A Room With A View

How Setting Affects Society’s Influence on the Individual

In E.M. Forster’s A Room With a View, society’s influence on Lucy is emphasized throughout the novel through the usage of setting. This is most apparent to the reader in the contrast between the events that take place in Italy compared to those that happen in England, when concerning Lucy’s feelings towards George and Cecil. Whilst in Italy, the setting used allows the reader to fully understand how Lucy can be free and passionate due to Italy being connected to spontaneity and adventure whereas with the setting used in England, she has to be conservative and keep her feelings to herself, being as that she is afraid of being judged and ridiculed by the English people that she has surrounded

This new adventure in Italy is dramatically different from her usual reality shown when the author describes Florence as being “a magic city where people thought and did the most extraordinary things...the power, perhaps, to evoke passions, good and bad, and bring them speedily to a fulfillment” (Forester 44). Through these experiences, such as the murder scene and the kiss with George, England no longer serves as home for Lucy and instead she sees it as dull and empty. This is shown when Forester says, “So the grittiness went out of life. It generally did at Windy Corner.” (112) By saying this, the author shows how Lucy’s childhood home of Windy Corner is boring and flat, especially when compared to the excitement of Italy. This setting comparison is most evident through the two very different kisses that occur in Italy and in England. Lucy’s kiss with George in Italy has a sense of euphoria and freedom shown when Forester

The words, “fallen” and “fallen out of heaven” shows the comparison of Lucy to an angel. This can be connected to Lucy’s purity in the beginning of the novel, before she matures and fully experiences her coming of age. The imagery shown through the usage of the words, “violet”, “rivulets”, “streams”, “cataracts”, “irrigating”, “eddying”, “pools”, “azure foam”, “well-head”, and “water” create the image of there being so many violets that it looks like water. This beautiful scenery creates a whimsical and romantic tone and shows how the scenery greatly affects George and Lucy and leads them to give in to a moment of passion. This is especially seen in Lucy, who allows the beauty to overcome her and forgets about the judgment she could face from Charlotte and her family by allowing herself to have feelings for someone like George, who is from a different part of society than she is. In this way, society influence on Lucy lessens and she allows herself more freedom and