Where Angels Fear to Tread

E. M. Forster’s debut novel, Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905), is a tragicomedy that explores the collision of two vastly different cultures. The story follows the Herritons, a respectable upper-middle-class English family whose carefully ordered world is thrown into chaos when their widowed sister-in-law, Lilia, impulsively marries a handsome and much younger Italian man from a provincial town. Philip Herriton, Lilia’s former brother-in-law, is dispatched from the repressive suburb of Sawston to the passionate landscape of Monteriano, Italy, to intervene, setting in motion a series of events that spiral toward tragedy. The novel has been adapted several times, most notably into a 1991 film directed by Charles Sturridge and starring Helen Mirren and Helena Bonham Carter.

This guide refers to the 2007 Penguin Classics edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide contain depictions of physical abuse, child death, and illness or death.

Plot Summary

At Charing Cross station, the Herriton family gathers to bid farewell to Lilia, the widow of Charles Herriton. Lilia's mother-in-law, Mrs. Herriton, her brother-in-law, Philip, and her sister-in-law, Harriet, give Lilia advice on how to comport herself on her year-long trip to Italy. She will be accompanied by a younger, more serious companion, Caroline Abbott. Lilia’s young daughter, Irma, is left in the care of Mrs. Herriton in their provincial town of Sawston. The Herritons are relieved by Lilia’s departure, as they find her vivacious but unrefined personality a threat to their family’s reputation. Philip, an admirer of Italian culture, hopes the trip will improve her. After a period of cheerful letters from Lilia, who is enjoying the small town of Monteriano, a letter arrives from Lilia’s mother announcing that Lilia is engaged. Enraged, Mrs. Herriton sends a telegram to Caroline, who replies that Lilia is engaged to “Italian nobility.” Deeply suspicious, Mrs. Herriton immediately dispatches Philip to Monteriano to stop the marriage.

Upon arriving in Monteriano, Philip is met by a terrified Caroline. During the carriage ride into town, she reveals that the fiancé is Gino Carella, a handsome 21-year-old who is the son of a local dentist and has no money or social standing. Philip is disgusted, feeling his romantic ideal of Italy has been shattered. At the hotel, Lilia gives them a boisterous welcome and introduces Gino, who is unrefined and wears an ill-fitting suit. After an awkward dinner, Philip confronts Lilia alone, demanding she end the engagement. Lilia furiously refuses, accusing the Herritons of controlling her for years and declaring she is finally marrying for love. She calls Gino into the room, and Philip attempts to bribe him with 1,000 lire. Gino bursts into laughter and reveals that he and Lilia are already married, having rushed the ceremony when they learned of Philip’s arrival. In a final fit of amusement, Gino gives Philip a playful push that sends him toppling onto a bed. Humiliated, Philip leaves for England at once, accompanied by a distraught Caroline.

Lilia’s married life in Monteriano is unhappy. She has Gino buy a large house, but conflict arises when Gino’s family expects to live with them. Lilia refuses, and Gino sides with her, creating a rift with his relatives. Financial troubles and the strict social codes of Italy, which confine respectable women to the home, add to her misery. Gino asserts his patriarchal authority, forbidding her from going out alone. Lilia grows increasingly isolated as Gino spends his time with friends, whom he does not bring home, believing his wife is a possession to be guarded. She tries to assert herself by threatening to withhold money, but Gino responds with such physical menace that she is terrified into submission.

Lilia’s unhappiness deepens when she discovers Gino is unfaithful. Feeling trapped, she attempts to escape one night by running after a departing stagecoach but fails. When she confronts Gino, he laughs at her anger. She writes a desperate letter to Irma, but Mrs. Herriton intercepts it. Another letter, to a former suitor, is stopped by the local postman, a friend of Gino’s. Now pregnant and having lost all hope, Lilia falls ill. Gino is consumed with the desire for a son. Lilia gives birth to a healthy boy but dies in childbirth.

News of Lilia’s death reaches Sawston. The Herritons decide to conceal the baby’s existence from Irma and the town to avoid scandal. However, Gino sends picture postcards to Irma “from your lital brother,” and Irma cannot keep the secret. Consumed by guilt for her role in the marriage, Caroline Abbott confronts Mrs. Herriton, insisting the child must be rescued. Spurred by pride, Mrs. Herriton sends a letter to Gino offering to adopt the child if he would surrender some of Lilia’s money for the child’s education, but he politely refuses, citing his “paternal heart.” When Caroline declares she will go to Italy herself, Mrs. Herriton, fearing a public scandal, commands Philip and Harriet to go to Monteriano and secure the baby at any cost.

Philip and Harriet travel to Italy in the August heat. Upon arriving at their hotel in Monteriano, they are shocked to find Caroline is already there. While Harriet and Caroline talk, Philip goes to Gino’s house but finds him out. He returns to the hotel and speaks with Caroline, who admits she came to “spy” on the Herritons, whom she does not trust. She recounts a chance meeting with Gino the previous evening, where he was charming and apologized for his past rudeness, which pleases Philip. His mood softens, and he suggests they all attend the local opera. At the lively performance, a chance encounter leads to a warm reunion between Philip and Gino, and his friends pull Philip into their box. Philip arranges a meeting with Gino for the next morning.

Early the next day, Caroline goes to Gino’s house alone, determined to secure the baby herself. She finds Gino, who reveals he plans to remarry a woman to provide a mother for his son. Caroline is initially furious, but her resolve wavers when she witnesses Gino’s profound and genuine love for the child. Moved, she offers to help him wash the baby. Philip arrives for his appointment and finds them in a tender, domestic scene resembling a Renaissance painting. Overwhelmed, Caroline bursts into tears and flees the house.

Philip’s meetings with Gino are friendly but fruitless. That evening, as they prepare to leave in defeat, Harriet vanishes. A note is delivered by a nonverbal townsperson with intellectual disabilities. The note instructs Philip to pick Harriet up outside the city gate. He finds her in the rain, holding a bundle: she has stolen the baby. During the dark carriage ride down the mountain, the carriage collides with Caroline’s and overturns. In the crash, the baby is thrown from Harriet’s arms. Philip, his arm broken in the crash, finds the child in the mud, but it is dead.

Feeling responsible, Philip insists he must be the one to tell Gino. He returns to Monteriano and delivers the news. In a silent rage, Gino attacks Philip, torturing him by twisting his broken arm. Caroline bursts in and pulls Gino away, stopping him from killing Philip. Gino breaks down completely, sobbing in Caroline’s arms as she comforts him with maternal tenderness. Witnessing her compassion, Philip undergoes a quiet “conversion.” In a moment of symbolic peace, Caroline has the two men share the baby’s last jug of milk.

On the train leaving Italy, Philip, who has fallen in love with Caroline, plans to leave Sawston. He is puzzled when she insists she will return to her old life. He presses her for an explanation, preparing to confess his feelings. Believing him to be a safe, dispassionate friend, Caroline confesses her own secret: she is profoundly and hopelessly in love with Gino. Philip is devastated but conceals his pain, offering her the cynical, detached response she asks for. He recognizes that for him, “all the wonderful things had happened.” As the train enters the St. Gotthard tunnel, they close the windows to protect the sleeping Harriet from the soot.