Beni DiVasta

HSS 207
Weekly Response #7
The novel, A Room With A View, by E.M. Forster is set in the Edwardian age of Europe
and follows a group of British people travelling about in Italy. The setting is vital to the story and
the social constructs with which it implies. Lucy, a young single woman during this time is
subject to the sexism that drives their society. Lucy herself, is an independent woman who is not
bothered by others expectations of her and does not let her perceived femininity change herself
or her ideals. Additionally, Foresters writing style affects the readers perception of the storyline
versus it being narrated by a character.
Lucy has dreams to make have successes and accomplishments. But everything she
enjoys or wishes for, such as travelling, are considered unladylike. Forster writes, Why were
most big things unladylike? Charlotte had once explained to her why. It was not that ladies were
inferior to men; it was that they were different. Their mission was to inspire others to
achievement rather than to achieve themselves (Forster page 67).
This is not unusual during this time period to exhibit these views on women. But what is
unique is how Lucy rebels against the norm to prove herself an independent young woman. She
often goes out for walks by herself, in a country she does not know, despite being warned against
it. It is during one of these outings where she witnesses a murder. After fainting, she still insists
she not be escorted home by a fellow witness to the murder. Lucy wants desperately to be
allowed to do the same things a man can do and shows it by gaining independence from the
group.
Foresters writing style incorporates many different tactics throughout the first five
chapters of the novel. One of these styles is foreshadowing. When Lucy goes out on her own for
a walk she thinks to herself that nothing interesting ever happens to her, and she longs for
something interesting. Moments later Lucy witnesses a murder in the middle of the town. This
foreshadowing tactic gave the reader a sense of boringness at first, thinking that Lucy was going
to have an ordinary day just to have her witness a murder. As a reader, foreshadowing is
important to the development of the plot, it can build anticipation and tension as the story
continues.
Another aspect of Foresters writing style is that he writes in the third person. This
creates a narrator that is omniscient and will give a broader view of the story, and one that can be
trusted. In the novels Mother Tongue and Netherland, the reader could not always trust Maria or
Hans as narrators. In a third person novel, the narrator can easily be trusted because the story is
being told from an outsiders perspective. The only opinions that can be inflicted upon the story
are the ones which are spoken. Therefore, much of the interaction in the novel relies on dialogue
rather than a characters interpretations. Although, a negative in the third person narration style is
that the reader loses some of the connection with the characters through it. The reader is not in
their mind hearing their inner thoughts but rather just a fly on the wall throughout their
interactions.
Overall, the novel A Room With A View is reminiscent of Jane Austens Pride and
Prejudice in terms of setting and theme, for it portrays a group of young English women during
the Edwardian Era with themes of feminism and rebellion. However while alike they are both
different in many ways. Forester tells the story of a group of friends and acquaintances travelling
through Italy in the summer all while incorporating many different writing styles and tactics.