CHALK CIRCLES AND “M’M M’M M’M” - An in-depth analysis of the first chapter of E.M. Forster’s “The Other Boat”: foreshadowing the plot and references to hidden homosexuality

Karel Van Ooteghem BA2 Dutch - English CHALK CIRCLES AND “M’M M’M M’M” An in-depth analysis of the first chapter of E.M. Forster’s “The Other Boat”: foreshadowing the plot and references to hidden homosexuality Engelse Letterkunde II: Oefeningen Dr. Deborah Van Durme UGent – Session 2012-2013 E.M. Forster‟s “The Other Boat” is a short story about the short but intense hidden sexual relationship of two cross-raced men: Lionel, a British officer, and „Cocoanut‟, a boy with a „touch of the tar-brush‟ (i.e. having a dark skin). The story offers interesting readings concerning homosexuality and racial hierarchy, and a lot has been written on how Forster deals with these topics. What seems to be overlooked in all previous writings, however, is the intriguing first chapter. It seems a bit „detached‟ from the rest of the story, since chapters II-V tell the „actual plot‟, namely the relation and its fatal ending. The first chapter, on the other hand, describes what happened years before these events, and thus it does not seem to fit into the coherent structure of which chapters II-V consist. This is true, in a way: the rest of the story can be read without any confusion when chapter one is skipped. That does not mean, however, that it is not interesting: it offers foreshadowing to the rest of the story, and already implements subtle references to homosexuality. This paper will cover an in-depth analysis of this first chapter, with a focus on the foreshadowing that takes place. Secondly, a number of links to the sexual relationship between Lionel and Cocoanut will be pointed out, mainly those that relate to a biblical context. And lastly, this paper will try to offer a possible interpretation of the “m‟m m‟m m‟m” – a very interesting phenomenon in this first chapter. The first chapter covers a fragment of the protagonists‟ childhood, when they were playing games on a boat on the Suez Canal. This may seem irrelevant to the rest of the story, but it is a good way to introduce the characters, since there are already some elements that predict the relationship that is to come. For example the third line already states that Lionel „wants‟ Cocoanut. In this setting he asks Cocoanut to play a child‟s game, but further in the story the two are still playing – although a bit more dangerously. It is also clear that, despite his background, Cocoanut is „the master‟ in the relationship: he refuses to do what Lionel wants: “I-weel-not.” A parallel can be here found with the continuing of the story: Cocoanut refuses to end the relationship, and thus does not obey Lionel – although he is the „ruling race‟. According to Todo Iglesia this is a very clear example of the reversal of imperial settings (216), but it can also be seen as an implicit characterization: Cocoanut is a leader and Lionel a follower, despite their background. The line “He‟s the only one who falls down when he‟s killed” is also intriguing, since this foreshadows Cocoanuts death. The fact that Lionel so eagerly wants him to participate in the game indicates that there was already a form of affection between the two years before their affair. Lionel is the only one who sympathizes with Cocoanut, since all the other children do not want him to participate. However, the only character that really despises him is Mrs. March. At the end of the first chapter she speaks very hard words: „You‟re a silly little boy and I shall complain to the stewardess about you,‟ she told him with unusual heat. „You never will play any game properly and you stop the others. You‟re a silly idle useless unmanly little boy.‟ (Forster 2125) What is striking here is that she uses the word „unmanly‟. She is, in her perception, right in this matter: Cocoanut can be conceived as an unmanly character, since he lacks heterosexuality. Her negative feelings towards Cocoanut have proven to make sense: since she is a high class lady with very strict morals, it would be an enormous shame if her son was to have a homosexual relationship with someone of colonial background – which happens to become the case. Mrs March likes to control the situation in an overprotective way: she for example does not let her children play in the sun, in fear of them getting sunburned. Mariam Pirbhai confirms this portraying of her as an overprotective figure by saying that “she goes to great lengths to protect her children from the corrupting element of a foreign child” (349). However, she lacks the capability to protect them entirely: due to Cocoanut, Lionel discovers later in the story that he‟s a homosexual. An illustration of this incapability is the chalk circle that is drawn around her, in which she feels „trapped‟ for a moment. The sailor who drew it says to her: „You‟re on dangerous ground, lady,‟ [...] „Men‟s quarters.‟ (2125) The fact that she is „caught in the circle‟ in the men‟s quarters can be interpreted as her being unable to do something in a place where women are superfluous – which relates to her son being homosexual. There are other elements in the first chapter that relate to the ambiguous feelings towards homosexuality. Some of them are the rather common biblical references, and all of those are illustrations of how Christianity does not condone the love between two men. In the following fragment a lot of these references can be found: „They must have a name,‟ said Lionel, recollecting, „because Adam named all the animals when the Bible was beginning.‟ „They weren‟t in the Bible, m‟m m‟m m‟m; they were all the time up in the thin part of the sheep, and when you pop out they pop in, so how could Adam have?” „Noah‟s ark is what he‟s got to now.