A Room with a View Part 22

George told him that he was mistaken; they had no money to throw away on driving.

And the people who had not meant to help-the Miss Lavishes, the Cecils, the Miss Bartletts! Ever p.r.o.ne to magnify Fate, George counted up the forces that had swept him into this contentment.

"Anything good in Freddy's letter?"

"Not yet."

His own content was absolute, but hers held bitterness: the Honeychurcheshad not forgiven them; they were disgusted at her past hypocrisy; she had alienated Windy Corner, perhaps for ever.

"What does he say?"

"Silly boy! He thinks he's being dignified. He knew we should go off in the spring-he has known it for six months-that if mother wouldn't give her consent we should take the thing into our own hands. They had fair warning, and now he calls it an elopement. Ridiculous boy-"

"Signorino, domani faremo uno giro-"

"But it will all come right in the end. He has to build us both up from the beginning again. I wish, though, that Cecil had not turned so cynical about women. He has, for the second time, quite altered. Why will men have theories about women? I haven't any about men. I wish, too, that Mr. Beebe-"

"You may well wish that."

"He will never forgive us-I mean, he will never be interested in us again. I wish that he did not influence them so much at Windy Corner. I wish he hadn't-But if we act the truth, the people who really love us are sure to come back to us in the long-run."

"Perhaps." Then he said more gently: "Well, I acted the truth-the only thing I did do-and you came back to me. So possibly you know." He turned back into the room. "Nonsense with that sock." He carried her to the window, so that she, too, saw all the view. They sank upon their knees, invisible from the road, they hoped, and began to whisper one another's names. Ah! it was worth while; it was the great joy that they had expected, and countless little joys of which they had never dreamt. They were silent.

"Signorino, domani faremo-"

"Oh, bother that man!"

But Lucy remembered the vendor of photographs and said, "No, don't be rude to him." Then with a catching of her breath, she murmured: "Mr. Eager and Charlotte, dreadful frozen Charlotte! How cruel she would be to a man like that!"

"Look at the lights going over the bridge."

"But this room reminds me of Charlotte. How horrible to grow old in Charlotte's way! To think that evening at the Rectory that she shouldn't have heard your father was in the house. For she would have stopped me going in, and he was the only person alive who could have made me see sense. You couldn't have made me. When I am very happy"-she kissed him-"I remember on how little it all hangs. If Charlotte had only known, she would have stopped me going in, and I should have gone to silly Greece, and become different for ever."

"But she did know," said George; "she did see my father, surely. He said so."

"Oh, no, she didn't see him. She was up-stairs with old Mrs. Beebe, don't you remember, and then went straight to the church. She said so."

George was obstinate again. "My father," said he, "saw her, and I prefer his word. He was dozing by the study fire, and he opened his eyes, and there was Miss Bartlett. A few minutes before you came in. She was turning to go as he woke up. He didn't speak to her."

Then they spoke of other things-the desultory talk of those who have been fighting to reach one another, and whose reward is to rest quietly in each other's arms. It was long ere they returned to Miss Bartlett, but when they did her behaviour seemed more interesting. George, who disliked any darkness, said: "It's clear that she knew. Then, why did she risk the meeting? She knew he was there, and yet she went to church."

They tried to piece the thing together.

As they talked, an incredible solution came into Lucy's mind. She rejected it, and said: "How like Charlotte to undo her work by a feeble muddle at the last moment." But something in the dying evening, in the roar of the river, in their very embrace warned them that her words fell short of life, and George whispered: "Or did she mean it?"

"Mean what?"

"Signorino, domani faremo uno giro-"

Lucy bent forward and said with gentleness: "Lascia, prego, lascia. Siamo sposati." af af "Scusi tanto,ag signora," he replied in tones as gentle and whipped up his horse. signora," he replied in tones as gentle and whipped up his horse.

"Buona sera-e grazie."ah "Niente."

The cabman drove away singing.

"Mean what, George?"

