Show how Foster has developed the theme suggested in the novel's title, 'A room with a view.'

Show how Foster has developed the theme suggested in the novel’s title,

‘A room with a view.’

The novel’s title ‘A room with a view’, suggests both a literal and metaphorical meaning. The novel expresses the trappings and restriction of the society and the medieval views of the higher social class. Lucy represents in the novel, the escape from the restricted view of life and religion. She has been enclosed in a straightjacket of high-class (supposed) morals, but wants to widen her view of life. The novelist cleverly uses the lower class to bring about changes in Lucy.

The Emersons first make their appearance in Florence when they kindly offer their, ‘room with a view,’ in exchange for Lucy and her cousin Charlotte’s room, which ironically, doesn’t have a view. This kind gesture is not taken easily as due to the trappings of society Charlotte feels if she accepts the kind offering she will be indebted to them for the rest of their stay in Florence. “Thank you very much indeed, that is simply out of the question.” However after careful persuasion Charlotte and Lucy exchange rooms with the Emersons, to receive the ‘room with a view,’ that they wanted. This is the literal meaning. However when the Emersons make their appearance in the novel after the Florence episode George begins to give Charlotte a wide ‘view’ on life.

Reverent Cuthbert Eager and Miss Eleanor Lavish, play an important role in the novel. They are the only ones who cannot, even slightly, change their ‘views’ and morals of life and religion. This is displayed when Eager becomes adamant that he will not buy a panoramic photo of Florence. This slight incident makes the reader feel he doesn’t want to broaden his view, not just of Florence but of life in general. It is clear that Eager and Mr Emerson have two very contrasting ideas about Religion. This first becomes apparent when Mr Emerson who visits Santa Croce, witnesses a small boy fall over a statue of a bishop. He believes the child should not be in a church, but should be out worshipping the world in which we live. “Go out into the sunshine, little boy, and kiss your hand to the sun, for that is where you ought to be. Intolerable bishop.” This clearly shows that Mr Emerson is a Humanist and believes that we should live for the moment and worship the people and the natural world. He doesn’t have Christian views however he does not mind visiting the church to broaden his view of the world in which he lives. He welcomes new ideas and change. “A baby hurt, cold and frightened! But what else can you expect from a church?” Another quotation portraying the Mr Emerson’s view on religion is, “You and I, dear boy, will lie at peace in the earth that bore us, and our names will disappear as surely as our work will survive.” He believes in living for the moment and is a very direct speaking man.

This is a preview of the whole essay

Reverent Cuthbert Eager portrays a sinister character of a clergyman. “The lecturer was a clergyman, and his audience must be also his flock, for they held prayer books as well as guidebooks in their hands.” This illustrates to the reader that Eager is like a Shepherd leading his ‘Sheep,’ to what he feels is the correct and only views on religion and life. The audience being portrayed as sheep gives the impression that they are dull and will listen to everything he says and believes that he is right. The idea of them holding guidebooks, makes the reader think they need to be told the ‘views,’ which they see. Eager takes a disliking to the Emersons just because they have different views. Emerson believes Humanity is much more important than religion. “A baby is worth a dozen saints. And my baby’s worth the whole of Paradise, and as far as I can see he lives in hell.” Mr Emerson believes that the world has to many closed views on life and is full of war and suffering. He believes in worshipping what is in the real world and not what happened in the past. There should be a freedom of ideas and views, and people should choose which views they should follow and not be restricted by society. “Free from all the superstition and ignorance that lead men to hate one another in the name of God.”

Mr Emerson feels that Lucy has the ability to have free views however she is ensnared by society. Lucy at the beginning of the novel appears to ware a costume of society. (Like Stevens in Remains of the Day.) “I think that you are repeating what you have heard older people say. You are pretending,” announces Mr Emerson. He believes she should be let free and have her own view on life. “Let yourself go I am sure you are sensible. You might help me…But let yourself go. Pull out from the depths those thoughts that you don’t understand, and spread them out in the sunlight and know the meaning of them.” Music is the only mechanism in which Lucy ‘can let go’ of her restricted views. “If Miss Honeychuch ever takes to live as she plays, it will be very exciting- both for us and for her.”

