. . . life is sometimes life and sometimes only a drama, and one must learn to distinguish t'other from which . . .
E. M. ForsterBut nothing in India is identifiable, the mere asking of a question causes it to disappear or to merge in something else.
E. M. ForsterAn efficiency-regime cannot be run without a few heroes stuck about it to carry off the dullness - much as plums have to be put into bad pudding to make it palatable.
E. M. ForsterIt was not that ladies were inferior to men; it was that they were different. Their mission was to inspire others to achievement rather than to achieve themselves. Indirectly, by means of tact and a spotless name, a lady could accomplish much. But if she rushed into the fray herself she would be first censured, then despised, and finally ignored.
E. M. ForsterOur easiest approach to a definition of any aspect of fiction is always by considering the sort of demand it makes on the reader. Curiosity for the story, human feelings and a sense of value for the characters, intelligence and memory for the plot. What does fantasy ask of us? It asks us to pay something extra.
E. M. Forster