Stevens’ first real view of England has been very broad and undefined, with very little detail and the villages and inhabitants of the landscape hidden by the folds of the hills. However, as he travels deeper into the view, his perspective alters and he gains a closer and much sharper focus. He encounters people and different opinions and life becomes more defined and contenscious. The pervading sense of mystery, shrouding the landscape is gently stripped away, revealing its true colours and secrets, similarly the hidden character and feelings of Stevens are exposed.
In ‘A Room with a View’ water features as a powerful element that flows through the book, like an extended metaphor, linking events and people. Lucy is drawn to the river Arno, which is like the power of love drawing people along with its unstoppable force, finding a way over or around any obstacle obstructing its way. Water is vital for life, it can change its shape and has it own language, so too, is the love and affection contained within this book. At first, the Arno is ‘gurgling’, a sound reminiscent of the delightful, innocent noise made by a baby. So the reader is reminded of Lucy’s innocence and vulnerability, as she sees and hears but does not recognize the emotions and sensations that she is about to experience. We next read of the Arno when it is ‘gushing’, ‘black in the advancing night.’, like an alarm call to Lucy and warning of the impending danger that is unrecognized and unheeded. George Emerson has just rescued Lucy from a difficult and distressing situation; a man has been murdered and Lucy feints. George admits to throwing her photographs away as they were covered with the man’s blood and the ‘truth’ of the situation and his honesty with her, releases a ‘gush’ of emotion within her. He has been brutally frank and honest with her, lacking in ‘chivalry’ but allowing her to be affected by the harshness and reality of the real world. The river now becomes a roar ‘suggesting some unexpected melody in her ears.’ The reader is made aware of a shift in her feelings towards George but the naïve and inexperienced Lucy is unable to identify what is gradually happening to her, aware only that something is disturbing her. The ‘melody’ of the river is a strong link with Lucy’s piano playing. She has favourite pieces which affect her emotionally and it is significant that ‘Lucy never knew her desires so clearly as after music’, Her desires identify with the powerful melody which is repeated and flows through a piece of music just as she is affected by the ‘melody’ or sound of the river Arno in Italy. The literary irony increases the tension for the reader and they become more personally involved with the characters in the story.
‘The Remains of the Day’ and ‘ A Room with a View’ both contain descriptions of a pond and both are situated in England. The pond in ‘The Remains of the Day’ is in a ‘most charming spot’ and it is not a ‘large’ pond. The road to it is narrow and twisting, with thick foliage either side so that ‘one found one’s eyes struggling to cope with the sudden contrasts of bright sunshine and deep shade’. This parallels Stevens’ journey so far and the personal struggles he has had to overcome to arrive at this point in time. Mortimer’s Pond is not entirely natural and trees have been planted around its perimeter to provide shade for the fishermen, a considerate and functional provision, as is the bench upon which Stevens sits to contemplate the view. The people at this pond are ‘seated quietly with their fishing rods’, there are a dozen or so figures but Stevens is unable to distinguish any of them due to the strong light and shade. The still water reflects the sky and the atmosphere is tranquil, time seems almost to stand still, the people frozen in time. The pond acts like a full stop and causes Stevens to stop and reflect upon earlier incidents and his reaction to them. The details have been faded out of the scene before him and he has only abstract shapes to consider. There is little distraction and his own thoughts come to the surface and demand an explanation, as he is forced to analyse his responses and look hard at his own refection and self image. He is able to recall past events ‘ here in the calm that surrounds this pond.’, rationalizing and reassuring himself. Overall the scene is one of peaceful reflection and contemplation and another single snapshot recording a meaningful moment in Stevens’s journey.
By contrast, the pond in “A Room with a View’ has the grand title of the Sacred Lake, a figurative name which indicates the special associations it holds for Lucy and her precious childhood memories. As a child, the pond would have appeared to be a lake and much larger than it actually was and a ‘sacred’ object is something revered and protected. The reader first encounters the Sacred Lake when Lucy and Cecil chance upon the pool set amongst the pines – ‘another tiny green alp, solitary this time’ a reference back to the Italian alps where Lucy had received her first, spontaneous and disturbing kiss from George. Lucy now receives her first kiss from Cecil which is clumsy and ridiculous and considered to be a ‘failure’ by Cecil. Ironically, Cecil considers that passion should be ‘irresistible, it should never ask for leave where there is a right of way’, that ‘women revere men for their manliness’, which describes George Emerson’s actions in Italy. When Cecil and Lucy are at the Sacred Lake it is ‘only a puddle’, fed by a stream which can swell after heavy rain, transforming the pool into something ‘quite large and beautiful’. In this state, the pool is indicative of the love and relationship of Cecil and Lucy, insignificant and lacking the force to make it a large and beautiful experience for them both, accentuated even more by the dismal failure of the kiss.
