Lucy Internal Conflict

In A Room with a View, Lucy struggles between doing what is expected of her and what she desires. This conflict negatively impacts her happiness and her possibility of a content future. Her inner turmoil results from the deep rooted issues within England’s society. The societal pressures contradict Lucy’s emotions, resulting in opposing behaviors and unrest. In A Room with a View by E.M. Forster, Lucy struggles with her passion conflicting with her responsibilities, and as a result, the faults of society’s class structure are revealed. Lucy, an upper middle class girl, loves George, a lower class boy. If she were to be with him, she would be a disappointment to her family and an insult to English society. Due to this, she agrees to marry

Her struggle is clearly shown in her polar behaviors. She gets engaged to Cecil; however, she then breaks off the engagement because she knows she does not love him. This drastic change in her decision reflects her internal endeavor because she gets engaged out of obligation but then ends the engagements when passion surpasses duty. Likewise, Lucy kisses George on more than one occasion, but then feels embarrassed and ashamed afterwards. She even refers to her kiss with him as an “insult” when speaking to Miss Bartlett (Ch. 16). This is similar to the struggle with Cecil; she kisses George but then societal pressure causes her to feel guilty. She behaves how she thinks she is expected to, “[feeling] that [she] ought to be offended with [George]” (Ch. 2). By initially rejecting her true emotions she is submitting herself to societal expectations. In short, it can be said that “Lucy's denial of her instinctive life is selfish fear in the guise of a socially acceptable abstraction” (Heath). These two ideas of passion and obligation clearly affect Lucy negatively. Her struggle’s importance to her life is evident in the fact that there can be no complete merriment in either decision she makes, and her decision will either conform to society or challenge the fundamental ideals of the British class system. If she marries Cecil, she will be miserable for the rest of her life, but she will belong in her community. If she marries George,