He whispered: "Is it this? Is this possible? I'll put a marvel to you. That your cousin has always hoped. That from the very first moment we met, she hoped, far down in her mind, that we should be like this-of course, very far down. That she fought us on the surface, and yet she hoped. I can't explain her any other way. Can you? Look how she kept me alive in you all the summer; how she gave you no peace; how month after month she became more eccentric and unreliable. The sight of us haunted her-or she couldn't have described us as she did to her friend. There are details-it burnt. I read the book afterwards. She is not frozen, Lucy, she is not withered up all through. She tore us apart twice, but in the Rectory that evening she was given one more chance to make us happy. We can never make friends with her or thank her. But I do believe that, far down in her heart, far below all speech and behaviour, she is glad."

"It is impossible," murmured Lucy, and then, remembering the experiences of her own heart, she said: "No-it is just possible."

Youth enwrapped them; the song of Phaethon announced pa.s.sion requited, love attained. But they were conscious of a love more mysterious than this. The song died away; they heard the river, bearing down the snows of winter into the Mediterranean.

Endnotes

1 (p. 16) (p. 16) Taking up Baedeker's Taking up Baedeker's Handbook to Northern Italy, Handbook to Northern Italy, she committed to memory the most important dates of Florentine History: she committed to memory the most important dates of Florentine History: German publisher Karl Baedeker printed his first travel book, a guide to the Rhine Valley, in 1829. In the next thirty years, the Baedeker series expanded to cover most of Europe, and it is still in print today. With their formula of practical advice for travelers, including detailed maps and a star-rating system for hotels, restaurants, and cultural sights, Baedeker's handbooks enabled travelers to visit foreign countries without employing personal guides. Like their compet.i.tor, Murray's Handbooks for Travellers, Baedeker's handbooks became indispensable companions in print form and coincided with the rise of middle-cla.s.s tourism in the nineteenth century. German publisher Karl Baedeker printed his first travel book, a guide to the Rhine Valley, in 1829. In the next thirty years, the Baedeker series expanded to cover most of Europe, and it is still in print today. With their formula of practical advice for travelers, including detailed maps and a star-rating system for hotels, restaurants, and cultural sights, Baedeker's handbooks enabled travelers to visit foreign countries without employing personal guides. Like their compet.i.tor, Murray's Handbooks for Travellers, Baedeker's handbooks became indispensable companions in print form and coincided with the rise of middle-cla.s.s tourism in the nineteenth century.

2 (p. 19) " (p. 19) "If it is Mrs. Grundy who is troubling you, I do a.s.sure you that you can neglect the good person. Miss Honeychurch will be perfectly safe": Mrs. Grundy is an imaginary watchdog of conventional opinion. In Thomas Morton's play Mrs. Grundy is an imaginary watchdog of conventional opinion. In Thomas Morton's play Speed the Plough Speed the Plough (1798), Dame Ash-field continually invokes the name of her neighbor, Mrs. Grundy, as an unseen but feared arbiter of respectability: "What would Mrs. Grundy say?" is her anxious refrain. (1798), Dame Ash-field continually invokes the name of her neighbor, Mrs. Grundy, as an unseen but feared arbiter of respectability: "What would Mrs. Grundy say?" is her anxious refrain.

3 (p. 20) (p. 20) San Miniato-beautiful as well as interesting; the crucifix that kissed a murderer-Miss Honeychurch would remember the story: San Miniato-beautiful as well as interesting; the crucifix that kissed a murderer-Miss Honeychurch would remember the story: Baedeker tells the story to which Miss Lavish alludes: Above the altar in the church of San Miniato "is the small crucifix which is said to have nodded approvingly to San Giovanni Gualberto when he forgave the murderer of his brother" Baedeker tells the story to which Miss Lavish alludes: Above the altar in the church of San Miniato "is the small crucifix which is said to have nodded approvingly to San Giovanni Gualberto when he forgave the murderer of his brother" (Italy: Handbook for Travellers (Italy: Handbook for Travellers, p. 522; see "For Further Reading"). The guidebook explains that in showing mercy to his brother's a.s.sa.s.sin, this son of a powerful eleventh-century Florentine family chose peace over a blood feud.

