The Story

Q: Which novelist, according to the text, most ingeniously manipulated the narrative clock by keeping its hands constantly changing?

Marcel Proust. Forster states that Proust was 'still more ingenious, kept altering the hands so that his hero was at the same time entertaining a mistress to supper and playing ball with his nurse in the park.'

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Chapter Notes

Overview

This chapter is an excerpt from E.M. Forster's 'Aspects of the Novel', where he dissects the fundamental element of a novel: the story. Forster argues that while the story is the 'lowest and simplest' literary organism, it is the highest factor common to all novels, driven by the primal human need for suspense—the desire to know 'what happens next'. The one big idea a student must walk away with is that a story is a narrative of events arranged in time sequence, and its sole merit is making the audience want to know what happens next, while a good novel also incorporates the 'life by values' beyond mere chronology.

Key Concepts (12)

Story

A narrative of events arranged in their time sequence—dinner coming after breakfast, Tuesday coming after Monday, decay after death, and so on.

e.g. In a Bollywood film, the story is simply the sequence: the hero meets the heroine, they fall in love, a conflict arises, and they reunite—all in chronological order.

Fundamental aspect of the novel

The story-telling aspect; the highest factor common to all novels without which a novel could not exist.

e.g. Even a complex novel like 'The God of Small Things' has a story—the tragic events of a family in Kerala—told in a non-linear way, but the story is still the backbone.

Suspense

The only literary tool that has any effect on tyrants and savages; it keeps the audience wondering what will happen next.

e.g. In a TV serial like 'Anupamaa', each episode ends with a cliffhanger—like a character about to reveal a secret—to make viewers wait for the next episode.

Atavistic

Relating to or characterized by reversion to something ancient or ancestral; primitive.

e.g. Forster calls the desire for story a 'low atavistic form' because it is a primal, ancient urge, like the Neanderthal man's need to hear what happened next.

Life in time

The chronological, sequential aspect of daily life where events are measured by minutes and hours.

e.g. Waking up at 6 AM, going to school at 7 AM, having lunch at 1 PM—this is the life in time, the routine measured by the clock.

Life by values

The aspect of life measured not by minutes or hours, but by intensity; it is the non-chronological, qualitative experience of time.

e.g. Spending five minutes with a loved one feels 'worth it' because of the emotional intensity, even though chronologically it was only five minutes.

Double allegiance

The dual loyalty in daily life and in novels to both the life in time and the life by values.

e.g. A student says, 'I studied for two hours (life in time), but the ten minutes I spent understanding the concept were the most valuable (life by values).'

Scheherazade

The narrator of 'One Thousand and One Nights' who saved her life by using suspense—stopping her story at dawn each day to keep the king wondering what would happen next.

e.g. Like a web series creator who ends each episode on a cliffhanger to ensure viewers binge-watch the next episode.

Tape-worm

Forster's metaphor for the story—a long, interminable, wriggling organism that ties the novel together, with arbitrary beginning and end.

e.g. Just as a tapeworm lives inside a host and is unlovely but essential, the story lives inside a novel and is dull but necessary.

Backbone

Another metaphor for the story—the structural support that runs through the novel, without which the novel would collapse.

e.g. In a detective novel, the backbone is the sequence of clues leading to the solution; without it, the novel would be a jumble of characters and themes.

Time sequence

The arrangement of events in chronological order—one event after another.

e.g. In a biography, events are arranged in time sequence: birth, childhood, education, career, death.

Primeval curiosity

The ancient, basic human desire to know what happens next; the universal urge that makes the story essential.

e.g. When a student peeks at the last page of a novel to see the ending, that is primeval curiosity in action.

How It Works

How a story functions in a novel

The story arranges events in a time sequence (e.g., breakfast before lunch).
It creates suspense by making the audience want to know what happens next.
It runs like a backbone or tape-worm through the novel, supporting finer elements like character, description, and morality.
The story's only merit is making the audience want to know what happens next; its only fault is making them not want to know.
The novelist must cling to the thread of the story, otherwise the novel becomes unintelligible.

💡 Students often confuse the story with the plot. The story is purely chronological; the plot may rearrange time. Forster's definition is strict: story = time sequence.

How Scheherazade used suspense to survive

Scheherazade married the king who beheaded his wives after the wedding night.
On the wedding night, she began telling the king an interesting story.
At dawn, she stopped the story in the middle of a sentence, leaving the king in suspense.
The king spared her life each day because he wanted to know what happened next.
She continued this scheme for 1001 nights until the king accepted her as his queen.

