The chosen passage focuses on the ensuing conversation between the sisters. Their direct interactions form a prominent feature of the novel as a whole; as intelligent and articulate characters, through voice and focalization we are introduced to their views on, and plans for, society. .
'A number of critics [have] read Howard's End as a 'conditions of England' novel, a fictional expression of popular anxieties' (Peppis: 47), and I would agree that it fits many of the characteristics of this genre and can certainly be understood as 'a national allegory' (Peppis: 47) that serves to unfold the-problems faced by the nation by engaging directly with contemporary social issues. The intrusive narrator asks (of England): 'Does she belong to those who have moulded her [.]; through the free indirect discourse of the narrative, we are forced to ponder the future of the nation. Is the country in the hands of people like the Wilcox's, who through capitalist expansion and its consequential urbanization have certainly 'moulded' the nation? However, the narrator extends the rhetorical question by asking if the country in fact belongs to 'those who have added nothing to her power, but have somehow seen her [.] lying as a jewel in a sliver sea, sailing as a ship of souls [.]? The narrator's register is open and pondering, therefore we are forced to consider if the country in fact belongs to the idealistic visionaries, such as Margaret Schlegel? The narrator's rhetoric highlights Forster's own cautiousness towards the future of England and its society; however, his employment of figurative language - using simile to glorify England as 'a jewel', and then metaphorically as 'a ship of souls' - shows a romanticized but clearly reverential impression of England as a nation.
Further concerns with modernity are apparent within the text. A lachrymose Helen, in response to her sister's union with Henry, lambasts Margaret: 'I tell you not to - don't! I know - don't!' Margaret questions her: 'what do you know?' and-Helen depressingly replies: 'panic and emptiness'.