4 (p. 20) (p. 20) "My father always voted for Mr. Gladstone "My father always voted for Mr. Gladstone, until he was so dreadful about Ireland until he was so dreadful about Ireland": William Gladstone (1809-1898) served four terms as prime minister of Britain and was known for his policies of social reform. His persistent support of Irish nationalism, however, alienated many of his supporters in the Liberal Party (of whom Lucy's father was apparently one).

5 (p. 23) (p. 23) There was no one even to tell her which There was no one even to tell her which . . . . . . was the one that was really beautiful, the one that had been most praised by Mr. Ruskin was the one that was really beautiful, the one that had been most praised by Mr. Ruskin: John Ruskin (1819-1900), essayist and art critic, was the author of Modern Painters Modern Painters, a five-volume series completed in 1860 that played a major role in shaping the aesthetic sensibilities of Victorian England, particularly of its rising professional cla.s.s. His Stones of Venice Stones of Venice (1851-1853) celebrated the Italian city's Gothic architecture, influencing the Gothic revival in Victorian architecture. Baedeker quotes liberally from Ruskin's writings on Italy, including his essay "Mornings in Florence" (1875), in which, to answer Lucy's question, Ruskin identifies the sepulchral slab of Galileo Galilei (an ancestor of the astronomer) in Santa Croce as "one of the most beautiful pieces of fourteenth century sculpture in this world." (1851-1853) celebrated the Italian city's Gothic architecture, influencing the Gothic revival in Victorian architecture. Baedeker quotes liberally from Ruskin's writings on Italy, including his essay "Mornings in Florence" (1875), in which, to answer Lucy's question, Ruskin identifies the sepulchral slab of Galileo Galilei (an ancestor of the astronomer) in Santa Croce as "one of the most beautiful pieces of fourteenth century sculpture in this world."

6 (p. 30) (p. 30) "I don't believe in this world sorrow.... Make him realize that by the side of the everlasting Why there is a Yes "I don't believe in this world sorrow.... Make him realize that by the side of the everlasting Why there is a Yes-a transitory Yes if you like, but a Yes": An article in the An article in the Sunday Magazine Sunday Magazine (London) in 1896 took "The World-Sorrow" as its subject, suggesting that the idea (and the phrase) was gaining currency as the new century dawned. Mr. Emerson's "everlasting Why" evokes two chapter t.i.tles in (London) in 1896 took "The World-Sorrow" as its subject, suggesting that the idea (and the phrase) was gaining currency as the new century dawned. Mr. Emerson's "everlasting Why" evokes two chapter t.i.tles in Sartor Resartus, Sartor Resartus, Thomas Carlyle's treatise on revolution, human will, and belief: "The Everlasting No" and "The Everlasting Yea." Carlyle's book bears a connection to a more famous Emerson as well: Soon after its serialization in Thomas Carlyle's treatise on revolution, human will, and belief: "The Everlasting No" and "The Everlasting Yea." Carlyle's book bears a connection to a more famous Emerson as well: Soon after its serialization in Frasier's Magazine Frasier's Magazine in 1833 and 1834, it was championed in the United States by Ralph Waldo Emerson and proved influential, along with other works by Carlyle, in shaping the American Transcendental movement. in 1833 and 1834, it was championed in the United States by Ralph Waldo Emerson and proved influential, along with other works by Carlyle, in shaping the American Transcendental movement.

7 (p. 49) (p. 49) she had been in the Piazza since eight o'clock collecting material.... The two men had quarreled over a five-franc note: she had been in the Piazza since eight o'clock collecting material.... The two men had quarreled over a five-franc note: As Baedeker notes, the French monetary system was widely used in Italy, with a franc equivalent to the Italian lira. At the time, 5 francs were equal to 4 s.h.i.+llings, or 1 dollar (about 12 dollars in today's currency). As Baedeker notes, the French monetary system was widely used in Italy, with a franc equivalent to the Italian lira. At the time, 5 francs were equal to 4 s.h.i.+llings, or 1 dollar (about 12 dollars in today's currency).

