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.
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