A Room with a View 453nish her reputation. Lucy does not see the scandal
in switching to George’s room or exploring Italy
on her own. Charlotte, while not being a very loyal
friend, certainly has more experience with matters of
gossip than Lucy does. As Charlotte predicted, the
story of George kissing Lucy finds its way into Miss
Lavish’s novel. Lucy is horrified when she realizes
the romance in the novel mimics her own encounter
in the Italian field of violets. The scene, filled with
language such as, “he simply enfolded her in his
manly arms,” sounds even more risqué than Lucy’s
actual experience. Suddenly, Charlotte’s warnings
seem more meaningful.
Other characters are less thoughtful than Lucy
when it comes to rebellion. Their brutal honesty
reveals innocent ambivalence to etiquette. When
Cecil asks Freddy if he is happy about Lucy’s
engagement, Freddy admits, “I had to say no. He
ought never to have asked me.” Minnie, the rector’s
niece, likewise blatantly refuses to attend church.
In her “church protesting” Minnie questions, “why
shouldn’t she sit in the sun with young men?”
The nature of Minnie’s protest is not on religious
grounds, but instead shows her opposition to follow-
ing the rest of the women in a dull activity. By asking
the reason for going to church, she points out how
it is more of a social than religious obligation. She
also inadvertently reveals that there is a wider range
of freedoms allowed for men than women.
Although George asserts that “love and youth
matter intellectually,” the end of the novel raises
doubts as to whether these virtues will flourish for
long. Lucy and George try to escape English society
to avoid conflict. The novel’s end treats the situation
as though the couple has found a haven away from
social connections. They act as though in a foreign
country social codes are nonexistent. While Lucy
and George have found freedom to grow up as they
please, they remain largely inexperienced and their
idyllic views show a lot of naiveté.
Elizabeth Walpole
nature in A Room with a View
Many of the most significant events in A Room with
a View occur outdoors. Forster seems to suggest that
when the characters are in nature, they can behave
more naturally. In a novel where manners and social
standing carry great importance, being in nature
gives characters moments away from judgmental
eyes. Nature affords them privacy and extended
space for expression.
For example, the characters enjoy Italy’s coun-
tryside by planning a group picnic. While Char-
lotte fusses about catching a draft from the damp
ground, Lucy treks through the woods. She fol-
lows the Italian driver through dense undergrowth
and brush to see George. During this walk, Lucy
feels that “for the first time she felt the influence
of Spring.” When she sees George it is as though
nature has set him up as a suitor, since he is sur-
rounded by “violets [that] ran down in rivulets and
streams and cataracts, irrigating the hillside with
blue.” The overwhelming beauty of her surround-
ings heightens her surprise and intensifies her reac-
tion to George’s presence.
George and his father express a special apprecia-
tion for nature. Their last name, “Emerson,” refers
to Ralph Waldo Emerson, a 19th-century Ameri-
can author. He was part of the Transcendentalist
movement, which valued nature and individualism.
His writings, similar to the Emerson characters’
behavior, rebelled against society’s usual philosophi-
cal and spiritual beliefs. The Emersons in A Room
with a View display their love of nature when they
“picked violets and filled all the vases in the room
of . . . the Miss Alans.” The Miss Alans react to the
gesture by calling it, “so ungentlemanly and yet so
beautiful.” The Emersons appreciate the flowers’
potential to bring great happiness. In a very natu-
ral way, they behave according to their instinct of
goodwill and do not pause to consider the strange-
ness of such a gift.
Cecil, in contrast, pretends to be an expert on
nature, which he calls the “simplest of topics.” His
confidence, however, is unfounded and seems even
more false in the presence of Lucy, who grew up
in the country. Cecil points out to Lucy, “I had got
an idea—I dare say wrongly—that you feel more
at home with me in a room . . . Never in the real
country like this.” Cecil’s comment is accurate, as it
relates to Lucy demanding to leave Florence imme-
diately after George kissed her at the field of violets.
The discomfort that Cecil recognizes applies to his
own feelings as well. He feels equally nervous being