8 (p. 51) (p. 51) that intimate knowledge, or rather perception, of Florence which is denied to all who carry in their pockets the coupons of Cook: that intimate knowledge, or rather perception, of Florence which is denied to all who carry in their pockets the coupons of Cook: Thomas Cook (1808-1892), a pioneer of modern tourism who developed and led group excursions within England and abroad, inst.i.tuted a coupon system for the convenience of travelers. Cook negotiated fair prices with preferred hotels, whose proprietors would then accept his coupons in lieu of cash as payment for meals and accommodations. Thomas Cook (1808-1892), a pioneer of modern tourism who developed and led group excursions within England and abroad, inst.i.tuted a coupon system for the convenience of travelers. Cook negotiated fair prices with preferred hotels, whose proprietors would then accept his coupons in lieu of cash as payment for meals and accommodations.

9 (p. 51) (p. 51) "This very square ... witnessed yesterday the most sordid of tragedies. To one who loves the Florence of Dante and Savonarola there is something ... portentous and humiliating": "This very square ... witnessed yesterday the most sordid of tragedies. To one who loves the Florence of Dante and Savonarola there is something ... portentous and humiliating": Mr. Eager's two examples, on closer inspection, cast Florentine history in perhaps a more volatile, less hospitable light than he intends. Dante Alighieri, the great Florentine poet, was banished from his native city in 1302 and died nineteen years later, still in exile. The Christian preacher Girolamo Savonarola rose to power in fifteenth-century Florence, but his thirst for control of the city's spiritual and political destiny alienated first the Medicis, then the Pope, and ultimately the people. He was executed in the same square where, centuries later, Lucy Honeychurch witnesses a murder. Mr. Eager's two examples, on closer inspection, cast Florentine history in perhaps a more volatile, less hospitable light than he intends. Dante Alighieri, the great Florentine poet, was banished from his native city in 1302 and died nineteen years later, still in exile. The Christian preacher Girolamo Savonarola rose to power in fifteenth-century Florence, but his thirst for control of the city's spiritual and political destiny alienated first the Medicis, then the Pope, and ultimately the people. He was executed in the same square where, centuries later, Lucy Honeychurch witnesses a murder.

10 (p. 86) (p. 86) "I promessi sposi," said he: "I promessi sposi," said he: Cecil has broken the news of their engagement by speaking the t.i.tle of a much-admired Italian novel, Alessandro Manzoni's Cecil has broken the news of their engagement by speaking the t.i.tle of a much-admired Italian novel, Alessandro Manzoni's The Betrothed The Betrothed (1825-1827). (1825-1827).

11 (p. 97) (p. 97) "Let's hope that Mrs. Harris there warn't no sich person," said her mother: "Let's hope that Mrs. Harris there warn't no sich person," said her mother: Mrs. Honeychurch is quoting from Charles d.i.c.kens's Mrs. Honeychurch is quoting from Charles d.i.c.kens's The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit (189-4), in which the c.o.c.kney midwife Mrs. Gamp regularly refers to a Mrs. Harris, who proves to be an imaginary character Mrs. Gamp invokes chiefly to confirm her opinions. (189-4), in which the c.o.c.kney midwife Mrs. Gamp regularly refers to a Mrs. Harris, who proves to be an imaginary character Mrs. Gamp invokes chiefly to confirm her opinions.

12 (p. 110) (p. 110) "I trusted they were no relations of Emerson the philosopher, a most trying man": "I trusted they were no relations of Emerson the philosopher, a most trying man": Mrs. Honeychurch is referring to Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), poet, essayist, and leader of the New England Transcendentalists. Mrs. Honeychurch is referring to Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), poet, essayist, and leader of the New England Transcendentalists.

