Lucy In A Room With A View

England and Italy may look close on a map, but they couldn’t be more divided in terms of excitement, attitude, and atmosphere. Lucy experiences this contrast head-on in E.M. Forster’s novel, A Room With A View. The carefree energy of Florence collides with the quiet, uptight lifestyle of the English countryside, and this contrast, especially in the early 20th century, is the most important aspect of this book as a whole.

Florence, described by the narrator as having “the power, perhaps, to evoke passions, good and bad, and bring them speedily to a fulfillment” (44), is a far cry from the humdrum life of England. In the span of a few days, Lucy is gradually absorbed by what’s around her. In the first chapter, however, she is still restricted. She arrives at her hotel, a forced parody of English living, and wonders to herself in confusion, “is this really Italy?” (7). Lucy wants to escape from those restraints, and eventually she does, falling in love with George. In fact, her loving experiences with him are some of the only signs of true human feeling we see, pushing Forster’s critique of British society further.
Lucy was unaware of her social restraints until she got to know Mr.
Emerson, a man who didn’t know how, or simply refused, to play the chess match of social gain. She starts to feel upset that he is being berated and looked down upon by the others, even by people in her own family. Lucy’s trip to Florence was her wake-up call to the inequality and judgemental nature of her home, and she doesn’t want that anymore. George, Mr. Emerson’s son, can be seen as Lucy’s partner in becoming aware of this. When they witness a gruesome murder together, both of them realize that life isn’t simple or routine as they had known it to be, shown when Lucy feels that “she, as well as the dying man, had crossed some spiritual boundary” (34). After their kiss, though, Lucy is whisked back to
England.

After we are introduced to her uptight family and her foolish fiance, Cecil Vyse, the Emersons come to England. Lucy is confused about who she truly loves: George, her momentous fling, or Cecil, her planned partner. She confuses love with her societal obligations, the same obligations that defined much of the “Edwardian era” this novel was written in. England was just starting to thaw out of the conservative mindset of the Victorian era. While some women were beginning to bend the rules of society, many were still locked in to them, including Charlotte and Lucy themselves. When she escapes with George to Florence, she is breaking society’s hold on her.

The contrast between the lively equality of Italy and the uptight deceit of England heavily contributes to Lucy’s realization and journey in A Room With A View. After her travels abroad, she simply cannot return to her simple life back home, and she becomes aware of how much she really values love and freedom.