Foster’s Howards End, Ivory’s picnic reveals Edwardian hypocrisy, the inferior status of women, predatory sexuality, and the illusion of male superiority. This pivotal episode occurs when Henry Wilcox is undone by his former mistress, Jacky Bast, at a country house picnic wedding.
Bast’s unexpected appearance is a wound undermining the party’s festivity. Stuffed with cake and champagne, Jacky notices Wilcox and maliciously addresses him familiarly. Feigning ignorance, Wilcox denies that he knows her, but Wilcox’s fiancé Margaret Schlegel senses something is wrong.
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s dialog keeps close to Forster’s, which is succinctly mortifying and uncomfortable:
Jacky: Why if it isn’t Henry? [Laughing] Hallo, Henry. Fancy seeing you here.
Margaret: This is Mrs. Bast. I’m sorry she’s a little overtired.
Henry: She’s drunk.
Jacky: Don’t you remember Jacky?
Margaret: Aren’t you going to say hello? Do you know Mrs. Bas?
Henry: No, I don’t!
Jacky: Know Henry? We’ve had some gay old times.
Henry: You’re drunk.
Viewers understand Jacky’s insinuation, and so does Wilcox. But Margaret’s bewilderment signifies a lack of worldly experience. She requires a rational explanation from Wilcox, but none is forthcoming. Incapable of facing his former mistress and future wife, Wilcox’s knee-jerk reaction is an acute embarrassment. He accuses Margaret of setting him up and wanting to end their engagement. Angrily, he yells, “I congratulate you on your little plan to trap me. I release you from your engagement.” He leaves as Margaret calls, “Henry? Henry? Henry?” But he is beyond answering.
The cast: Emma Thompson as Margaret Schlegel; Helena Bonham Carter as Helen Schlegel; Anthony Hopkins as Henry Wilcox; Nicola Duffett as Hacky Bast; and Samuel West as Leonard Bast
See James Ivory. Howards End (1992). The screenplay by Ruth Prawar Jhabvala is based on E.M. Foster’s novel; E.M. Forster. Howards End. London: Edward Arnold Ltd., 1910; Hettie Macdonald. Howards End (2018). Screenplay by Kenneth Lonergan is based on E.M. Forster’s novel;