13 (p. 111) (p. 111) She clasped her knees for the name. Something in Thackeray. She struck her matronly forehead: She clasped her knees for the name. Something in Thackeray. She struck her matronly forehead: Mrs. Honeychurch's mnemonic device for the name that eludes her is indeed a Victorian novelist-but she means d.i.c.kens, not William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863). Mrs. Honeychurch's mnemonic device for the name that eludes her is indeed a Victorian novelist-but she means d.i.c.kens, not William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863).

14 (p. 112) (p. 112) "George Meredith's right-the cause of Comedy and the cause of Truth are really the same": "George Meredith's right-the cause of Comedy and the cause of Truth are really the same": English poet and novelist George Meredith (1828-1909) gave a lecture in 1877-"The Idea of Comedy and the Uses of the Comic Spirit"-that he adapted into a preface to his 1879 novel English poet and novelist George Meredith (1828-1909) gave a lecture in 1877-"The Idea of Comedy and the Uses of the Comic Spirit"-that he adapted into a preface to his 1879 novel The Egoist. The Egoist. In it, he identifies comedy as a civilizing force, the key to "the Book of our common wisdom," and a weapon against pretension. In it, he identifies comedy as a civilizing force, the key to "the Book of our common wisdom," and a weapon against pretension.

15 (pp. 119-120) (pp. 119-120) "What have they got? Byron. Exactly. "What have they got? Byron. Exactly. A Shrops.h.i.+re Lad. A Shrops.h.i.+re Lad. Never heard of it. Never heard of it. The Way of All Flesh ... The Way of All Flesh ... Gibbon. Hullo! Dear George reads German.... Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and so we go on: Gibbon. Hullo! Dear George reads German.... Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and so we go on: The Emersons' library runs the gamut from Romanticism to nihilism. It includes poems by Lord Byron (1788-1824), an emblematic figure of brooding Romanticism; A The Emersons' library runs the gamut from Romanticism to nihilism. It includes poems by Lord Byron (1788-1824), an emblematic figure of brooding Romanticism; A Shrops.h.i.+re Shrops.h.i.+re Lad, by A. E. Housman (1859-1936), with its picture of youth in the countryside; the posthumously-published autobiographical novel by Samuel Butler (1835-1902), Lad, by A. E. Housman (1859-1936), with its picture of youth in the countryside; the posthumously-published autobiographical novel by Samuel Butler (1835-1902), The Way of All Flesh, The Way of All Flesh, whose lack of sentimentality marked it as a departure from Victorianism; and works by Edward Gibbon (1737-1794), presumably including his whose lack of sentimentality marked it as a departure from Victorianism; and works by Edward Gibbon (1737-1794), presumably including his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, which condemned decadence and endorsed intellectual freedom. Mr. Beebe also observes that the Emersons own works by two German philosophers: Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), who focused on human will, and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), best known for his critiques of religion and morality. which condemned decadence and endorsed intellectual freedom. Mr. Beebe also observes that the Emersons own works by two German philosophers: Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), who focused on human will, and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), best known for his critiques of religion and morality.

16 (p. 120) (p. 120) an amateur had painted this inscription: "Mistrust all enterprises that require new clothes": an amateur had painted this inscription: "Mistrust all enterprises that require new clothes": In the first chapter of In the first chapter of Walden Walden (1854), the book inspired by his two-year sojourn at Walden Pond, Transcendentalist philosopher Henry David Th.o.r.eau writes, "I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes." (1854), the book inspired by his two-year sojourn at Walden Pond, Transcendentalist philosopher Henry David Th.o.r.eau writes, "I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes."

17 (p. 137) (p. 137) Only sovereigns and pennies.... Freddy had half a quid and his friend had four half-crowns: Only sovereigns and pennies.... Freddy had half a quid and his friend had four half-crowns: A quid is 1 pound sterling (or 1 sovereign), a bob (the driver's tip) is 1 s.h.i.+lling, and a half crown is 2 s.h.i.+llings and sixpence. A quid is 1 pound sterling (or 1 sovereign), a bob (the driver's tip) is 1 s.h.i.+lling, and a half crown is 2 s.h.i.+llings and sixpence.

