In Defense of Leonard Bast

I've noticed a number of the posts ravage Leonard Bast. Well, I'm here to defend him!

The story is set into motion with two actions, both by Helen: Her premature engagement, soon broken, to Paul Wilcox, and her inadvertent "pinching" of Leonard Bast's umbrella. It is the latter that initiates the relationship of Bast and the Schlegel sisters. Bast is obviously concerned only with the retrieval of his umbrella; on his meager salary, he can ill-afford to purchase a new one. But the Schlegel sisters see this accidental collision between their lives and his as a way of connecting with and perhaps assisting him. They are well-intentioned, but of course Forster wants us to see that good intentions can go awry, sometimes tragically so, and so it is with Leonard Bast.

Now, is Leonard Bast "creepy"? No! He merely wants his umbrella back so he might return to Jacky; instead he is overwhelmed with Schlegel hospitality. But Leonard is also aspiring to a better life. He isn't after anyone's money—he's too proud for that, as is later shown. But he does seek intellectual, emotional and spiritual (non-secular) enrichment. And he realizes the Schlegel sisters, as opposed to Jacky, also seek this out.

Ah, Jacky. Is Bast's involvement with Jacky immoral? Think what you like, but I see Bast as a man who feels a strong sense of moral commitment to Jacky. It's possible, in fact, that she is the only woman—until Helen—with whom he has been sexually involved. Jacky is almost entirely carnal—that's the way her life evolved—but Leonard's feelings for her go beyond that; he not only feels responsible for her in the here-and-now, but also seems to want to make it up to her for the way Life previously buffeted her about. Unfortunately, Jacky cannot appreciate or even take the time to understand Leonard’s yearnings for something more.

So more than a year passes, and then Jacky—jealous of a mere calling card—shows up at the Schlegel's, demanding to know the whereabouts of her husband. (For by this time, Leonard has indeed held to his promise of marrying her.) Once Bast learns of Jacky's embarrassing visit, he returns to the Schlegel's to politely apologize. But then Helen challenges him with her own cheeky (perhaps rude is the better word) assumption, and Bast—already stressed and humiliated—defends himself, reveals his yearnings for something less plebian than what he already has. So what's wrong with that?

Bast refuses the patronage of the Schlegel sisters at several points. The Schlegels are for him not a source of money or social climbing but a window to what he is seeking: Something beyond the dreariness of day-to-day life. He is uncomfortable with the thought that he might be imposing upon them, but still cannot fail to appreciate that they follow the intellectual and spiritual quests that also beckon to him.

I think Samuel West plays Leonard wonderfully well. No, Bast is not a knight-in-shining-armor . . . in fact he is, in many respects, a very ordinary young man. But he does aspire to something better. This is what the Schlegels recognize, and their own intellectual instincts and moral training—not to mention natural kindness and generosity—cannot help but support Mr. Bast's quest.

For awhile I could not bear to watch the scenes with Leonard, knowing what was to become of him. And even now I find it difficult to see him being turned away from places of employment. I see in Leonard Bast a principled if stubborn young man who seeks escape from the routine and development of both his intellect and his soul. He doesn’t have the grace or elegance of the men within the Schlegels' class milieu, but so what? He has heart. And the yearning for something more. No wonder Margaret and Helen find him a romantic figure, worthy of their friendship and assistance!