When Lucy returns to the pond it has been transformed to its flooded magnificence and is bursting with life and vitality. It has become a ’momentary chalice for youth’ as George, Freddy and Mr Beebe throw off their clothes and swim and play in the pool. Initially, George had been indifferent, standing ‘Michelangelesque on the flooded margin’, a literary reference back to the sculptures of Italy, which provides the reader with a very clear image. Suddenly the bank gives way, tipping him into the water before he has ‘weighed the question properly’, similar to the way people are sometimes described as falling in love, helplessly and suddenly, without careful consideration. George’s ducking can also be interpreted as a ‘baptism’, a sacramental rite of admission to the Christian church and a new beginning, so he is submerged into the Sacred Lake, which is very precious and meaningful to Lucy.
This scene is so totally different to the previous one at the Sacred Lake. Lucy is caught in the sunlight and abandonment of the moment, unprepared for this meeting with George, who is ‘radiant and personable against the shadowy woods’ as he greets her ‘with the shout of the morning star’, the planet Venus, seen in the east before sunrise. This supports the imagery of George as a god seen in a romantic pastoral setting, wild, natural and mysterious. Mrs Honeychurch fails to recognize George but reminds Lucy to bow to him. Ironically, this appears as an act of homage to an Adonis and links back to her earlier vision of George amongst the violets in Italy when she said that he looked ‘like someone in a book…Heroes – gods – the nonsense of schoolgirls.’ The audience understands the effect that George is having on Lucy, but still she fails to appreciate that they are falling in love. Later that night, the water runs away and the pool shrinks back to its old size. However, the memories of the day remain and become part of Lucy’s associations with the Sacred Lake which has had a catalytic effect on her perception of George. As relationships change and develop so does the Sacred Lake.
Flowers provide significant imagery, especially in E M Forster’s ‘A Room with a View’ when a romantic Italian cab driver picks Lucy a bunch of ‘great blue violets’ which encourages her to feel the ‘influence of spring’. He leads her to a place where a ‘great profusion of violets’ grown wild. The influence of spring is an allusion to the emotions and sexual instincts, which are associated with the spring and just as Lucy views the river Arno through the woods, she falls down a steep slope into a sea of violets. They run in ’rivulets and streams and cataracts, irrigating the hillside with blue, eddying…collecting into pools.. .azure foam…the well-head, the primal source…gushed out to water the earth.’ This extended metaphor using flowers, describes the beauty and power of water, an unstoppable force, vital and overwhelming. George is overcome by the beauty and passion of the moment and ‘standing on the brink’ dives in and kisses Lucy, who has literally and metaphorically fallen at his feet. As if they were in water, they are both swept away by love and romance.
Another example of imagery using flowers is when Mrs Honeychurch tries to save her dahlias in the garden at Windy Corner. These stiff, upright flowers, not ideally suited for her particular garden, have been carefully nurtured for months and just as they blossom, are ‘taken and broken’ by the wind, which causes havoc. This coincides with the announcement by Lucy that she wishes to go to Constantinople following the end of her engagement to Cecil. The dahlias in the garden remind the reader of Cecil, upright and pretentious and unsuited to life in the countryside and his relationship with Lucy unlikely to thrive and blossom. This contrasts with the relationship between George and Lucy which appears to be growing stronger and is symbolized by the violets in Italy, growing wild and strong in profusion. Miss Bartlett observes that ‘more than dahlias had been broken off by the autumn gales.’ Mrs Honeychurch, ‘who hated all changes’ is upset by the havoc caused in the garden by the wind and also in her life by the decisions made by Lucy.
In ‘A Room with a View’, the flowers referred to have been growing naturally outside, either wild or cultivated, and surrounded by dramatic events. However, the flowers in ‘The Remains of the Day’ are used in a more understated and subtle manner. Stevens casually recalls how he remembers on ‘at least three occasions’ Miss Kenton ‘tried to introduce flowers to my pantry’, which she perceptively likened to a ‘prison cell’ where one could imagine ‘a condemned man spending their last hours.’ The flowers are rejected as Stevens considers his room a ‘crucial office…a general’s headquarters during a battle’. The flowers represent Miss Kenton’s offer of affection, a gift from her to him, personal, intimate and feminine but just as flowers picked from the garden eventually wither and die, so does the possible affection between them. Stevens prefers the ‘fine professional understanding’ that they have between them, it is ordered and precise and he is unable to accept a more personal relationship and the risk that it involves and fails to take the opportunity afforded him until it is too late. Eventually, he considers that she has become too familiar and the ‘evening Miss Kenton came into my pantry uninvited may have marked a crucial turning point’ . There exists a sexual tension, which Stevens is threatened by and he resolves to ‘re-establishing our professional relationship’ and turns her away.
When Stevens embarks on his journey the weather if settled and fine, causing him little discomfort or inconvenience. However, as he nears the end of his journey and the meeting with Miss Kenton becomes imminent, ‘Ominous storm clouds appear in the sky’. Diners eating outside are forced back inside ‘looking rather lost’, the rain falls with such ‘ferocity’ that people stop eating ‘just to stare’ and time appears to have stood still for a moment. The change in the weather indicates that all may not be as Stevens had imagined and the tension increases, as the reader anticipates the forthcoming encounter, drama being heightened by the apparent halting of time as the storm breaks. The suddenness and shock of the storm illustrates how Stevens is unprepared and surprised by the outcome of the meeting with Miss Kenton. Each day has started with ‘bright morning sunshine’ but now the light in the rooms is ‘extremely gloomy’, creating a depressing and pessimistic scene. As Stevens realizes that Miss Kenton will not be returning to Darlington Hall with him, she sits with the ’bleak light falling on her face’, his plans dashed just as the weather unexpectedly ruins people’s plans. The continued sunny days had given Stevens a false sense of security, with little indication of the storm brewing just over the horizon.
