Viewing the Room

Theatrical release poster from 1985 film

Although the tradition of Grand Tours-- fashionable youths roaming the European continent-- had ended, one cannot help but feel its spirit lives on in the gaggle of on-lookers and sight-seers crowding St. Peter's Square or the Florence Cathedral every year. Tourism, no matter what era, remains the same.

However, a traveler on the early twentieth century will have an experience more akin to the Grand Tours. At the turn of the century, even as class barriers begin to crumble, travel was still dominated by the middle class. A female traveler in this era, for example, would travel with a chaperon—no respectable young female will be without one. She, like her itinerary, would embody convention.

That is the basic premise of A Room with a View, by E.M. Forster.

E.M. Forster lived in a time of great change: the old Victorian propriety was giving way to a younger, more liberal Edwardian attitude. A Room with a View depicts that transition through the spiritual growth of a young girl. This novel, comparatively speaking, is one of Forster’s lighter novels, and a romance. It addresses serious themes in a lighthearted manner: the clash between tradition and romanticism portrayed through the protagonist Lucy’s misadventures in love, and social critique in the foibles of his characters.

The novel’s plot is simple. A young girl (Lucy) heads to Italy and falls in love with a totally unsuitable man, George Emerson. Their affection is mutual; they kiss not once, but two times. This is completely unacceptable by conventional propriety. Lucy then returns to England, where she finds herself engaged to a dull urbanite, Cecil Vyse. Through a series of events, she is eventually reunited with her beloved George.

The plot being simple, one expects the story to progress relatively quickly. However, Forster derails the story with so much minute description and critique that the entire first half of the novel drags. Forster introduces characters such as Mr. Eager, who serve no function other than be a vehicle for Forster’s criticisms. The lecturing is subtle; Forster does an admittedly good job. But sadly, the consequence of his moralizing turns the first half into a bore.

The second half is where the novel picks up. Lucy returns to England and deals with her tangled relationships. The plot is considerably faster paced, with the jettisoning of useless characters, becoming much more enjoyable. The romantic tension between Lucy and George is resolved; there are no more random functionless characters. The introduction of Cecil Vyse is a coup: he is a ridiculous figure yet unaware of his foolishness, standing along Mrs. Bennet and Malvolio as a great satirical figure. As a reader, I personally felt the second half is strong enough to stand on its own. The long and contrived first half is not needed.

I do not agree with Katherine Manfield’s assertion that A Room with a View “warm[s] the teapot… but there aint… no tea”.  It is an enjoyable book and does offer valuable social insight. The beginning might be a “muddle” as Forster would say, but the whole book is not.