Howards End · Chapter
XLII explained
Charles Wilcox returns to Howards End to confront Margaret and Helen, leading to a fatal confrontation with Leonard Bast, who dies of heart disease after Charles strikes him with a sword.
What happens
Charles Wilcox returns to Howards End to confront Margaret and Helen, leading to a fatal confrontation with Leonard Bast, who dies of heart disease after Charles strikes him with a sword. Henry Wilcox grapples with the aftermath, and an inquest is scheduled.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Inequality
Leonard Bast's death highlights the vulnerability of the lower class, caught between the Wilcoxes' assertion of property rights and the Schlegels' idealism.
Death, Mortality, and Legacy
Leonard's sudden death and the subsequent inquest force characters to confront mortality and the legacy of their actions.
The Meaning of Home and Heritage
Howards End becomes a contested space, symbolizing the clash between personal sanctuary and property ownership.
Characters to notice
- Charles Wilcox
Acts as his father's representative, confronts the Schlegels, and inadvertently causes Leonard Bast's death.
- Henry Wilcox
Anxious and fretful, he sends Charles to evict Margaret and Helen, and later struggles with the consequences.
- Margaret Schlegel
Absent from Ducie Street; later revealed to be at Howards End with Helen, receiving Charles's ultimatum.
- Helen Schlegel
Staying at Howards End with Margaret; plans to leave for Germany after the confrontation.
- Leonard Bast
Hides at Howards End, is discovered by Charles, and dies after a struggle involving a fallen bookcase.
- Dolly Fussell
Kept dinner waiting for Margaret; remains uninformed about the unfolding events.
Key passages
““I don’t know where she is, pater,” said Charles. “Dolly kept back dinner nearly an hour for her.””
Charles tells his father that Margaret is missing and that Dolly delayed dinner waiting for her.
Highlights the tension and Margaret's unexplained absence.
““To my mind this question is connected with something far greater, the rights of property itself.””
Henry Wilcox insists that the issue is fundamentally about property rights.
Reflects Henry's rigid adherence to ownership and control.
““I got up there—oh, it couldn’t have been more than half-past seven. The Avery woman was lighting a fire for them. They were still upstairs.””
Charles recounts arriving at Howards End early in the morning, finding Miss Avery preparing a fire and the sisters still upstairs.
Sets the scene for the confrontation at Howards End.
““Right, my dear boy? I don’t know. But you would have been no son of mine if you hadn’t.””
Henry Wilcox ambiguously approves of Charles's violent intervention, implying it was expected of a son.
Shows the Wilcox family's code of honor and masculine duty.
““He caught hold of the bookcase, which came down over him. So I merely put the sword down and carried him into the garden.””
Charles describes how Leonard pulled a bookcase onto himself during the struggle, and Charles then moved him outside.
Details the accidental nature of Leonard's death.