‟ (2123) The “m‟m m‟m m‟m” (possibly a metaphor for homosexuality (cf. infra)) don‟t have name – although “Adam named all the animals when the Bible was beginning”. This can be interpreted as the “m‟m m‟m m‟m” being a symbol of something unholy, something that does not appear in the Bible. The fact that this phenomenon only appears to Adam when he is absent might suggest that he – in all his holiness – never dealt with the feelings it represents. Another very striking symbol is Noah‟s Ark, and although it seems to appear randomly it has an important meaning. Firstly, the mentioning of the ark is not coincidental since the line preceding it mentions the thin part of the ship. Secondly, Noah‟s ark is the quintessential symbol for heterosexual love: Noah gathers one male and female from every species, in order to save them from extinction. In this way the Bible proves that homosexuality is unnatural, since even animals „know‟ that love only exists between man and woman, and not between two men. A third reference to the Bible is the Israelites‟ exodus – namely when Mrs March asks “where Pharaoh died”. The reference to homosexuality is harder to find here, but one can argue that this is a turning point in the Bible: the „holy race of God‟ is parting from the „heathens‟. According to the Bible, ancient Egypt was a place of sexual sins: the people there engaged in incest, bestiality and homosexuality (Pigott 66). The reference to Exodus can thus be metaphorically read as following: to be a good Christian, you must trust God and leave sins (including homosexuality) behind. This is the third time that a Biblical story which criticizes homosexuality is mentioned, leading to the conclusion that this is an important motive in the first chapter. Mrs March also once again shows her intolerance towards Cocoanut with these biblical references, since she refuses to believe that the origins of Christianity were oriental. However, the most interesting phenomenon inn the first chapter “The Other Boat” is without a doubt the “m‟m m‟m m‟m”. These imaginary „creatures‟ are part of a game invented by Cocoanut. At first sight they seem to be the product of a child‟s exorbitant imagination, but when considering the co- and context they‟re situated in they can represent very symbolic meanings - the most obvious one being „unnatural‟ homosexual feelings. Cocoanut is acting very mysteriously about them: when asked to explain what they are he just repeats “m‟m m‟m m‟m”. This can be read as an onomatopoeia, since it is the same sound then is produced when one closes the lips and tries to speak. In other words, the “m‟m m‟m m‟m” are very likely to represent something that may not be talked about – a taboo. Homosexuality was one of the biggest taboos in that time, and E.M. Forster did not want to openly out himself as being homosexual because it was still regarded as something „unholy‟ (cf. the biblical references). Other textual evidence that supports this is that Cocoanut states that they „have no name‟. This can be interpreted in two ways: either it is another confirmation of the taboo theory, or it is a sign that he is unsure about these feelings. After all, he is only a child and probably never encountered the term „homosexuality‟ – and since it was such a taboo he very likely did not encounter someone that openly felt the same way as he did. He might however have felt that he had feelings that differed from what was regarded as common, but he simply did not know how to name them. There are of course many other elements that support the homosexual interpretation. At one point in the story, Cocoanut tries to draw an “m‟m” but leaves his friends in confusion. The narration does not include a description of what he drew, but the children thought it looked like “flying fish, fairies or noughts and crosses”. These three things have very little to nothing in common, and Forster might have used these objects to prove to the reader that the chalk drawing truly is indecipherable to anyone except Cocoanut. This is very symbolic: since he is the only person in that company that has to deal with these „different‟ feelings1, the other people simply do not understand what he is trying to explain. The onomatopoeic value of the “m‟m 1 Of course Lionel also turns out to be homosexual, but he only discovers those feelings when he is an adult and engages in a relationship with Cocoanut. m‟m m‟m” is correlated to this: they are both indications that an explanation of this phenomenon should (or can) not be given. As a part of their characterization, the possible location where they can be found plays a role as well – or at least the locations to which Cocoanut lead the children. In the process of trying to explain what they are, he stated the following: They live – oh, so many of them – in the thin part of the ship. (2123) This is „unexplored territory‟ for the children. When linking this to the possible meaning of homosexuality it could mean that the feelings the “m‟m m‟m m‟m” represent are part of the subconscious – the thin part of the ship is after all a place that is hard to reach. Further in the first chapter we can read how he – in search of the “m‟m m‟m m‟m” takes the children to the lower parts of the ship and plays with them there. Lionel is the prime participant in this playing (he makes suggestions on how to improve the game), which is a sign that he enjoys it the most – and is thus the best familiarized with the feelings it represents. The playing may also be another foreshadowing: the relationship between Cocoanut and Lionel is also a „game‟ in a hidden spot (being the cabin). Of course, the glory of the bow (where the “m‟m m‟m m‟m” are situated) might be a way in which Forster states that homosexuality is not something disgusting or taboo-worthy, but as beautiful as heterosexual love. Almost none of the available secondary literature on E.M. Forster‟s “The Other Boat” covers this interesting first chapter. The story as a whole contains some very interesting aspects, such as critique on colonialism and homosexual humanist morality. These themes might not be as present in the first chapter as they are in the rest of the story, but it is a very interesting text to discover several literary devices. There is clearly a lot to discover in this „isolated‟ chapter, such as foreshadowing and many metaphors and hints that lead to homosexuality and how it was regarded. The many biblical references that have abolishment of these „unholy feelings‟ in common are very smartly implemented, making the story easy to read but opening a huge range of possible interpretations. The most interesting of these metaphors are the “m‟m m‟m m‟m”, which can be analyzed as hidden homosexuality – but undoubtedly there are many readings possible on this subject. An in-depth analysis of this chapter reveals how Forster ingeniously makes use of - at first sight - plain metaphors to create a very intriguing introduction to his short story. (2134 words) Reference list Forster, E.M. "The Other Boat." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Gen. ed. Stephen Greenblatt. 9th ed. Vol. F. New York: Norton, 2012. 21222142. Print. Iglesia, Maria Angeles Toda. “Versions, Perversions and Subversions of Imperial Discourse in E.M. Forster‟s “The Other Boat”.” Atlantis December 1998: 215-224. Print. Piggot, Susan M. “Menstruation.” The IVP Women’s Bible Commentary. Ed. Kroeger, Catherine Clark and Mary J. Evans. Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2002. 62-69. Print. Pirbhai, Mariam. “Against the Oriental(ist) Current: Homosexuality and Empire in E.M. Forster's "The Other Boat".” The Dalhousie Review October 2006: 345-358. Print.