Is 'Maurice' a hopelessly flawed text, or a thoughtful adaptation of Essay

Is 'Maurice' a hopelessly flawed text, or a thoughtful adaptation of the novel form to the subject matter and a strong intervention in debates of the time - Essay Example Forster’s autobiographical parallels with Maurice has fuelled debate as to whether the novel was significant as â€Å"a strong intervention in debates of the time† or alternatively a â€Å"hopelessly flawed† text. It is submitted at the outset that neither dogmatic view is entirely authoritative regarding the significance of Maurice and this analysis explore the premise that perhaps the flaws associated with Maurice were a necessary evil in presenting E.M. Forester’s gay ideology. Forster’s self proclaimed significance of the novel as a symbol of the future is juxtaposed with Maurice reflecting on the past4. In the â€Å"Terminal note† to the novel, Forster asserts that Maurice’s escape with his lover in the ending â€Å"belongs to an England where it was still possible to get lost. It belongs to the last moment of the greenwood.†5 The juxtaposition is further highlighted by the fact that whilst Maurice is set in Georgian England, the lovers apparently disappear to an England of the past, however the irony here is that they escape to an escape that was not possible in 19136. Forster justified this on the basis that a happy ending was imperative, â€Å"I was determined that in fiction anyway two men should fall in love and remain in it for the ever and ever that fiction allows, because in this sense Maurice and Alec still roam the greenwood.7† However, searching for a world of the past and waiting for â€Å"a happier year† was not realistically possible and therefore â€Å"Maurice and Alec inhabit a novel twisted in the grip of time8†. As such, it has been argued that these contradictions are Maurice’s flaws, leading some commentators to assert that â€Å"they result from self-hatred and indecision, from escapism and self-indulgence and have therefore disappointed readers of all kinds9†. Conversely, this literal interpretation of Forster’s â€Å"flawed† narrative can