💡 Forster emphasizes that Scheherazade relied on suspense, not on her other gifts (description, morality, character delineation), to save her life. This proves suspense is the most powerful literary tool.

How daily life reflects double allegiance

Daily life is composed of two lives: the life in time (chronological) and the life by values (intensity-based).
The life in time is measured by minutes and hours (e.g., Monday after Sunday).
The life by values is measured by intensity (e.g., a five-minute meeting that feels worth it).
Our conduct reveals a double allegiance: we acknowledge time but also value intensity.
A good novel includes both: it narrates the life in time (the story) and also incorporates the life by values through devices like character and theme.

💡 Students often think the life by values replaces time. Forster says both exist; the novel must have time (story) but can also include values. The allegiance to time is imperative in a novel.

How novelists manipulate time

The novelist must always have a clock in the novel—time sequence is imperative.
Some novelists try to hide the clock (e.g., Emily Bronte in 'Wuthering Heights').
Some turn the clock upside down (e.g., Sterne in 'Tristram Shandy').
Some alter the hands of the clock (e.g., Marcel Proust, where the hero entertains a mistress and plays ball with his nurse at the same time).
All these devices are legitimate, but they do not contravene the thesis: the basis of a novel is a story, which is a narrative of events in time sequence.

💡 Forster's point is that even when novelists manipulate time, they cannot deny it. The story must still be intelligible; otherwise, the novelist commits a blunder.

Exam Traps — Don't Make These Mistakes

⚠ Confusing 'story' with 'plot'

✗ 'The story of a novel is the sequence of events, including flashbacks and foreshadowing.'

→ Forster defines story strictly as events arranged in time sequence (chronological). Flashbacks and foreshadowing are plot devices that rearrange time; they are not part of the story as Forster defines it.

✓ 'According to Forster, a story is a narrative of events arranged in their time sequence—dinner after breakfast, Tuesday after Monday. It is purely chronological.'

⚠ Misinterpreting 'low atavistic form'

✗ 'Forster says the story is low and atavistic, meaning it is unimportant and should be ignored.'

→ Forster calls the story 'low' and 'atavistic' because it is primitive and simple, but he also calls it the 'highest factor common to all novels' and 'the fundamental aspect without which it could not exist.' He does not dismiss it; he acknowledges its necessity.

✓ 'Forster calls the story a 'low atavistic form' because it appeals to our primitive curiosity, but he emphasizes that it is the essential backbone of every novel.'

⚠ Thinking the life by values replaces the life in time

✗ 'In a good novel, the life by values replaces the life in time, so time is not important.'

→ Forster explicitly says the novel pays a double allegiance. The life in time (the story) is imperative; no novel can be written without it. The life by values is an addition, not a replacement.

✓ 'Forster argues that a good novel includes both the life in time (the story) and the life by values. The allegiance to time is imperative; the novel cannot deny time.'

⚠ Confusing Forster's three voices

✗ 'Forster agrees with the second speaker who says a novel must tell a story.'

→ Forster says he 'detests and fears' the second speaker (the aggressive, brisk man on the golf-course). He respects the first speaker (the placid bus driver) and identifies with the third speaker (himself, who says 'Yes—oh dear yes—the novel tells a story' with regret).

✓ 'Forster identifies with the third voice, who acknowledges the story's necessity with regret. He detests the second voice, who is aggressively simplistic.'

⚠ Misunderstanding the 'tape-worm' metaphor

✗ 'Forster compares the story to a tape-worm because it is harmful and should be removed from the novel.'

→ Forster uses the tape-worm metaphor to highlight the story's unlovely, dull, and interminable nature, but also to show that it ties the novel together. It is not harmful; it is essential.

✓ 'Forster compares the story to a tape-worm to emphasize that it is unlovely and dull when isolated, but it is the essential thread that ties the novel together.'

Compare & Contrast

Definition and arrangement of events

Story

Plot

A story is a narrative of events arranged in time sequence (chronological). A plot, as defined by other critics (e.g., E.M. Forster in other contexts), arranges events by causality and may rearrange time. Forster's chapter focuses only on story as time sequence.

How time is measured and experienced

Life in time

Life by values

Life in time is measured by minutes and hours (chronological, sequential). Life by values is measured by intensity (qualitative, non-chronological). Daily life and good novels include both, but the novel must always have the life in time (the story).

Attitude towards the novel's story-telling aspect

First speaker (bus driver)

Second speaker (golf player)

The first speaker is placid, vague, and good-tempered; Forster respects him. The second speaker is aggressive, brisk, and dismissive of art; Forster detests and fears him.

