What if...

[sweet_fallacy]

In chapter 7, Durham and Maurice have a discussion about religion that reminds the latter of his dream. In your opinion, if Maurice had been more honest about his beliefs and revealed all to Durham, including the dream, would that have changed the course of the story? Or would it have made little to no difference in the end?

Comments

[queen_ypolita]

Maybe. I think it might have made a difference when they are establishing and defining their relationship, but it wouldn't have changed the course of the relationship as a whole.

It's hard to say, really, because a lot of time it seems that Maurice is struggling to articulate what he feels and thinks in a way that gets through to Clive. But I think the dream, and the whole idea of a friend would have made sense to Clive. If Clive had known about it, he may have been able to relate it to Greeks in a way that made sense to Maurice. That way, Maurice's shock and Clive's hurt at his reaction might have been avoided, and I can't help but feel they might have started off on a more equal footing in some ways.

[into_the_greenwood]

I think it might have made a difference when they are establishing and defining their relationship, but it wouldn't have changed the course of the relationship as a whole.

I agree with this. They may well have come to a better understanding about what each of them wanted, but ultimately I feel that Clive would not have changed his stance about the physical aspect, and could possibly have used Maurice's concept of 'friend' against Maurice. I don't mean in a cruel way, but it's obvious by the end of the book both to the reader and to Maurice that he needs the physical aspect of a relationship with another man. I think it's possible that Clive would have thought Maurice's dream of the friend was like his own platonic ideal, and there could be even more misunderstandings. Plus the risk that Clive's views about a 'friend' could lead to Maurice believing even less in the possibility of it happening the way he wanted it to. He didn't think consciously about the physical side to things when he dreamed about 'a friend', and if Clive had known about Maurice's dreams he may well have skewed Maurice's views later, and Maurice may have ended up in even more mental turmoil than he already was.