18 (p. 182) (p. 182) "let it be "let it be a a shop, then. Let's go to Mudie's shop, then. Let's go to Mudie's": Charles Mudie opened his London subscription library and bookstore in 1842. Through its book selection and promotion strategies, Mudie's became a significant arbiter not only of public taste during the Victorian era, but also of the very form novels took: It gave significant inst.i.tutional support to the so-called three-decker novel (books that, because they comprised three volumes, could be divided among three subscribers at a time).

Inspired by A Room with a View A Room with a View The 1985 film adaptation of A Room with a View A Room with a View first brought independent film company Merchant Ivory Productions to the public's attention. Producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory followed their Oscar-winning production with adaptations of two other E. M. Forster novels: first brought independent film company Merchant Ivory Productions to the public's attention. Producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory followed their Oscar-winning production with adaptations of two other E. M. Forster novels: Maurice Maurice (1987), the story of a love affair between two young men of different social cla.s.ses, and (1987), the story of a love affair between two young men of different social cla.s.ses, and Howards End Howards End (1992), the 1910 novel that cemented Forster's reputation in the literary world. (1992), the 1910 novel that cemented Forster's reputation in the literary world.

In 1961 Ivory, an American, and Merchant, a native of Bombay, formed a production company to film English-language pictures in India for the world market. Like Forster, who went on to write his masterpiece A Pa.s.sage to India A Pa.s.sage to India (1924), Ivory spent years in India, and he shot many films there, including (1924), Ivory spent years in India, and he shot many films there, including Shakespeare Wallah Shakespeare Wallah (1965). Ivory also shares Forster's interest in Italy: (1965). Ivory also shares Forster's interest in Italy: Venice: Themes and Variations Venice: Themes and Variations (1957) was the director's doc.u.mentary thesis in cinema school. (1957) was the director's doc.u.mentary thesis in cinema school.

In A Room with a View, A Room with a View, Helena Bonham Carter plays a charmingly vexed Lucy Honeychurch, and renowned actress Maggie Smith is Charlotte Bartlett, Lucy's fussbudget chaperone. With good pacing, beautiful cinematography, and excellent direction, Forster's novel comes alive on the screen in a manner exceptional for literary adaptations, as in the exuberant swimming scene and in thoughtful set pieces, such as the question mark inked above George Emerson's dresser. Mr. Emerson stole scene after scene in the novel, and Denholm Elliott does the same onscreen. Helena Bonham Carter plays a charmingly vexed Lucy Honeychurch, and renowned actress Maggie Smith is Charlotte Bartlett, Lucy's fussbudget chaperone. With good pacing, beautiful cinematography, and excellent direction, Forster's novel comes alive on the screen in a manner exceptional for literary adaptations, as in the exuberant swimming scene and in thoughtful set pieces, such as the question mark inked above George Emerson's dresser. Mr. Emerson stole scene after scene in the novel, and Denholm Elliott does the same onscreen.

A Room with a View brought Merchant Ivory Productions nominations for eight Academy Awards, including best picture, best director, and best cinematography. Two of the film's supporting actors-Denholm Elliott and Maggie Smith-were also nominated. The film won Oscars for art direction and costumes, and for the screenplay, written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, the Booker Prize-winning novelist who has often collaborated on Merchant Ivory films. brought Merchant Ivory Productions nominations for eight Academy Awards, including best picture, best director, and best cinematography. Two of the film's supporting actors-Denholm Elliott and Maggie Smith-were also nominated. The film won Oscars for art direction and costumes, and for the screenplay, written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, the Booker Prize-winning novelist who has often collaborated on Merchant Ivory films.

Comments & Questions In this section, we aim to provide the reader with an array of perspectives on the text, as well as questions that challenge those perspectives. The commentary has been culled from sources as diverse as reviews contemporaneous with the work, letters written by the author, literary criticism of later generations, and appreciations written throughout the work's history. Following the commentary, a series of questions seeks to filter E. M. Forster's A Room with a View through a variety of points of view and bring about a richer understanding of this enduring work.

