When the book is set, upper middle class women in England in the early 1900s are beginning to lead more independent, adventurous lives. Miss Lucy Honeychurch journeys through Italy with her extremely fussy spinster cousin Miss Charlotte Bartlett, who also acts as a chaperone, in the first chapter. When the book begins, the women of Florence's Pensione Bertolini are complaining about their quarters.
The young woman in the Edwardian era of England's traditional society is the subject of E. M. Forster's 1908 novel A Room with a View. The story, which takes place in both England and Italy, blends a love story with a playful investigation of English society at the turn of the 20th century. A popular film adaptation was produced by Merchant Ivory in 1985.
They were given apartments that looked out onto a dreary courtyard despite being promised ones with views of the River Arno. When Mr. Emerson, a different guest, spontaneously offers to move rooms, they are involved in "peevish wrangling." He claims that "Women prefer staring at a vista; men don't," despite the fact that he and his son George both have rooms with views of
Charlotte rejects the suggestion in part because she finds the Emersons' unconventional way of life offensive and because she thinks it would force them to shoulder a "unseemly obligation." Another guest, Mr. Beebe, an Anglican priest, convinces Charlotte to accept the offer; she then claims that the Emersons are socialists.
Table of Contents Part 1
In addition to finding the Emersons' unconventional lifestyle distasteful, Charlotte opposes the idea because she believes it would subject them to a "unseemly responsibility." Charlotte is persuaded to accept the offer by another visitor, Mr. Beebe, an Anglican priest; she then asserts that the Emersons are socialists. |
Lucy meets the Emersons inside the church. Lucy learns that she likes them both and runs into them frequently while visiting Florence, despite the impressions that the other visitors had of Mr. Emerson's behavior being a touch disagreeable. While exploring Piazza della Signoria, George Emerson and Lucy Emerson each see a different murder. Lucy is too horrified to stand up on her own, so George has to help her. Once she is identified, she instructs him to locate the images she left behind not far from the murder scene.
When George discovers them, Lucy remarks on how boyish he is, but because they are covered in blood, he throws them into the river without telling her. They pause by the River Arno for a private discussion before returning to the pensione.
Lucy goes in search of Mr. Beebe while leaving Miss Lavish and Miss Bartlett to chat on a hillside. After misinterpreting Lucy's terrible Italian, the driver points Lucy in the direction of George who is enjoying the view. In the middle of a field of violets, he is taken by Lucy's beauty and grabs her in his arms and kisses her. They are interrupted by Charlotte, who is shocked and incensed but is more troubled by her own failure as a chaperone. Charlotte gets Lucy's word that she won't tell her mother about the "insult" George gave Charlotte. The two women leave for Rome the next day before Lucy has a chance to say goodbye to George.
