A Room With A View Analysis

To what extent do you agree with the view that Forster makes it obvious to the reader in chapters 1 – 4 of ‘A Room with a View’ that Lucy Honeychurch and George Emerson will fall in love?
‘A Room with a View’ by E.M. Forster was first published in 1908, and heavily involves the literary genre of Bildungsroman: the psychological journey and maturity of a character. In the case of ‘A Room with a View’, this character is Lucy Honeychurch, a young woman bound by Edwardian society’s expectations of both her social class and her gender. The omniscient narrator in ‘A Room with a View’ gives us an insight into the relationship between Lucy and George, and there are a variety of ways in which Forster suggests that they will fall in love, as well as
‘A Room with a View’ was published at a time when a strict class hierarchy permeated all aspects of life, and those of different social class did not tend to mix. From the beginning of the novel it is shown that the Emersons are below Lucy and the “better class of tourists” in this hierarchy. Indeed, Lucy herself considers them to be “ill-bred” and tactless. This suggests that the differing social classes of Lucy and George will act as a barrier to their love, either because of Lucy’s own prejudices or because of the disapproval of others who hold great respect for this social hierarchy. Lucy’s inability to form and follow her own opinions at this stage of the novel also lets Forster cast doubt onto whether the two characters will fall in love. Although Lucy is described as having a “rebellious spirit”, she is also a young girl who was raised in a society where women, especially those belonging to the upper classes, were not expected to develop their own opinions. Instead, Lucy relies heavily on the opinions of those she thinks of as her betters. She asks Mr Beebe if Mr Emerson is “nice or not nice”, likes art by “every well-known name”, and is content to let her cousin make her decisions for her. This shows that Lucy follows the opinions and judgements of others rather than her own. As the majority of those around Lucy would disapprove of a relationship between her and George, Forster makes the reader question whether Lucy will break out of the pre-formed ideas that society has cast on her and follow her heart, or if she will stay as the “poor girl” who is controlled by social etiquette. With Lucy having “rejoined her cousin” at the end of chapter 2, and been shown to be content to “return to the old life” after the events of