Exam Focus

Marks pattern: 1-2 MCQs (1 mark each) on definitions and metaphors, 1 Short Answer (2-3 marks) on Scheherazade or the three voices, 1 Long Answer (5 marks) on the double allegiance or the importance of time in a novel.

Most asked: Definition of story according to Forster · Role of suspense in the novel (with reference to Scheherazade) · The concept of 'life in time' vs 'life by values' · Forster's three voices and his attitude towards each · Metaphors used by Forster (backbone, tape-worm, naked worm of time)

Don't skip: Long answer question: 'Discuss Forster's views on the importance of time in a novel, with reference to the life in time and the life by values.'; Short answer question: 'How does Forster use the example of Scheherazade to illustrate the power of suspense?'

One-Line Revision (read aloud before the exam)

Forster defines a story as a narrative of events arranged in their time sequence.
The fundamental aspect of a novel is its story-telling aspect.
The story is the highest factor common to all novels, without which a novel cannot exist.
Suspense is the only literary tool that has any effect on tyrants and savages.
Scheherazade saved her life by using suspense—stopping her story at dawn each day.
Forster uses the metaphors of backbone and tape-worm to describe the story.
The story's only merit is making the audience want to know what happens next.
The story's only fault is making the audience not want to know what happens next.
Daily life is composed of two lives: the life in time and the life by values.
The life in time is measured by minutes and hours; the life by values is measured by intensity.
A good novel includes both the life in time and the life by values.
The allegiance to time is imperative in a novel; no novel can be written without it.
Forster respects the first speaker (placid bus driver), detests the second (aggressive golfer), and identifies with the third (himself, regretful).
Novelists like Emily Bronte, Sterne, and Proust manipulate time but cannot deny it.
The story is the lowest and simplest of literary organisms, yet the highest factor common to all novels.

MCQs — 10 Questions with Answers

Q1. What does Forster call the story in terms of its evolutionary age?

A. A modern invention of the Renaissance
B. An ancient form dating back to Neolithic or Paleolithic times ✓
C. A medieval literary device perfected by troubadours
D. A post-Industrial Age discovery

Answer: B — Forster explicitly states the story 'is immensely old—goes back to Neolithic times, perhaps to Palaeolithic,' evidenced by Neanderthal man listening to stories based on skull shape.

Q2. According to the text, what was the primary reason Scheherazade survived her husband's tyranny?

A. Her exquisite descriptions and tolerant judgements impressed him
B. Her advanced morality and knowledge of Oriental capitals convinced him
C. She used suspense by stopping her stories each dawn, making him want to know what happened next ✓
D. Her ingenious incidents and vivid character delineations made him fall in love with her

Answer: C — Forster emphasizes that despite Scheherazade's many gifts (descriptions, morality, character knowledge), 'She only survived because she managed to keep the king wondering what would happen next.'

Q3. What does Forster mean when he describes the story as having 'arbitrary' beginning and end?

A. The story's beginning and end are poorly written
B. Stories begin and end whenever the author decides, not based on natural narrative completion ✓
C. Stories are random and nonsensical in structure
D. The beginning is always happy and the ending is always sad

Answer: B — In context, 'arbitrary' means the story's boundaries are chosen by the author without inherent necessity; the narrative continues like a 'tape-worm' with beginning and end points that could be placed anywhere.

Q4. Which of the following best explains Forster's frustration with the necessity of story in novels?

A. He believes stories are too entertaining and distract readers from serious themes
B. He considers story a primitive, base element compared to nobler aspects like melody, perception of truth, and values ✓
C. He thinks most novelists do not know how to tell stories properly
D. He argues that stories are incompatible with modern literary tastes

Answer: B — Forster explicitly states he wishes story 'could be something different—melody, or perception of truth, not this low atavistic form,' revealing his view of story as primitive versus higher literary qualities.

Q5. In the essay, what does 'life by values' refer to?

A. Material possessions and economic status
B. Moral principles and ethical standards alone
C. Experience measured by intensity rather than chronological time (e.g., 'five minutes worth it') ✓
D. The importance of following social norms

Answer: C — Forster defines 'value' as 'something which is measured not by minutes or hours, but by intensity,' exemplified by his statement: 'I only saw her for five minutes, but it was worth it.'

Q6. Which novelist, according to the text, most ingeniously manipulated the narrative clock by keeping its hands constantly changing?

A. Emily Brontë
B. Laurence Sterne
C. Marcel Proust ✓
D. Scheherazade

Answer: C — Forster states that Proust was 'still more ingenious, kept altering the hands so that his hero was at the same time entertaining a mistress to supper and playing ball with his nurse in the park.'

