A Room With A View

A room with a view

Introduction :

Biography of the author : Forster became a writer shortly after graduating from King's College. His first novels were products of that particular time, he tells us stories about the changing social conditions during the decline of Victorianism. His convictions are that men and women should keep in touch with the land to cultivate their imaginations. He developed this theme in his first novels, Where Angels Fear to Tread and The Longest Journey (1907), followed by the comic novel A Room With a View (1908), which concerns the experience of a young British woman, Lucy Honeychurch, in Italy. Today, many people know of E.M. Forster due to the many film adaptations of his work. Titles by Forster that are immortalized not only on the page but also on film include A Passage to India (1984), A Room with a View (1986), Where Angels Fear to Tread (1991), and Howards End (1991).

I/ Summary

Part 1 :

• Lucy Honeychurch, a young English woman, is vacationing with her cousin, Charlotte Bartlett, in an Italian pension for British guests. At the beginning of the novel they are in Florence. While watching the poor views outside their windows, Lucy and Charlotte are interrupted by another guest, an old man by the name of Emerson. Mr. Emerson offers them a room swap; he and his son George are both in rooms that offer beautiful views of Florence. Charlotte refuses because she thinks that it’s dishonorable for a woman to accept such an offer from a man. But later that evening, after the arrival of another guest, a clergyman named Mr. Beebe, Charlotte accepts the offer. Then the next other days, Lucy continue to stay and talk with the Emersons, even if they are socially unacceptable because they are too snob, Lucy likes them. One day, while Lucy is walking alone in Florence, she witnesses a murder. George Emerson is there at the same time, and he catches her when she faints. On the way home, they have an intimate conversation and George stirs up feelings in Lucy that she is not ready to face, and for that she takes the decision not to see him again. However. Later that week the various British travelers are on an excursion on the top of a hill near to Florence, and everybody disperse and walk around the hills, and Lucy finds herself alone, then as a coincidence she finds herself face-to-face with George. He kisses her, but the kiss is interrupted by Charlotte. The next day, Lucy and Charlotte leave for Rome.

Part 2 :

• Part 2 begins several months later. We are back at Windy Corner, the Honeychurch home in Surrey, England. In Rome, Lucy spent a lot of time with a man named Cecil Vyse, a man she already knew before her trip on Italy. In Italy, Cecil proposed to marry Lucy twice, but as an incertain women she rejected him both times. As Part 2 begins, Cecil is proposing yet again. This time, she accepts. Now that they are engaged, Cecil and Lucy must spend time with Lucy's neighbors and friends to officialize their relation. Cecil dislikes Lucy's brother, Freddy, and is not very fond of Lucy's mother. But Lucy understand it. At Charlotte's request, she has never told anyone about her kiss with George. But one day Lucy is forced to face George Emerson again. She continues her engagement to Cecil, even though signs indicate that she is anxious about the marriage. To the reader, it is obvious that they are completely unsuitable for each other, but Lucy persists in the engagement, maybe for some security, even if she is not completely happy.

On Sunday, Cecil refuses to play tennis with Freddy. During that time Lucy prefer to read a British novel. She soon realizes that the novel is written by Miss Lavish, a woman who stayed at their pension in Florence. Cecil reads a particularly humorous passage aloud, and soon realized that it’s the description of her kiss with George. The names are different, but the situation is unmistakable. She realizes that Charlotte told Miss Lavish what happened, and has the impression to have been betray. George is also present for the reading of the passage. On the way back to the house, George catches Lucy alone in the garden and kisses her again. The reader can see that their love is reciproque and really strong. After this other kiss, George argues with her passionately. He tells her that Cecil is unsuitable for her, that he will never love her enough to want her to be independent. George loves her for who she is. Lucy is shaken by his words. George leaves, heartbroken. However, later that night, Cecil refuses again to play tennis with Freddy. Something in his refusal makes Lucy see him truthfully for the first time. She breaks off the engagement that night, because she has faced the reality. After this, she decides to go to Greece but before her leaving she meet Mr Emerson and decides to tell him the truth and the old man soon realize that this women has deep feelings for his son.

The novel closes in Florence, where George and Lucy are spending their honeymoon.. Things are difficult with her family because her mother was disagree with this engagment, but there is hope that it will get better.

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