurice confessed to Dr. Barry, the doctor says, “Who put that lie into your head? You whom I see and know to be a decent fellow? We’ll never mention it again. No—I’ll not discuss. I’ll not discuss. The worst thing I could do for you is to discuss it” (Forster 159). In this instance, the reader sees that it is wrong for a doctor to even talk about the possibility of homosexuality because society has deemed it unacceptable for conversation. Earlier in the novel, when Clive first confessed his love to Maurice, Forster writes that Maurice was “scandalized, horrified…shocked to the bottom of his suburban soul” (Forster 58). The reader sees that this confession of homosexuality is wrong for a man like Clive by Maurice’s further comments. He exclaimed, “Durham, you’re an Englishman. I’m another. Don’t talk nonsense” (Forster 59). This openly expresses the view that an Englishman of class would not partake in a homosexual relationship if he were truly a man of class in English society. Culturally, Forster explores the norms of sexuality by having the protagonist explain himself and his feelings of homosexuality as “an unspeakable of the Oscar Wilde sort” (159). This statement is worded as such so that the doctor will know that Maurice means to say that he is a gay man; this also makes it clear to the reader that admitting that one is homosexual would be a bad thing to do, which is proven by the fact that Maurice calls it “unspeakable” and makes the allusion to Wilde, who was arrested for homosexual acts. Schools and universities also struck down upon homosexuality when it arose, as Forster accounted in the novel. He writes, “Mr. Cornwallis always suspected such friendships. It was not natural that men of different characters and tastes should be intimate…the dons exercised a certain amount of watchfulness, and felt it right to spoil a love affair when they could” (80). Therefore, not only could Maurice not be true to his feelings out in the public eye, but he was also punished for having such homosexual tendencies in school. Thus, all social and cultural aspects of society were in agreement on the wrongness of homosexual tendencies.
The norms of Edwardian society in regards to homosexuality are made explicitly clear through the legal discourse of the time. When Clive confessed his love to Maurice, Maurice declared, “I know you don’t mean it, but it’s the only subject absolutely beyond the limit as you know, it’s the worst crime in the calendar” (Forster 59). This blatantly shows the reader that homosexuality was grossly against the law in England. Clive recognizes this as well, and later notes to Maurice that “most men would have reported [him] to the Dean or the Police” (Forster 66). When the two were together and thought on the parameters of the relationship, Forster writes, “by linking their love to the past he linked it to the present, and roused in his friend’s mind the conventions and the fear of the law” (78). Thus, the legal implications of a homosexual relationship clearly pervaded both Maurice’s and Clive’s thoughts and the relationship as a whole before and during the relationship, as the pair knew that their love was wrong and illegal in the eyes of the law of England. In fact, Clive even says to Maurice, “I’m a bit of an outlaw,” which further shows that legal implications of homosexuality (Forster 90).
The medical discourse of modern England also contributed to defining the norms of sexuality and making homosexuality to be a taboo subject. During this time period, as shown throughout the novel, homosexuality was thought to be a disease that was sometimes curable. The terms “disease” and “cure” are medical terms themselves; since homosexuality and gay desires were not understood by many in the early 1910s/1920s, it was assumed that these tendencies were wrong, which implied that, if homosexuality is a disorder or disease, then there must be a medical resolution and cure. In the novel, the protagonist seeks the help of two doctors who he hopes will be able to rid him of the thoughts and desires that he has for other men. The narrator says that Maurice “decided to consult a doctor,” which begins to show that modern discourse called homosexuality a medical condition (Forster 155). This is furthered when Forster writes about the protagonist, “He could undergo any course of treatment on the chance of being cured” (155). Upon his first visit to Lasker-Jones, Maurice explains the feelings that he has towards those of his own sex and seeks an explanation, and so the doctor diagnoses him with “congenital homosexuality” (Forster 180). When Lasker-Jones’ treatments do not work on Maurice, the doctor simply gave the same advice of “fresh air and exercise” and dismissed his patient because he “wanted to get on to his next patient, and he did not care for Maurice’s type…he was bored and never thought of the young invert again” (Forster 214). Through this discourse, the reader is shown by Forster that treatment is promoted as a way to cure homosexuality by even reluctant doctors, but when treatment does not work on changing a gay man to straight, then the doctor does not care, loses interest, and just dismisses the patient.
