In EM Forster’s Howards End discuss how Margaret and Henry Wilcox display traditional gender roles

Margaret Schlegel is presented as a strong-minded, independent woman, the kind of woman who would form the backbone of the movement for women's suffrage that was gaining traction at the time in which the story is set. Her commitment to a variety of liberal social and political causes initially puts her at odds with the staid, conservative Henry Wilcox. As time progresses, however, and as Margaret and Henry develop a closer bond, Margaret starts to understand Henry's worldview a little better, even if she cannot completely endorse it. The outer world that Henry inhabits—the cut-and-thrust world of business, the world of "telegrams and anger"—may be horrid to Margaret, yet she does still acknowledge its character-building qualities.
However, Margaret's growing empathy towards Henry and his way of thinking does not involve renouncing her fiercely independent spirit. Indeed, one could argue that, on the contrary, her empathy is a consequence of that spirit. On the face of it, the relationship between Margaret and Henry appears conventional. But beneath the surface, there's something mildly subversive going on. Far from the established norm which says that wives must be subservient to their husbands, Margaret and Henry's marriage is instead based on mutual respect. There is a clear connection between husband and wife in this marriage, which though wholly unaccountable, is nonetheless real. And in acknowledging that connection, and allowing each other to be themselves, Margaret and Henry are going against the grain of what Edwardian society expects from a married couple.