Brief descriptions of the weather are included when Stevens senior suffers a stroke. Mr Stevens hastens to his father in the corridor, the window at that moment ‘filled with grey light and rain’, accentuating the somber and serious atmosphere as Stevens senior, ‘an ashen colour’ with ‘beads of sweat on his forehead’ is frozen in a posture suggesting ‘some ceremonial ritual’. The light and the rain seem to mirror the appearance of the old man, frozen in time as one who has died, cold and unable to move. Another scene involving Stevens senior is a memory shared by Mr Stevens and Miss Kenton. They are on the second floor corridor, warmed by ‘orange shafts from the sunset’ with Miss Kenton ‘silhouetted against a window’, creating a warm, reflective and intimate atmosphere. They watch Stevens senior walking in the garden below, the lengthening shadows of the poplars fall across the lawn as the sun sinks in the sky and the light fades. This creates a poignant image, mindful of the fact that Stevens senior is near the end of his days and the end of an era. His day is ending and fading just as the day is ending and the daylight is turning to darkness. The sun also turns Miss Kenton into a black silhouette, just an outline without features like a shadow of what was, set against the bright and warm outside.
The weather in ‘A Room with a View’ also runs parallel to events and feelings. In Italy the days are hot and sunny, full of optimism and energy, marred only by the unpredictable and invisible breeze; ‘The dust blew in her eyes’ causing Lucy some momentary discomfort and possibly distorting her vision. An indication to the reader that perhaps all is not perfect and as clear cut as it would seem and that emotions can also interfere with people’s views.
After George kisses Lucy in the idyllic Italian landscape, the returning party are warned of the ‘swift approach of bad weather’ and the ‘rain and darkness’ arrive together. This echoes the pessimistic consequences of the kiss, as predicted by Charlotte Bartlett and the exact feelings of Lucy at that time as she struggles to understand her emotions and the actions of George. The whole group are unprepared for the vehemence of the storm and the tension increases. The fear is compounded as an overhead line crashed down, barely missing the carriages, causing more distress and turmoil within the party and also Lucy, as Charlotte discusses the repercussions of the kiss, witnessed by the cab driver who ‘saw it all.’ ‘I want not to be muddled’ says an exhausted Lucy as she and Charlotte continue a battle of wills inside as the elements battle outside.
The stormy weather continues in England when Lucy breaks off her engagement to Cecil and announces her intention to go to Greece. Her actions receive a mixed reception and just as the ‘summer was retreating’ and the weather ‘breaking up’, the atmosphere at Windy Corner becomes dismal and unsettled. Mr Beebe predicts that ‘we shall have darkness’ a reflection of his reaction to Lucy’s proposals, ‘I can’t explain – it’s wrong.’ Mrs Honeychurch battles in the garden but ‘It gets too dark’, as she endeavours to sort out the havoc in her flower beds and tries to understand why ‘Lucy wants to go to Greece. I don’t know what the world’s coming to.’ She needs light to see what is happening but there is none – physically or metaphorically. Lucy and her mother return from a shopping trip in the pouring rain and have an argument which leaves them both feeling much like the weather, miserable and dejected. Raindrops drip like tear drops onto their carriage from the trees as the rain stops, enabling them to stop and put the hood down, resulting in the discovery that the Emersons have left Cissie Villa.
The references to nature and landscape in ‘The Remains of the Day’ are subtle, understated and elegant, reflecting the writing style of Kazuo Ishiguro. The meandering drive through the English countryside, the unexpected glimpses of beauty spots and encounters with the local population, reflect the gradual unraveling of the character of Stevens, his memories and opinions and also his self evaluation and self discovery. The journey is contemplative and relaxed, interspersed with unplanned stops and diversions, themselves illuminating and reflective. The key events supported by dramatic changes in the weather which are short lived but effective. The story evolves slowly and the tension and drama builds gradually, told from one perspective only, that of Stevens. The themes of nature and landscape used in this book are evocative and believable, adding greatly to the enjoyment and understanding of the story and leaving the reader with clear, reflective images of a bygone era in an English landscape which still exists.
‘A Room with a View’ has more dramatic contrasts and energy. The story begins in Italy and the descriptions are strong and powerful, reflecting the events and emotions which develop in the characters. The feelings of the people are passionate and full of vitality and the landscape and nature vividly echo and illustrate what is happening. England is changeable and blustery, gloomy and grey, illuminated by flashes of brilliance and beauty. The atmosphere contrasts with Italy as the plot changes pace and people re-evaluate and alter their course. This book contains romantic illusions to pastoral subjects and makes use of nature to support events and feelings, which brings the book to life and provides excitement and entertainment for the reader.
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