Beni DiVasta

HSS 207
Weekly Response #8

In E.M. Foresters A Room with a View space and place are themes that affect the
characters and the storyline of the novel. While they are visiting Italy the characters undergo a
change, a change that will stay with them throughout the rest of the story.
Perhaps the most significant change, however, was the change the reader sees in Lucy
upon her return from Italy. Before going to Italy she was seen as nave and sheltered. However,
from her experiences in Italy, the witness of the murder and a gain of independence and self,
Lucy comes back to England as a changed woman. She no longer wants to be doted on by a man
but becomes more self-sufficient and begins to speak her mind more openly with Cecil and with
others.
Cecil is one of the first to notice this change within Lucy, Forester explains, The day she
had seemed a typical touristshrill, crude, and gaunt with travel. But Italy worked some marvel
in her. It gave her light, and whichhe held more preciousit gave her shadow (Forester, 138).
This observation of his shows that Lucy, prior to her trip to Italy was spoiled and privileged, but
Italy gave her a new sense of appreciation for those around her and her own social standing in
life. However, Lucy is still seen by Cecil as someone who is lesser in terms of knowledge. He is
rather condescending towards her, on page 154 after Lucy made a remark about someone being
nice Forester writes, Cecil laughed at her feminine inconsequence. This remark shows that
while Cecil has an appreciation for Lucy, he still looks down on her due to her femininity.
However, in the novel Cecil comes to a realization about Lucy and her own inner rebel,
and what it then means. A rebel she was, but not of the kind he understooda rebel who
desired, not a wider dwelling room, but equality beside the man she loved. For Italy was offering
her the most priceless of all possessionsher own soul (Forester, 172). This quote is a critical
one in the novel. This quote shows Cecil understanding Lucy and her desires more. The part in
which he mentions that she does not desire a larger living room is one of importance. Earlier in
the novel Cecil and Lucy face a disagreement because she sees Cecil as a room, and not a view.
While Lucy does not consider this to be a bad thing, Cecil take offense to it. But here Cecil
realizes that Lucy is not looking for a room, she is looking for a view. She desires equality,
something that Italy has made her realize. The views in Italy to Lucy were more than just
picturesque, they were a new perspective for her as to how she wants to be treated and that she
wants to be taken seriously by everyone, especially Cecil, to whom she is engaged.
This perhaps is foreshadowing in the novel. Forester here is saying that Lucy maybe does
not want Cecil in the long term and that they will not be happy together because he is a room and
she does not care for a room, she wants more than that in order to have a sense of self-fulfillment
and satisfaction in her life. There is no way to predict whether Cecil and Lucy will eventually
end up getting married or not, but this quote shows that there may be a potential block they will
need to move past in the near future in order to continue with their engagement.
Overall, A Room With A View plays upon space and place as a way to show the changes in
the characters of the novel. Lucy though, is the most dramatic change that comes from their trip
to Italy. This is something that readers should not ignore while reading the story because it may
be significant later in the novel.