Through religious, legal, medical, and social and cultural discourses, Forester establishes the norms of sexuality in England. Gorton writes, “Whether Maurice looked to education, law, medicine, ore religion, homosexuality was spoken of only elliptically…which made the condemnation of it all the more baneful.” After Forster has shown the reader what is expected of a man in Edwardian England, he then has Maurice and Alec completely reject the norms. In his dissertation entitled “Seduction rhetoric, masculinity, and homoeroticism in Wilde, Gide, Stoker, and Forster,” Dejan Kuzmanovic writes, “The challenge Maurice faces is precisely to follow his feelings rather than social and sexual conventions into which he has been raised” (Kuzmanovic 188). In respect to the medical field and discourse, Maurice decided that he was one of Lasker-Jones’ failures- a man with incurable “congenital homosexuality,” and Maurice, later in the novel, finally took this diagnosis with acceptance. Upon realizing that he would not be cured, Maurice finally allowed himself to accept his life and fate as a homosexual man rather than denying it and trying to hide the facts. Socially and culturally, Maurice finally accepts his position and sexuality. This is first seen when he describes himself as an “unspeakable of the Oscar Wilde sort” to Doctor Barry (Forster 159). Finally, the acceptance is shown when Maurice and Alec finally confirm their love for one another and decide to be true to themselves and the other, their love, and their desires by being together, away from the expectations and norms of Edwardian society, thus creating their own homosexual utopia.
Since the happy ending was imperative for this novel, this meant that Maurice and Alec would have to stay true to themselves, despite the norms pervasive throughout their society. Charu Malik writes that Maurice and Alec giving in to their homosexual desires and rejecting the established norms “serves to define the resistance to conventional authority and knowledge” and allows for “new opportunities for [homosexual] relationships” (Charu 12). These new opportunities came in the form of the greenwood, which was Maurice and Alec’s escape from the pressures and judgments of society. Forster never explicitly gave an ending to the pair’s story, but it can be assumed, based on previous statements from Maurice, that they did end up either moving into the ‘greenwood’ of England, where they would have the ability to live and love uninterrupted from Edwardian societal norms. Rejecting these norms in favor of their own happiness and way of life was the only way for Maurice and Alec to be truly happy. By doing so, and in creating a place of their own peace and acceptance, Maurice and Alec create their own homosexual utopia, where the norms of modern England would not pervade, judge, or condemn. In the greenwood, “homosexuality offers an escape from the suffocating English class system” and the expectations that come along with being in a certain class (Gorton). Gorton goes on to assert that in rejecting the established norms to create their own happiness and sanctuary, “it affirms gay self-acceptance and same-sex love that can thrive despite social reprobation and as evocative asserts the truth that gays cannot become fully human, fully alive, unless we embrace who we are. Forster bears witness to the centrality of coming to terms with one’s own homosexuality in the formation of character for gay people.” What Gorton is saying is that is possible for homosexuality to become an accepted norm of society if society would come to embrace everyone for who they are, regardless of sexual orientation. In an article called “Heroes and Homosexuals: Education and Empire in E. M. Forster,” Quentin Bailey furthered and explained Gorton’s statement. He also summed up the main point of this article concisely by saying, “Unspeakable sexual identity makes possible the destruction of history and tradition, class and race, money and responsibilities” (Bailey). The “unspeakable identity” means homosexuality, and what Bailey is saying is that being honest to homosexual desires and by living like Maurice and Alec, in their utopia, then they are weakening and breaking the restrictions that all of these various discourses have on their lives.
Works Cited
Bailey, Quentin. "Heroes and homosexuals: education and empire in E. M. Forster." Twentieth
Century Literature 48.3 (2002): 324+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.
Gorton, Don. "Maurice and gay liberation." The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide 16.6 (2009):
19+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.
Kuzmanovic, Dejan. “Seduction Rhetoric, Masculinity, and Homoeroticism in Wilde, Gide,
Stoker, and Forster.” Rice University, 2003. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Web. 12
November 2016.
Malik, Charu. "Private Pleasures, Public Texts: The Representation of Male Homosexuality in E.
M. Forster's "Maurice", "the Longest Journey", and "A Passage to India"." Order No.
9523281 Washington University in St. Louis, 1994. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Web. 12 Nov.
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