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"Morris" Author: Edward Morgan Foster/Translation: Wen Jieruo

Edward Morgan Forster (Edward Morgan Forster, 1879~1970) is a famous British writer in this century. His works include six novels, two collections of short stories, several biographies and some review articles.Almost all of his novels reflect the spiritual poverty of the middle and upper classes in Britain. In each of his works, the protagonist tries to seek personal liberation by breaking free from the constraints of society and customs.The language of Foster's works is fresh and elegant. Although the personalities of the characters are easy to grasp, the fate arrangement is often unpredictable but natural. Since the 80s, "A Passage to India", "A Room with a View", "Where Angels Fear Not to Stand", "Morris" and "Howard's End" have all been successfully put on the screen, making Foster's works popular. spread more widely. ①Although these works reflect the social conditions in Britain at the beginning of the 21th century, the spirits of freedom, equality and humanity expressed in them still have practical reference significance for human society entering the [-]st century.

Foster was born in an architect family in London, his father died early.Unpleasant experiences at Tunbridge School in Kent as a teenager contributed to his aversion to upper-middle-class British society. In 1897, Foster entered Cambridge University, joined The'tle, and got acquainted with John Maynard Keynes, who later became an economist, and Lytton Strachey, a famous scholar.Members of the Disciple Club admire the philosopher Thomas Moore's thoughts on abandoning the old system and creating a new ethics.Foster's humanistic concept of individual freedom began to take shape.During this period, he fell in love with his classmate HOMEredith. Meredith later became the prototype of Clive, one of the protagonists in the novel "Maurice" (Maurice, also translated as "Maurice's Lover").Most of the members of the Disciple Society were active in the intellectual world after graduation, and formed "The Bloomsbury Group", which represented the progressive force in the British ideological circle at that time.

After graduating from university, Foster traveled to Italy and Greece, intoxicated by the alien culture there, which deepened his dissatisfaction with the rigid social order in Britain. In 1905, he published his first novel "Where Angels Fear to Tread" (Where Angels Fear to Tread), describing the different feelings of the two families after a British lady married an Italian commoner.Readers who have a little understanding of Forster's state of mind can easily see the shadow of the author.Philip, the protagonist of the novel, longs for freedom, but is constrained by reality.When Miss Abbott asked him why he was indecisive in matters of affection, Philip said:

"Miss Abbott, you don't have to worry about me. Some people are not born to do things. You may be surprised if I tell you what I have done before. I went to the opera with you yesterday, and now I am so comfortable with you Talking, I really can't think of anything else that would make me happier. I'm not destined to fight this world, and I don't try to change it-of course I can't explain that this destiny is Good or bad - I don't fall in love. Others may die, may fall in love, but it all seems to happen when I'm not there. …"

In 1907, Foster published "The Longest Journey" (The Longest Journey), describing that a son of a family formed a deep friendship with a rural youth from humble origins, and with the help of the latter, he broke free In the end, he gave his life to save the rural youth.The male friendship highlighted in the novel indirectly reflects the author's state of mind. In 1908, Forster published "A Room with A View" (ARoom with A View, also translated as "Blue Sky Outside the Window"), which described a British aristocratic girl who met a young man in Italy. dare

Express their feelings, but finally break through the barriers, get rid of the arranged marriage, and walk towards freedom.

Although Forster was well received by critics and readers at that time, it was Howards End published in 1910 that established his status as a literary master.The novel describes the relationship and entanglement among three families from different social levels, and shows the state of class struggle in Britain at that time.There are many characters in the work and the structure is complex, but whether it is the meticulous psychological narration of the main characters or the few strokes of the secondary characters, Forster vividly portrays the mentality of various characters in the social conditions at that time.The Wilkes family from the upper class is full of cruelty and hypocrisy; the Buster family from the lower class is struggling to make ends meet, unable to pursue their own ideals; The trend of thought has a deep influence, among which the elder Margaret hopes that understanding and tolerance can bring people from all walks of life together, while her younger sister Helen is full of sympathy for the common people of the lower class, and she does not hide her love for the upper class. despise.Helen had a relationship with Leonard Buster. The children conceived by men and women from different classes but also despised by the upper class inherited Howard Manor, representing the new force of Britain.In "Howards End", the protagonist Margaret reflects Foster's social ideal: "But to communicate..."

Although Forster's novels advocate individual freedom and communication, the communication at this time is still based on compromise and reconciliation, but his homosexual novel "Morris" completed in 1914 shows for the first time that communication and freedom are often obtained through rupture.

In 1913, Forster visited the residence of British poet and gay pioneer Edward Carpenter.The writer describes the creative process of "Morris" as follows:

"It must have been my second or third visit to that shrine that ignited my creative spark. He (referring to Carpenter) made a huge impression on me along with his gay lover George Merrill , and inspired me. George touched my back—just above my buttocks. I'm sure he does that to a lot of people, but it felt so weird to me at the time. I still remember it vividly, like the feeling of the empty space left by a tooth falling out. The psychological feeling is as strong as the physical excitement, and the feeling of that small piece of my back seems to enter my body without thinking. The brain. Everything that happened at that time must have been coordinated by Carpinter’s yoga-like mystery, and I felt the urge to express at that moment.”

"Morris was written as soon as I returned to Harrogate, where my mother was convalescing. No book had ever been written like this before. The novel is generally composed of three characters and ends with a reunion of two of them .It all flowed out of the pen, without hindrance. After the novel was finished in 1914, I showed it to a few carefully selected friends (male and female), and they all liked it."

"Morris" begins with the boyhood of the protagonist Morris, describing how he met and fell in love with his classmate Clive at Cambridge University.Clive later abandoned Morris, married a well-matched but lifeless woman, and embarked on a career.Morris was pushed into the abyss of pain, and religion did not give him any enlightenment.He sought medical treatment everywhere, hoping to become a "normal" person, but it all only deepened his pain.Alec, the hunter of Clive's manor, fell in love with Maurice, and crawled into Maurice's room in a silent night.In the end, the two gave up their respective futures and ran to the green forest, never to be separated.

The end of the novel is obviously a portrayal of Carpenter and his lover Merrill.At that time, DH Lawrence's "Lady Chatterley's Lover" was banned, and it was not long before Oscar Wilde's trial, so the possibility of "Morris" being published was almost impossible.The similar characters and storyline make "Maurice" known as the gay version of "Lady Chatterley's Lover".Coincidentally, Foster and DH Lawrence are not only close friends in the literary world, but also have a good personal relationship.

Foster wrote this comment on the manuscript of "Morris": "It can be published, but is it worth it?" Although the author changed the manuscript several times and the work was circulated in a small circle of friends, Foster Fearing that others would misunderstand his other works, he stated that "Mollis" could only be published after his death. Criminal punishment for homosexuality was abolished in Britain in 1969, Foster died in 1970, and Morris was published in 1971.Forster's collection of gay short stories, The Life to Come (The Life to Come), which has been written but never published for decades, was also released later. The publication of "Morris" and "Life Comes" stunned some conservative critics, because the ideas of freedom, equality, and humanity advocated by Foster are irrefutable, but the author has no opinion on the adoption of homosexuality. When the same thought is expressed by the positive description of