Happyreader's review
Howards End
by E.M. Forster
The "I'm only doing this for your own good" people are zealous idiots. In fact, there's a world of difference between the Christian version of the Golden Rule (Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.) and the Jewish one stated by Hillel (Whatever you hate do not do to others.) One says 'my way or else'; the other refrains from imposing its will. I am always astonished when people can't see the difference. The do-gooder Schlegel sisters exemplify this dangerous tendency to the max.
Happyreader's review
Howards End by E.M. Forster
Happyreader's review
rating:
bookshelves:
classics,
fiction
While "only connect . . ." is the book's epigraph, this book also makes me think of the Dalai Lama's statement that "kindness without wisdom is cruelty." The Wilcox family may be positioned as the book's villians but both Schlegel women cause their share of harm too and only faintly seem to make their own connections.
The "I'm only doing this for your own good" people are zealous idiots. In fact, there's a world of difference between the Christian version of the Golden Rule (Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.) and the Jewish one stated by Hillel (Whatever you hate do not do to others.) One says 'my way or else'; the other refrains from imposing its will. I am always astonished when people can't see the difference. The do-gooder Schlegel sisters exemplify this dangerous tendency to the max.