A Room With A View By E. M. Forster

In “A Room with a View,” by E.M. Forster, there are two main settings: Florence, Italy and Summer Street, England. These two locations may belong to the same continent, but their significance and influence differs widely. Florence, Italy is portrayed as whimsical and dramatic in the book. During Lucy’s time in Florence, there’s almost always something happening, whether it be a murder in broad daylight (28) or getting caught receiving a kiss from a man of lower class (47). This likely represents a more free and exciting way of life compared to living in England. The book suggests this is because Italy is a “Magic City where people thought and did extraordinary things,” (38) which could imply that Italy had more progressive views and customs compared to England at the time. Summer Street, England, however, is …show more content…
During her trip to Italy, her eyes are opened to how good individuality felt and she gains a love interest in George. The former causes her to feel constrained while back in England, leading to her breaking up with Cecil and contributes to her desire to travel again. The latter leads to George and his father moving to Cecil’s villa, and George trying to win over Lucy despite the consequences. Though this initially ends up with George heartbroken, Lucy’s newfound freedom leads her to reconnect and elope with George, making their “happy ending.” To sum up, the locations in “A Room with a View,” by E.M. Forster, play a very important role to the story, and represent wildly different things. Florence, Italy represents an increase in individuality and spontaneousness, while Summer Street, England represents older, more conservative ideals and constraints. These two ideas end up conflicting with each other, causing the major conflict in the story, eventually leading to Lucy straying from her Victorian era beliefs, and adapting ideals closer to what she was exposed to in