Q7. Which statement is NOT correct regarding Forster's three speaker types?

A. The first speaker is vague and pays little attention to literature while driving a bus
B. The second speaker is aggressive, brisk, and explicitly rejects art and music in favour of story
C. Forster respects the first speaker and detests the second speaker
D. The third speaker is Forster himself, who believes story is superior to all other literary elements ✓

Answer: D — Forster (the third speaker) reluctantly admits the novel tells a story in a 'drooping regretful voice,' indicating he does not view story as superior but as a necessary evil compared to melody or truth.

Q8. Why does Forster use the metaphor of a 'tape-worm' rather than simply a 'backbone' for the story?

A. Because tape-worms are more visually interesting than backbones
B. Because the story is parasitic, old, immensely long, and has arbitrary endpoints—it holds the novel together but is not essential to its beauty ✓
C. Because tape-worms represent modern medical discoveries Forster admired
D. Because tape-worms are stronger than backbones in biological terms

Answer: B — The tape-worm metaphor suggests the story is parasitic (feeds on finer growths), immensely old, and arbitrary in its boundaries—reinforcing Forster's view that story is functional but inelegant compared to other literary qualities.

Q9. According to Forster's thesis, which of the following would be a legitimate authorial technique that does NOT violate the requirement of time-sequence?

A. Completely abandoning chronological order and replacing it with random event arrangement
B. Hiding, inverting, or altering the narrative clock while still maintaining some thread of sequential narrative ✓
C. Allowing characters to exist outside time and space simultaneously without explanation
D. Denying that Monday comes before Tuesday within the novel's world

Answer: B — Forster states that devices like those of Brontë, Sterne, and Proust 'are legitimate but none of them contravene our thesis: the basis of a novel is a story and a story is a narrative of events in time sequence.'

Q10. Which pair of concepts does Forster use to explain why a novel's relationship to time differs from daily life? (HOTS)

A. Story and plot; character and setting
B. Time-sequence and values; chronological order and intensity of experience ✓
C. Suspense and revelation; beginning and end
D. Author's voice and reader's expectation; narrative perspective and point of view

Answer: B — Forster's central argument is that daily life balances 'life in time' (Monday before Tuesday) with 'life by values' (intensity), but novels must prioritize time-sequence (the imperative allegiance) while incorporating value-based elements through literary devices.

Flashcards

According to Forster, what is the fundamental aspect of a novel?

The story-telling aspect—a narrative of events arranged in their time sequence.

What is 'atavistic' as used in the text about the story?

Primitive or evolutionary throwback; the story is a 'low atavistic form' because it originated in our most ancient need for suspense around the campfire.

Who was Scheherazade and why does Forster mention her?

The princess from One Thousand and One Nights who survived by using suspense—stopping her story each dawn—proving that suspense alone can save lives and is the only literary tool effective on tyrants.

What does Forster mean by 'life by values' versus 'life in time'?

Life in time is chronological (Monday before Tuesday); life by values is intensity-based (five minutes with someone can feel worth years).

Name two literary devices Forster mentions that authors use to manipulate time in novels.

Emily Brontë hid the clock in Wuthering Heights and Laurence Sterne turned it upside down in Tristram Shandy.

What is the only merit a story can have, according to Forster?

Making the audience want to know what happens next; conversely, its only fault is making the audience not want to know what happens next.

What does 'shock-heads' refer to in the context of primitive audiences?

The Neolithic/Paleolithic listeners with unkempt hair who gathered around the campfire, kept awake only by suspense about what would happen next in the story.

Why must a novelist never completely deny time within the fabric of the novel?

Because doing so would make the novel unintelligible; the novelist must cling to the thread of the story (the 'tape-worm' of time) or communication breaks down.

What does Forster call the story metaphorically—a backbone or a tape-worm?

Both; he uses both metaphors—backbone because it supports the novel's structure, tape-worm because it is immensely old, has arbitrary beginning/end, and holds everything together parasitically.

How did Marcel Proust manipulate the narrative clock in his novels?

He kept altering the hands so that his hero was entertaining a mistress to supper and playing ball with his nurse in the park at the same time.

Important Board Questions

What does Forster mean by describing the story as 'the lowest and simplest of literary organisms' yet 'the highest factor common to all novels'? Explain the paradox in one or two sentences with an example. [2 marks]

Identify the contradiction: story is primitive/base (like primitive 'shock-heads' needing suspense) but universally mandatory in all novels regardless of quality. Use Scheherazade or Forster's own admission as evidence.