Comments R. A. SCOTT JAMES.

There is just enough that is right in Mr. Forster to triumph over the ma.s.s of him that seems to us to be wrong. There is no use denying that he begins by irritating us exceedingly. He is full of views; what is worse, he is full of subtlety, a subtlety that rises up and a.s.sails you in pregnant epigram or paraded restraint. He insists on a.s.suming-with that blind faith in unrealities which only the 'intellectual' is capable of-that Early Victorian rules of propriety are the rules of today, and he flagellates these extinct, or, at least, dying, moral mannerisms with caustic, but belated, satire....

And yet [A Room with a View] [A Room with a View] is a brilliant novel, a novel which begins by being brilliantly dull and ends by being humanly absorbing. The author gradually gets into his stride, and comes to know his own characters, and make us know them. Dull and trivial as they may seem, they learn to be natural, and the prim, semi-suburban, the conventional is suddenly brought into contrast with the primitive earnestness of flesh and blood and feeling.... is a brilliant novel, a novel which begins by being brilliantly dull and ends by being humanly absorbing. The author gradually gets into his stride, and comes to know his own characters, and make us know them. Dull and trivial as they may seem, they learn to be natural, and the prim, semi-suburban, the conventional is suddenly brought into contrast with the primitive earnestness of flesh and blood and feeling....

Mr. Forster breaks through the bonds of his own art; the very lessons he began laboriously to teach crumble beneath the central human facts which at the last hold his and our attention. The fine, primitive, deep things which do not deny the flesh, even if they are not 'of it,' are dear to him, so that he forgets his horrible artificialities, and becomes genuine. The book grows on the reader, and, if he reads with care, he will have cause to be grateful to Mr. Forster.

-from the Daily News Daily News (October 20, 1908) (October 20, 1908)

THE OBSERVER.

A Room with a View, by E. M. Forster, might also have been called 'A Young Woman in a Muddle.' It is a remarkably clever study of the hopeless confusion existing in the mind of an ordinary English girl of the middle cla.s.s. Lucy Honeychurch is an average specimen of her kind-unoriginal, pretty and 'nice,' with second-hand opinions and borrowed enthusiasms. Unconscious of mistake, she blunders into an engagement with an irritating young prig, but, when she does at least learn what she wants, has the courage to break free from the tangle. Possibly this book may not appeal to all tastes, but to some it will prove an undiluted joy. It is full of humour and delightful, commonplace people. Mr. Forster's gift for sighting the comedy of ordinary social intercourse amounts to genius, the more so as it is entirely unforced and free from exaggeration. by E. M. Forster, might also have been called 'A Young Woman in a Muddle.' It is a remarkably clever study of the hopeless confusion existing in the mind of an ordinary English girl of the middle cla.s.s. Lucy Honeychurch is an average specimen of her kind-unoriginal, pretty and 'nice,' with second-hand opinions and borrowed enthusiasms. Unconscious of mistake, she blunders into an engagement with an irritating young prig, but, when she does at least learn what she wants, has the courage to break free from the tangle. Possibly this book may not appeal to all tastes, but to some it will prove an undiluted joy. It is full of humour and delightful, commonplace people. Mr. Forster's gift for sighting the comedy of ordinary social intercourse amounts to genius, the more so as it is entirely unforced and free from exaggeration.

