E. M. Forster is one of those household author names. Most people have either read or seen something of his. Generally, Maurice remains one of those gay must-reads. The good news is, all you need to know can be gleaned from the movie. In fact, the connection is so strong that a still from the movie actually graces the book’s cover. It’s the famous still of Maurice and Clive galloping away from the awning where they were nearly discovered “making out.” I was surprised because this is not one of those lame screenplay-turned-novel books. Maurice was written in the early 20th Century—1914 to be precise.
The cover photo fits, though. One of two things is true here: Either Merchant Ivory is a master at turning books into film, or Forster was a screenplay writer at heart. The effect is astonishing.
The story carries the Forster signature. There’s a lot of prim and proper upper class English that requires some getting used to. Dialog and mannerisms are unusual. My colleagues said that the book is much easier to read the second time around. Forster’s dry wit, quite noticeable in A Room with a View, is more subdued here.
The plot is easy enough to follow. Young, healthy, naive, and snobbish Maurice Hall is in college in Cambridge, England, and is taken aback, yet intrigued by a fellow flamboyant student named Risley. Enroute to have a private meeting with him, he meets instead Risley’s roommate, the smart and proper Clive Durham. Clive is enchanted with Maurice’s simple mind, and they fall in love.
Hall gets himself thrown out of college and elects to remain the man of the house and begin working. Meanwhile, the advantages of a proper marriage, along with the weight of society’s distaste for homosexuality begin to wear on Clive, and he ultimately decides to take up the company of women. Maurice has a fit not unlike a spoiled child, but moves on.
Like any good upstanding Englishman, Clive continually invites Maurice to Penge, the Durham family mansion. Like any good glutton for punishment, Maurice continues to go. On one of these visits, Maurice has a run-in with the family gamekeeper, the rough and independent Alec Scudder. Maurice at first treats him like any lower class citizen, briefly and cordially. But Scudder takes a liking to Maurice and scores him at his most vulnerable. Their relationship begins most passionately, but Maurice soon breaks off, aware of the sacrifice he would have to make. Scudder punishes Maurice by promising to head off to Argentina. But when Scudder misses his boat and Maurice realizes he’s been given a second chance, he takes it.
In essence, Maurice and Clive are two sides of the same coin. On one side is monetary comfort and power, the other is love. Each is aware that in 20th Century England one cannot be gay and have both, and thus one must choose. Each remains aware of the loss of the other. The question is, who is happier? Forster makes it clear enough that Maurice, who will turn away and never visit Penge again, wins.
Forster did this deliberately. A biography of him indicates that he had performed some homophobic act, some disrespect; something that gave him much regret. The happy ending was probably atonement. Sadly, he also knew that it was dangerous to make such a statement (speaking to how non-fictional the story could have been), so the book was not published for nearly 50 years.
This is a worthwhile story, but you can choose book or movie, and you’ll get the message.