Editing E. M. Forster (section)

===Key themes===
Forster was President of the Cambridge Humanists from 1959 until his death and a member of the Advisory Council of the [[British Humanist Association]] from 1963 until his death. His views as a [[humanism|humanist]] are at the heart of his work, which often depicts the pursuit of personal connections despite the restrictions of contemporary society. His humanist attitude is expressed in the 1938 essay ''[[What I Believe (E. M. Forster essay)|What I Believe]]'' (reprinted with two other humanist essays – and an introduction and notes by [[Nicolas Walter]]). When Forster's cousin [[Philip Whichelo]] donated a portrait of Forster to the [[Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association]] (GLHA), [[Jim Herrick]], the founder, quoted Forster's words: "The humanist has four leading characteristics – curiosity, a free mind, belief in good taste, and belief in the human race."<ref>{{cite news |title=E. M. Forster (1879-1970) |url=https://heritage.humanists.uk/e-m-forster/ |access-date=30 June 2024 |publisher=Heritage Humanists}}</ref>

[[File:Portrait of E.M. Forster by Roger Fry, 1911s..jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Portrait of Forster in 1911 by [[Roger Fry]], painted a year after receiving critical acclaim for his fourth novel ''Howards End''. Both members of the [[Bloomsbury Group]], Fry was an influence on Forster's aesthetics.<ref>{{cite news |title=Roger Fry (British, 1866-1934) |url=https://www.bonhams.com/auction/25852/lot/5/roger-fry-british-1866-1934-portrait-of-em-forster-73-x-60-cm-28-14-x-23-58-in-painted-in-1911/ |access-date=1 July 2024 |work=Bonhams}}</ref>]]
Two of Forster's best-known works, ''A Passage to India'' and ''Howards End'', explore the irreconcilability of class differences. ''[[A Room with a View]]'' also shows how questions of propriety and class can make human connection difficult. ''A Room with a View'' is his most widely read and accessible work, remaining popular long after its original publication. His posthumous novel ''[[Maurice (novel)|Maurice]]'' explores the possibility of class reconciliation as one facet of a homosexual relationship.

Sexuality is another key theme in Forster's works. Some critics have argued that a general shift from heterosexual to homosexual love can be observed throughout the course of his writing career. The foreword to ''Maurice'' describes his struggle with his homosexuality, while he explored similar issues in several volumes of short stories. Forster's explicitly homosexual writings, the novel ''Maurice'' and the short story collection ''[[The Life to Come (and Other Stories)|The Life to Come]],'' were published shortly after his death. Beyond his literary explorations of sexuality, Forster also expressed his views publicly; in 1953, Forster openly advocated in ''[[The New Statesman and Nation]]'' for a change in the law in regard to homosexuality (which would be [[Sexual Offences Act 1967|legalised in England and Wales in 1967]], three years prior to his death), arguing that homosexuality between adults should be treated without bias and on the same grounds as heterosexuality.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Homosexuality rise is troubling Britons |pages=28 |work=[[The New York Times]] |publication-date=3 November 1953 |url=https://nyti.ms/3McGKgw}}</ref>

Forster is noted for his use of [[symbol]]ism as a technique in his novels, and he has been criticised (as by his friend [[Roger Fry]]) for his attachment to [[mysticism]]. One example of his symbolism is the [[wych elm]] tree in ''Howards End.''<ref>{{cite news |title=The Wych Elm by Tana French — reminiscent of Donna Tartt's The Secret History |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/article/review-the-wych-elm-by-tana-french-reminiscent-of-donna-tartts-the-secret-history-zxzzbtv30 |access-date=30 June 2024 |work=[[The Times]]}}</ref> The characters of Mrs Wilcox in that novel and Mrs Moore in ''A Passage to India'' have a mystical link with the past, and a striking ability to connect with people from beyond their own circles. Forster, Henry James, and [[W. Somerset Maugham]] were the earliest writers in English to portray characters from diverse countries – France, Germany, Italy and India. Their work explores cultural conflict, but arguably the motifs of humanism and cosmopolitanism are dominant. In a way, this is anticipation of the concept of human beings shedding national identities and becoming more and more liberal and tolerant.