+ For just a moment can we appreciate how differently Maurice's story would have been if he had met with Risley as he had intended? I mean, it's somewhat fitting that Clive and Maurice should meet under such circumstances, for it was Maurice's ineffable feelings that lead him there, but Risley's obvious desire - He had not spoken before, and his voice, which was low but very gruff, made Risley shiver. - would have undoubtedly given our protagonist a very different introduction to his sexuality.
Now, if there had been an affair with Risley, what do you think would have happened? While Risley spouted much of the same philosophical posturing as Clive, would he have taken the same careful deliberation with Maurice? I don't think he would have. In fact, if anything were to happen between them, I'm fairly sure it would have been short-lived for lack of true affection. And since Risley's educational course in the Love of Men would probably have been less... gentle, would Maurice have fallen down the slippery slide of guilt and self-loathing? Would he have followed Risley's example by continuing a stream of clandestine affairs, searching for that elusive friend? Would he have become another Clive Durham, spending the rest of his life in self-loathing falsehood? Would he have lost control and lashed out? Maybe even take his frustrations out on others? What type of person do you think Maurice Hall would have become?
And if Clive Durham were not to have become so close with Maurice, how different would he have been? Would he have remained stuck between the pages of his books or was his "coming out" simply an eventuality? Anyone care to elaborate on their thoughts of his friendship with Risley?
+ Do you think this is showing that the two are fundamentally unsuited to one another?
Actually, I think that they were rather suited for one another, at least at that given time. I got the impression that Clive liked being manhandled, though perhaps it just wasn't in the form he would have preferred. And personally, I interpreted their "debate" on religion as Maurice's attempted bluff to impress. He knew he couldn't match Clive's intelligence and being the highly religious sort is typically held as a strength that's not often questioned, though we all know how this backfired. As for Clive, I believe he sought understanding above intellect and he took to lecturing Maurice with an authority that may have given him comfort (having been raised with the expectation of becoming a politician). His interest may not necessarily be about having found someone to mold, but instead a kindred spirit struggling against the same pressures of society. He had just told Maurice about his troubles from home, but why ask for his opinion? Of what Maurice would do in his place? Yes, Clive has been drawing parallels between their lives, but I think that's because he sees the falsities that Maurice had initially feared would be discovered and recognizes it as something in himself. After all, we know that Clive must have had some inner turmoil due to his newfound faith and belief in marriage later in the story. "Converting" his friend and potential lover was a form of self-justification which would also explain why he would later blame himself for the changes in Maurice.
+ What's up with Maurice's headaches? Does this only happen under duress? Is this a physical manifestation of his attempts of self-suppression?
+ In the first chapter we're told that Maurice was afraid of the dark, but in chapter eight he is no longer botheres by such things. Is this Forster's way of showing us that Maurice was growing up and stripping himself of inhibitions?
+ As for Miss Olcott, my only supposition was that she became a receptacle of all Maurice's feelings. Confused, afraid and undoubtedly lonely, he sought out what would be considered only natural for a young man. And in doing so remove himself from the influence that was Clive Durham because if everything he had believed before wasn't true, then who hell was Maurice Hall? Even trading the Howells for a motor car and contacting his father's old business partner was a means of taking control so as to reaffirm his former path.
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Date: 2009-06-01 05:14 pm (UTC)Now, if there had been an affair with Risley, what do you think would have happened? While Risley spouted much of the same philosophical posturing as Clive, would he have taken the same careful deliberation with Maurice? I don't think he would have. In fact, if anything were to happen between them, I'm fairly sure it would have been short-lived for lack of true affection. And since Risley's educational course in the Love of Men would probably have been less... gentle, would Maurice have fallen down the slippery slide of guilt and self-loathing? Would he have followed Risley's example by continuing a stream of clandestine affairs, searching for that elusive friend? Would he have become another Clive Durham, spending the rest of his life in self-loathing falsehood? Would he have lost control and lashed out? Maybe even take his frustrations out on others? What type of person do you think Maurice Hall would have become?
And if Clive Durham were not to have become so close with Maurice, how different would he have been? Would he have remained stuck between the pages of his books or was his "coming out" simply an eventuality? Anyone care to elaborate on their thoughts of his friendship with Risley?
+ Do you think this is showing that the two are fundamentally unsuited to one another?
Actually, I think that they were rather suited for one another, at least at that given time. I got the impression that Clive liked being manhandled, though perhaps it just wasn't in the form he would have preferred. And personally, I interpreted their "debate" on religion as Maurice's attempted bluff to impress. He knew he couldn't match Clive's intelligence and being the highly religious sort is typically held as a strength that's not often questioned, though we all know how this backfired. As for Clive, I believe he sought understanding above intellect and he took to lecturing Maurice with an authority that may have given him comfort (having been raised with the expectation of becoming a politician). His interest may not necessarily be about having found someone to mold, but instead a kindred spirit struggling against the same pressures of society. He had just told Maurice about his troubles from home, but why ask for his opinion? Of what Maurice would do in his place? Yes, Clive has been drawing parallels between their lives, but I think that's because he sees the falsities that Maurice had initially feared would be discovered and recognizes it as something in himself. After all, we know that Clive must have had some inner turmoil due to his newfound faith and belief in marriage later in the story. "Converting" his friend and potential lover was a form of self-justification which would also explain why he would later blame himself for the changes in Maurice.
+ What's up with Maurice's headaches? Does this only happen under duress? Is this a physical manifestation of his attempts of self-suppression?
+ In the first chapter we're told that Maurice was afraid of the dark, but in chapter eight he is no longer botheres by such things. Is this Forster's way of showing us that Maurice was growing up and stripping himself of inhibitions?
+ As for Miss Olcott, my only supposition was that she became a receptacle of all Maurice's feelings. Confused, afraid and undoubtedly lonely, he sought out what would be considered only natural for a young man. And in doing so remove himself from the influence that was Clive Durham because if everything he had believed before wasn't true, then who hell was Maurice Hall? Even trading the Howells for a motor car and contacting his father's old business partner was a means of taking control so as to reaffirm his former path.