A Room with a View

E.M. Forster

A study guide by Laura Ryan

PART ONE

1. "The Bertolini"
Lucy Honeychurch and her cousin/chaperone, Charlotte Bartlett, are disappointed that their rooms in the Bertolini pension have no view. Mr Emerson and his son George overhear and offer to exchange rooms. Miss Bartlett is shocked and will not agree. The ladies are pleased to meet Mr Beebe, a clergyman whom they knew previously. Other guests include Miss Lavish and the two Miss Alans. They eventually decide to accept the Emersons' offer (having been reassured by Mr Beebe) and change rooms. Charlotte takes the room meant for Lucy and finds that George has left a piece of paper with a questionmark on the wall.

FOCUS ON:
Characters of Charlotte, Lucy and the Emersons
Relationship of Lucy and Charlotte
Motif of rooms and views

2. "In Santa Croce with no Baedeker."
The next day, Lucy wants to explore Florence, but Charlotte does not. Miss Lavish offers to accompany Charlotte to Santa Croce. The two get lost and Miss Lavish confiscates Lucy's travel guide (her Baedeker). Miss Lavish disappears to talk to someone leaving Lucy alone outside the church (Santa Croce) where she sees a child fall over and hurt himself. Mr Emerson appears to help him. Lucy feels sympathetic towards the Emersons, but is unwilling to accept their offer of company in the church. The noise made by Mr Emerson causes a clergyman (Mr Eager) and his party to leave. Mr Emerson tells Lucy about George's depression and suggests that Lucy should make friends with him. Eventually Charlotte turns up to 'rescue' Lucy.

FOCUS ON:
Characters of Lucy, Miss Lavish, the Emersons
The relationship between Lucy and Mr Emerson
The theme of religion

3. "Music, Violets and the Letter S."
Lucy plays piano at the Bertolini on a wet afternoon. Mr Beebe remembers the first time he met her, at a concert she gave in Tunbridge Wells. They talk about music and Miss Lavish, who has become friendly with Charlotte. Mr Beebe mocks The Miss Alans and Miss Lavish in a good-natured way. Mr Beebe thinks about planning an excursion of some sort in order to make the Emersons more popular. Lucy decides to go out, alone.

FOCUS ON:
Lucy's love of music
Character of Mr Beebe and his relationship with Lucy

4. "Fourth Chapter."
Lucy buys some photographs. She sees two Italian men arguing and one stabs the other. Then she sees George Emerson. He carries her to a seat since she is in shock. George goes to retrieve her photos, but they're covered in blood, so he throws them into the river. The two come close to an understanding of some sort - but don't carry it through.

FOCUS ON:
Difference between Italy and England
Character of George
Relationship between George and Lucy

5. "Possibilities of a Pleasant Outing."
Mr Beebe has planned a walk with the Emersons. Lucy and Charlotte do not want to go. They go out and meet Miss Lavish at the scene of the murder. Lucy declines to describe the incident to her. They meet Mr Eager. After criticising tourists, he invites them out for a drive with himself and Mr Beebe. He tries to find out about the murder. He goes on to gossip about the Emersons, saying that Mr Emerson murdered his wife. They arrange the trip.

FOCUS ON:
Character of Mr Eager
Contrast between 'respectability' and actual decency

6. "The Rev. Arthur Beebe etc. Drive out."
On the excursion, the young Italian driver stops to pick up his girlfriend. Mr Eager eventually notices that the driver and his girlfriend are kissing. Despite protests from Mr Emerson and Miss Lavish, Mr Eager insists that she gets out of the carriage and walks home. When the party arrives, Lucy, Charlotte and Miss Lavish walk off; however, the two older women wish to gossip about the Emersons and Lucy is sent away. She asks the driver where Mr Beebe ("the good man") is - he mistakenly sends her after the Emersons. She finds George in a field of violets. He kisses her, but Charlotte appears and sees them.

FOCUS ON:
Differences between Mr Eager, Mr Beebe and Mr Emerson
Relationship of George and Lucy
Use of symbolism

7. "They Return."
The coach trip appears to have been a failure for everyone. They return home without George who has disappeared. The coach driver has seen George kiss Lucy. There is a storm on the way home. They stop to decide whether to go back for George. Charlotte, meanwhile, bribes the driver to keep quiet. A huge support falls across the road in the spot where they might have been had they not stopped. Lucy tries to portray what happened with George as the result of schoolgirl silliness. Back at the pension, Charlotte and Lucy discuss what is to be done. Charlotte, who says that George has probably done this a lot, upsets Lucy. Charlotte decides they must leave for the Vyse's hotel in Rome the next morning. She makes Lucy promise not to tell anyone about what has happened. When George returns, Charlotte takes him off to talk to him.

FOCUS ON:
The driver's perception (showing the difference between Italy and England)
Pathetic fallacy
Character of Charlotte
Lucy's development
Relationship between George and Lucy

PART TWO

8. "Medieval."
Freddy and Mrs Honeychurch are at Windy Corner. Cecil Vyse is also there to propose to Lucy (for the third time). She accepts him. Her mother and brother seem to force themselves to be happy. Mr Beebe arrives. He and Cecil talk about Lucy before Mr Beebe finds out about the engagement. He too hides his disappointment. They all proceed, however, to have a tea party which seems to cheer everyone up.

FOCUS ON:
Characters of Cecil, Freddy and Mrs Honeychurch
Views of Lucy expressed by Cecil and Mr Beebe

9. "Lucy as a Work of Art."
Mrs Honeychurch, Cecil and Lucy attend a garden party. Cecil very obviously does not fit in. Going home, Lucy talks about Mr Eager and Mr Emerson. They meet Sir Harry Otway about his two houses. Lucy suggests that the Miss Alans stay there. In the house, Cecil asks permission to kiss Lucy and then does kiss her, clumsily. Lucy, clearly thinking of George, rather incongruously mentions Mr Emerson.