-November 8, 1908

C. F. G. MASTERMAN.

Mr. Forster has earned the right to serious criticism. His work-limited to three novels and some shorter stories and sketches-has revealed individuality, distinction, and a power of suggestion which opens large issues. A Room with a View, A Room with a View, the t.i.tle of his latest book, might stand for a t.i.tle of all his work. He reveals in minute and exact detail the 'room' and its contents: the patterned paper on the walls, the sofas and antimaca.s.sars, the elaborate, grotesque, or stuffy artifice of conventional construction. And beyond, he shows the 'view': outside man's handiwork, judging, sometimes condemning, always disturbing, the contented occupants of the artificial arena. Dawn flares through the blinds, the sunset casts haunting shadows on the carpets and cus.h.i.+ons, outside is the sound of tempest or the challenging silence of the night. And the conflict amongst all his characters-set in the moment where two eternities meet, which is always a moment of supreme choice-arises just from the fact that although their natural and accepted habit approves of the orderly comfort of the 'room,' there is within all of them some wild or exultant element which responds to the high calling of the 'view.' the t.i.tle of his latest book, might stand for a t.i.tle of all his work. He reveals in minute and exact detail the 'room' and its contents: the patterned paper on the walls, the sofas and antimaca.s.sars, the elaborate, grotesque, or stuffy artifice of conventional construction. And beyond, he shows the 'view': outside man's handiwork, judging, sometimes condemning, always disturbing, the contented occupants of the artificial arena. Dawn flares through the blinds, the sunset casts haunting shadows on the carpets and cus.h.i.+ons, outside is the sound of tempest or the challenging silence of the night. And the conflict amongst all his characters-set in the moment where two eternities meet, which is always a moment of supreme choice-arises just from the fact that although their natural and accepted habit approves of the orderly comfort of the 'room,' there is within all of them some wild or exultant element which responds to the high calling of the 'view.'

-from an unsigned review in The Nation The Nation (November 28, 1908) (November 28, 1908)

KATHERINE MANSFIELD.

E. M. Forster never gets any further than warming the teapot. He's a rare fine hand at that. Feel this teapot. Is it not beautifully warm? Yes, but there ain't going to be no tea.

-from her Journal Journal (May 1917) (May 1917)

VIRGINIA WOOLF.

We look then, as time goes on, for signs that Mr. Forster is committing himself; that he is allaying to one of the two great camps to which most novelists belong. Speaking roughly, we may divide them into the preachers and the teachers, headed by Tolstoy and d.i.c.kens, on the one hand, and the pure artists, headed by Jane Austen and Turgenev, on the other. Mr. Forster, it seems, has a strong impulse to belong to both camps at once.

-from The Death of the Moth The Death of the Moth (1942) (1942)

ZADIE SMITH.

E. M. Forster's A Room with A View A Room with A View was my first intimation of the possibilities of fiction: how wholly one might feel for it and through it, how much it could do to you. was my first intimation of the possibilities of fiction: how wholly one might feel for it and through it, how much it could do to you.

-from The Guardian The Guardian (November 1, 2003) (November 1, 2003) Questions 1. "E. M. Forster never gets any further than warming the teapot.... Feel this teapot. Is it not beautifully warm? Yes, but there ain't going to be no tea." So said Katherine Mansfield: Is she right? Does Forster raise expectations he fails to satisfy? Or does what he serves us genuinely satisfy, despite our initial expectations? 1. "E. M. Forster never gets any further than warming the teapot.... Feel this teapot. Is it not beautifully warm? Yes, but there ain't going to be no tea." So said Katherine Mansfield: Is she right? Does Forster raise expectations he fails to satisfy? Or does what he serves us genuinely satisfy, despite our initial expectations?2. Given the differences in circ.u.mstances, can a young American woman in the twenty-first century empathize with anything in Lucy? Is there something agelessly human in her story?3. What motivates Forster's characters to become tourists? Is it their interest in whatever's foreign? Is it a desire for self-improvement?4. Everyone agrees that Forster's prose is very felicitous: graceful, witty, without a sense of strain, easy to read, mannerly. But is it prose that can admit to the gross, the libidinous, the terrible, the down and dirty, or the insane in human life? Could you see Forster addressing any of, say, Dostoevsky's serious themes?

For Further Reading Additional Works by E. M. Forster

NOVELS.

Where Angels Fear to Tread. 1905. 1905.

The Longest Journey. 1907. 1907.

Howards End. 1910. 1910.

A Pa.s.sage to India. 1924. 1924.