Explain Forster's concept of 'life in time' and 'life by values' with reference to the text. How does a good novel balance these two aspects? (Provide textual evidence.) [5 marks]

Define life in time (chronological: Monday→Tuesday) and life by values (intensity: five minutes worth years). Show that story provides time-sequence while other literary devices (description, character, morality) carry values. Use the phrase 'double allegiance' and explain why time is imperative in novels but not necessary in daily life.

Compare and contrast how Emily Brontë, Laurence Sterne, and Marcel Proust manipulated the narrative clock in their novels. Why does Forster consider these techniques 'legitimate' despite his insistence on time-sequence? What does this reveal about the tension between form and content in the novel? [6 marks]

Outline each technique (Brontë hid clock, Sterne turned it upside down, Proust altered hands). Explain why Forster calls them legitimate (they maintain underlying narrative thread). Conclude with how these manipulations prove the novel must serve both story/time AND values/intensity—the paradox at the heart of Forster's argument about the novel's dual nature.

Assertion-Reason Questions for The Story

Q1. Assertion (A):

E.M. Forster considers the story to be a fundamental aspect of all novels despite wishing it could be replaced with melody or perception of truth.

Reason (R):

The story element satisfies the universal human desire for suspense and curiosity about what happens next, which is too deeply ingrained to eliminate from fiction.

Answer: A — Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A — Both parts are true and the reason directly explains the assertion. Forster acknowledges story's inevitability due to fundamental human nature ('primeval curiosity') even though he regrets its 'low atavistic form.' This necessity explains why he must accept it as universal despite his personal preferences.

Q2. Assertion (A):

According to Forster, the merit and fault of a story can be judged by only one criterion.

Reason (R):

A story's sole purpose is to maintain narrative suspense, making intelligibility the only standard by which it can be evaluated.

Answer: B — Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A — Both statements are true, but the reason doesn't correctly explain the assertion. Forster states the single criterion is 'making the audience want to know what happens next' (merit) and its opposite (fault). While suspense is involved, the reason conflates this with 'intelligibility,' which is a consequence rather than the evaluative standard. The single criterion is about audience desire, not intelligibility.

Q3. Assertion (A):

Novelists cannot completely deny the existence of time within their narratives without making the story unintelligible.

Reason (R):

Time is irrelevant to human experience and serves no function in organizing narrative events.

Answer: C — A is true but R is false — The assertion is true—Forster explicitly states this. However, the reason is false. Forster's point is that time IS relevant and functional in narrative (unlike potentially in philosophical or mystical thought). The practical necessity of temporal coherence contradicts the reason's claim that time is irrelevant.

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Case-Based Questions (CBQ) for The Story

Case Study:

A modern streaming platform designed an algorithm to recommend novels to users based on reading patterns. The algorithm measures engagement in two ways: (1) time spent reading in minutes per session, and (2) intensity scores derived from user annotations, emotional responses, and reading frequency. Initial data showed that users who spent only 15 minutes with a literary novel but annotated 8 passages and left detailed comments rated it higher than users who spent 45 minutes passively reading commercial fiction with no annotations. The platform's engineers were confused until a literature consultant explained that readers distinguish between 'time in time' (chronological duration) and 'time by values' (intensity and significance), similar to how E.M. Forster describes human experience.

Q1. According to Forster's framework, why would the 15-minute session with the literary novel represent greater value than the 45-minute passive reading session?

A. Because time duration is the only valid measure of literary value
B. Because the intensity and meaningful engagement (annotations, emotional responses) created higher 'value' despite shorter chronological duration ✓
C. Because commercial fiction is inherently inferior literature
D. Because users should always prefer literary novels over other genres

Answer: B

Q2. If the streaming platform redesigned its recommendation algorithm to weight 'intensity metrics' as heavily as 'time spent reading,' what principle from Forster's essay would this reflect?

A. The story's role in maintaining suspense
B. The distinction between the life in time and the life by values ✓
C. The primitive origins of narrative desire
D. The necessity of chronological sequence in fiction

Answer: B

Q3. The platform initially measured engagement only by minutes spent reading. What misconception about literature does this represent according to Forster?

A. That novels should always follow chronological time
B. That suspense is unnecessary in modern literature
C. That all readers prefer commercial fiction
D. That the quality of literary experience is proportional to duration of time spent ✓

Answer: D

Q4. How does this case study demonstrate Forster's statement that 'Neither memory nor anticipation is much interested in Father Time'?

A. Because the users' meaningful memories of the 15-minute session outweighed the duration ✓
B. Because commercial fiction cannot create memories
C. Because algorithms are superior to human judgment
D. Because time is irrelevant to all literary experiences

Answer: A

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