《天使不敢涉足的地方》是福斯特的第一部小说。在小说中，福斯特将英国与意大利进行对比，以此展现了人物在文化冲突中不同的反应。本文采用了文本细读和传记批评的研究方法，认为福斯特在小说中不仅揭示了个体在文化冲突中的成长，而且通过描写菲利普从非世界主义者蜕变为世界主义者，流露了他的世界主义情怀。 小说以世界主义之旅的结构展开，其中的人物则是这场旅途上的行者。一方面，福斯特对那些偏离世界主义方向的英国人进行了讽刺。他们以地方狭隘性，无根性和无行动力为特点。这使得他们无法包容文化差异、与当地人建立关系，也无法正视跨文化交际过程中的困难。另一方面，福斯特在小说中指出，具有“同理心”的爱和平等的自由才是实现世界主义的正确途径。这一观点呼应了福斯特关于个性与人性理论的关系的看法。福斯特认为，人性由“恐惧、爱和对自由的追求”三部分组成，其中，恐惧往往表现为束缚人性的社会规范，并进而剥夺了人们追求爱和自由的能力。小说的主人公菲利普通过克服英国传统的束缚，最终实现了对他者文化的理解和自我认知。在这个意义上，他实现了自我，并由此体现了世界主义的原则，即包容文化差异，平衡地方身份与世界主义的矛盾以及对个性的关注。

Where Angels Fear to Tread is E. M. Forster’s first novel. In the novel, England and Italy are set in contrast and Forster in this way reveals the characters’ various reactions to cultural conflicts. Through close reading of the novel and biographical criticism, this thesis argues that Forster not only concerns himself with the individual growth in the cultural collision, but also expresses his understanding of cosmopolitanism by depicting Philip’s improvement from non-cosmopolitan to cosmopolitan. Forster organizes the novel as a passage to cosmopolitanism and the characters in the novel are presented as the travelers. On the one hand, Forster satirizes the English strayers who deviate from the destination, cosmopolitanism. They are provincial, rootless and inactive. These traits render their travel futile in that they cannot embrace cultural differences, establish relationship with natives and confront the difficulties in intercultural communication. On the other hand, Forster illustrates what leads to cosmopolitanism, namely “simpatico” love and equal freedom. It corresponds to his view of the relationship between individuality and the components of human nature, “fear, love and a desire for personal freedom”. He believes that individuals are often fettered by the fear of violating social norms and therefore deprived of the ability to love and pursue freedom. In the novel, the protagonist, Philip, ultimately overcomes English conventions, learns to understand other cultures and achieves self-realization. His fulfillment of individuality presents the principles of cosmopolitanism, which show the tolerance of different cultures, the coordination between local identity and cosmopolitan belief and the emphasis on individuality.