Foster uses extraordinary imagery in the novel. When Lucy is spontaneously kissed on a mountain in Fiesole, Foster uses colourful, vibrant imagery to represent Lucy having a wonderful view for the first time. Not just a view of the scenery but a view of life and more importantly love. “Violets run down in rivulets and streams and cataracts, irrigating the hillside with blue, eddying round the tree stems, collecting into pools in the hollows, covering the grass with spots of azure foam…. He stepped quickly forward and kissed her.” This quotation is extremely beautiful and illustrates to the reader the beauty of the world and how natural the kiss was. Foster uses a lot of blue colours and water in his description of the hillside. This is cleverly done as the water represents the giver of life and what makes everything in the world grow, like the love that Lucy and George start to share and will blossom like a delicate flower. The violets become a metaphor of a river feeding the world and giving the life. The kiss was extremely natural in comparison with Cecil’s kiss later on in the novel that is very clumsy and spiritless. This point in the novel represents Lucy broadening her view of life. However the extract ends with, “The silence of life had been broken by Miss Bartlett, who stood brown against the view.” Immediately Lucy is transported back to reality. The use of the word, “brown,” illustrates the darkness and enclosed view, which she has entered back into after her free, spiritual affair.

Foster also uses imagery in the novel to represent the view of Christianity becoming a natural wonder, by personifying the ‘sacred lake.’ “There lay the pond, set in its little alp of green...The waters had flooded the surrounding grass, which showered like a beautiful emerald path, tempting the feet towards the central pool.” Another quotation illustrating this becoming a religious ceremony like a baptism is, “He could detect no parishioners except the pine trees, rising up steeply and gesturing to each other against the blue.” The use of diction like, “Divine,” and “Spirit,” and the lake becoming holy, illustrates that although they are not in a church are finding the wider religious views of the natural world (‘The Garden of Eden’). “It had been a call to the blood and to the relaxed will, a passing benediction whose influence did not pass, a holiness, a spell, a momentary chalice of youth.”

During the novel the ‘views’ that Lucy encounters represents the sate of her mind. When Lucy is confused she see darkness and drab colours. This can be noted in the quotations, “It faced north, so there was little view and no view of the Sky.” This is this view Lucy witnesses when she is with Cecil, trapped by society and being dictated to. However it can be suggested that when she is with George the beauty of the world is let loose and the view becomes somewhat spiritual. Even in Miss Lavishes book the scene Cecil reads to Lucy and George depicts the beauty of life, “A golden haze, afar of the towers of Florence, while the bank on which she sat was carpeted with violets.”

The two men, Cecil and George who try to win the heart of Lucy have two very divergent views. Cecil feels that Lucy should be changed and be ‘taught’ different views to improve her. “For the only relationship with Cecil conceived was feudal; that of protector and the protected. He had no glimpse of the comradeship after which the girl’s soul yearned.” Cecil sees Lucy as a piece of art or an ornament, a possession, which he can alter and entrap. He will not let Lucy be free. George does his best to reveal this to Lucy, “ He’s forming you, telling you what’s charming, or amusing or ladylike, telling you what a man thinks womanly; and you, you of all women, listen to his voice instead of your own….and you may not have noticed that I love you.” He loves Lucy and wants her to have her own free views, “I want you to have your own thoughts when I hold you in my arms.” It is clear that George wants Lucy to live in the world, “her room,” with her own free views, away from the straightjacket of society.

Foster cleverly uses different techniques to illustrate the views of society and religion and how they effect the world and the people who live there. The title “A room with a view,” takes on the literal meaning and the metaphor for the way in which people see the world and the beauty of the natural environment. This novel and title also illustrates (like the Remains of the day), that the higher class have no morals but the lower class have higher standards.

Victoria Evans