Chapter Discussion: 26 - 28

[into_the_greenwood]

Here begins part three of the novel. Maurice and Clive are no longer, and chapter twenty-six shows us Maurice at first not quite taking it in, fully expecting their relationship to resume in the near future. We can see that he's in shock and when the truth finally dawns he takes it out on Ada. The first words of this chapter 'For three years Maurice had been so fit and happy' strike me at once as verging on pathos, considering the lack of intimacy that the two men have shared over those few years. What they had was barely a relationship and yet Maurice, so smitten and I think also so very lonely otherwise, has accepted the pittance that Clive offered to him as being something wonderful. Perhaps it was in comparison to his existence before Clive but, despite Maurice's obvious pain later in the chapter, there also has to be a sense that as a couple they weren't going to end up happily ever after. There is also the sadness experienced in the previous chapters where we saw Clive refuting his homosexuality and deciding that he could no longer both stay in a quasi-relationship with his friend, nor even let himself believe he had those tendencies. Maurice's realisation that he 'had not even succeeded at home' shows plainly how distanced he is from the world around him.

He throws himself into his work and now that he is truly alone again the greenwood starts to penetrate his consciousness once more. In his sleeping dreams, Maurice almost hears the voice from long ago, the voice that tried to show a face and which said, 'this is your friend.' In waking dreams he contemplates the possibility of two men living in the greenwood together: 'Two men can defy the world'. The greenwood comes when Maurice is desolate, and Clive has helped hide his real loneliness over the years, and their platonically romantic breakup has also damaged their underlying friendship. Poor Maurice, what happened to the boy who had felt feelings of 'beauty and tenderness'?

The dying ramblings of his grandfather in chapter 27 seem not to have much influence or effect on Maurice until the old man suggests that Maurice 'do not let it out till the evening'. This seems to tap into the same source as the greenwood and voice of a friend themes. I think Maurice subconsciously takes in this phrase and adds it to the themes of the greenwood and the mysterious friend, all of which will take him to the place in his mind that he needs to be.

But that's in the future. The present is concerned with Maurice's increasing loneliness, and the effects of the visit to his grandfather. In the last chapter discussed here, chapter twenty-eight, Maurice retreats into himself and ceases to care about what is happening. He apologises to his family, takes up good works as he sees no other future for himself, and rather emptily plods on with his life. It's hard to say which is worse – a Maurice who is suicidal and dramatic about his situation or a Maurice who has switched off his emotions and is merely existing.

If one doesn't know the story then it may be hard to grasp just exactly what is going to happen from here. Is there a chance that Maurice and Clive will get back together? Considering what has happened, and the narrative emphasis on the finality of the situation (their relationships is as alive and rescuable as Maurice's grandfather), it seems that with the end of this group of chapters, Maurice's life has reached a low from which there is only one route of escape – somehow, at some point, he must start the climb upwards and without Clive.

*Do you think that the scene with Maurice's grandfather adds to the narrative? I've mentioned the 'evening' theme which fits in with events later in the book, but can Maurice be said to have taken that in subconsciously and, moving away from his suicidal thoughts, somewhere his inner being is shifting him towards an inevitable meeting with 'fate' – is this what Forster is suggesting?

*Do you agree that the only way forward for the narrative is to move Maurice forwards and upwards? Or is there, here, an expectation perhaps that Maurice's life will never improve and the rest of the book will be the story of his further sinking into despair. Bearing in mind the nature of books dealing with the subject of homosexuality that were published in Forster's time, do you think that, although he was not going to try and publish Maurice, he may have used this common feature of other books to confuse the readers of the time into believing that the usual fate awaited fictional gay men?

Comments

[queen_ypolita]

Opening my book at ch26 finally broke its spine and had the first half coming off, is that a sign for something?

On the whole, I think I like Maurice a little more in ch28 than I do in some of the previous chapters, precisely because he starts doing something with his life. It may have started as a way to fill the empty hours, but I don't think you can go on doing that kind of stuff for very long without it changing you in some way. It will give you something. It's not Clive, it's not a special friend, it's not love, but it gives you a chance to feel useful and worthwhile. Although it's said somewhere that Maurice is not prone to self-pity, I think he still needs to feel he's needed.

And although it's not exactly making Maurice's home life more comfortable, I'm glad the sisters are standing up to him and not letting him feel more important than he is.

[sweet_fallacy]

*Do you think that the scene with Maurice's grandfather adds to the narrative? I've mentioned the 'evening' theme which fits in with events later in the book, but can Maurice be said to have taken that in subconsciously and, moving away from his suicidal thoughts, somewhere his inner being is shifting him towards an inevitable meeting with 'fate' – is this what Forster is suggesting?
It certainly sparks a cynical and rebellious note in Maurice. Even though he gives to charity, it's for preventative rather than rescue work. Why be kind to those who have chosen their lot in life? He's now disgusted by suicide. This says to me that his grandfather's death was merely a catalyst to drive Maurice forward.

*Do you think that, although he was not going to try and publish Maurice, he may have used this common feature of other books to confuse the readers of the time into believing that the usual fate awaited fictional gay men?
No, it wouldn't have made a very good read. If you look at the other stories, those deaths were often the result of destructive lives, for homosexuality lead to all sorts of misconduct. Maurice offing himself just because his lover decided to become straight almost rings of martyrdom and that just wouldn't do. It's too noble and romantic a gesture, like a non-mutual Romeo and Juliet.