FOCUS ON:
Relationship between Cecil and Lucy (compare with Lucy and George)
Character of Cecil
Cecil's view of Lucy (note chapter title)

10. "Cecil as a Humorist."
Lucy, Mr Beebe, Mrs Honeychurch and Freddy are talking and playing around in the garden. The Miss Alans are due to take Sir Harry's house, but Freddy reveals that it has been let to the Emersons. Cecil arrives and tells Lucy that he set the whole thing up, planning to use the lower-class Emersons to punish Sir Harry for his supposed snobbery. Lucy expresses her disapproval.

FOCUS ON:
Theme of class and how different characters - Lucy, Cecil and Mrs Honeychurch - think of it

11. "In Mrs Vyse's Well-Appointed Flat."
Lucy, suppressing her feelings for George, receives a letter from Charlotte warning her that the Emersons have moved in nearby. She replies curtly. Lucy and Cecil go to London. Lucy plays Schumann, but not Beethoven, at Mrs Vyse's party. Mrs Vyse is much taken with her. Lucy is awakened by nightmares.

FOCUS ON:
How Lucy is changing
Theme of society and how it affects people (Lucy, Mrs Vyse)

12. "Twelfth Chapter."
Mr Beebe and Freddy visit the Emersons. Freddy invites George for a bathe and Mr Beebe goes too. The water cheers George up a little and when Mr Beebe joins in, all three start to play like young boys. Lucy, Cecil and Mrs Honeychurch, on their way to visit Mrs Butterworth, come along and meet them. George, wearing only trousers, re-introduces himself enthusiastically to Lucy.

FOCUS ON:
How nature is contrasted with society
Character of George

13. "How Miss Bartlett's Boiler was so Tiresome."
Returning from Mrs Butterworth's, Mrs Honeychurch tells Lucy that Cecil's rudeness is inexcusable. Lucy disagrees but seems to know that this is true. Freddy wants to invite the Emersons to play tennis on Sunday. Over dinner, Mrs Honeychurch insists on inviting Charlotte to stay while her boiler is being mended. Lucy is very confused - memories appear like 'ghosts' in her mind.

FOCUS ON:
Lucy's changing attitude towards Cecil and George
Mrs Honeychurch's character and her relationship with her children

14. "How Lucy Faced the External Situation Bravely."
Lucy is feeling under more pressure, but puts it down to 'nerves'. Charlotte arrives. She follows Lucy into the house and they discuss George. Charlotte is very concerned that Lucy will be 'found out'.

FOCUS ON:
Lucy's growing love for George
Forster's narrative technique - often addresses the reader directly

15. "The Disaster Within."
Returning from church, Lucy, Charlotte and Mrs Honeychurch go past the Emersons' house and stop to talk. That afternoon as Lucy is playing the piano, George slips in unannounced to play tennis with Freddy. All the younger people except Cecil play tennis. Cecil insists upon reading aloud from a badly written novel set in Florence. It turns out to be the work of Mrs Lavish, and contains a description of George kissing Lucy. Returning to the house, George kisses her again.

FOCUS ON:
Appearance of several motifs - light, views, music Comparison of Cecil and George

16. "Lying to George."
Lucy talks to Charlotte and finds out that she told Miss Lavish about the kiss in Florence. Lucy confronts George about his behaviour - he tells her that he loves her, but she will not respond in kind and he leaves, having told her that Cecil is wrong for her. Lucy overhears Cecil refusing to play tennis, finds him intolerable, and breaks off her engagement that evening.

FOCUS ON:
George's character
Lucy's continuing development
The relationship between George and Lucy

17. "Lying to Cecil."
Lucy tells Cecil that the engagement is off. He reacts in a dignified manner, accepting what she tells him. She goes to bed, telling herself that she will never marry anyone.

FOCUS ON:
Theme of male/female relations
Theme of emotional integrity
Character of Cecil
Lucy's development
Dark/light imagery

18. "Lying to Mr Beebe, Mrs Honeychurch, Freddy and the Servants."
On his way to Windy Corner, Mr Beebe meets Freddy and Cecil. They chat for a moment, and Freddy comes back briefly to tell Mr Beebe that the engagement is off. Mr Beebe goes to see Lucy and reads her a letter from the Miss Alans where they make plans for a trip to Greece. Lucy wants to go too. Mr Beebe takes his niece and Charlotte to tea. He doesn't want Lucy to go away, but Charlotte does and persuades him to agree and to speak to Mrs Honeychurch about it. She eventually agrees to let Lucy go. Lucy, meanwhile, is playing a song about 'vacant hearts' on the piano.

FOCUS ON:
Lucy's development, or lack of it.
Mr Beebe's attitude to Lucy and to love

19. "Lying to Mr Emerson."
Lucy argues with her mother while shopping, and Mrs Honeychurch tells her that she is turning into Charlotte. They go to Mr Beebe's house to pick up Charlotte. Mrs Honeychurch, Charlotte and Mr Beebe go to church, leaving Lucy with Mr Emerson. He knows what has happened and tells her to be honest and to marry George. He reveals that his wife died of depression, and that he and George are planning to move away.

FOCUS ON:
Lucy's continued development
Mr Beebe compared to Mr Emerson
The theme/motif of 'muddle'
The theme of religion
The theme of love

20. "The End of the Middle Ages."
A few months later, Lucy and George are in Florence after their wedding. They have been married, it seems, against the wishes of Lucy's mother. They realise that Charlotte allowed Lucy to have the conversation with Mr Beebe that caused her to change her mind about marrying George.

FOCUS ON:
Character of Charlotte
Completion of themes.

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