“For a moment [Giorgio] contemplated her, like someone fallen from the sky. He saw radiant joy on her face, saw the flowers flapping against her dress in blue waves. The bushes above them closed. He took a quick step forward and kissed her” (Forster 55). This scene from EM Forster's A Room with a View triggers a profound internal struggle in Lucy Honeychurch, the protagonist of the novel, beginning her search for true passion and independence. Indeed, this scene exemplifies how Forster uses motifs – including light versus dark and outer spaces versus inner spaces – to develop the novel's themes. In A Room with a View, the author uses motifs of external and internal places, light and darkness, and the Renaissance and Middle Ages to illustrate themes of freedom from social conventions, the value of honesty, and the contrast between Victorian and Edwardian. social ideas. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Forster uses the theme of indoor and outdoor places, or rooms versus views, to exemplify the shift from traditional Victorian ideals to Edwardian values and to demonstrate the beauty of finding freedom from social restrictions. From the beginning of the novel, the narrator associates progressive-minded characters with "points of view." For example, the first words spoken by Mr. Emerson in the novel are: “I have a view, I have a view,” which means that Emerson's room at Pensione Bertolini has a picturesque view (Forster 4). When Lucy Honeychurch enters her room, she opens the window and breathes in “the clean night air,” but when Miss Bartlett enters a room, she immediately closes the blinds and locks the door (Forster 11). By associating modern, progressive characters with viewpoints and more traditional characters with rooms early in the novel, Forster indicates that interior spaces symbolize restrictive social conventions, while large exterior spaces and views reflect open-mindedness and innovative ideas. This motif takes on further significance in light of England's shift in the early 20th century from traditional Victorian society to the more modern Edwardian culture. Thus, throughout the novel, the contrast between external and internal spaces parallels the contrast between older, socially conservative characters such as Miss Bartlett and Mrs. Honeychurch and forward-thinking Edwardian-era characters such as George and Mr. Emerson. The reason for the rooms vs. views also accentuates the value of freedom from social conventions. Cecil, the embodiment of upper-class snobbery and narrow social values, is compared to a “drawing room” without a view (Forster 86). In contrast, during one of the novel's most refreshing scenes, George, Freddy, and Mr. Beebe romp outdoors near the Sacred Lake, a symbolic place of freedom from social convention (Forster 106). When the three undress, they free themselves from the weight of social conventions, and their joy in romping around the lake exemplifies the happiness found in liberation from the norm. Thus, the motif of outside versus inside allows Forster to contrast Victorian ideas with Edwardian ones and to highlight how freedom from social conventions can bring true joy. In addition to using this motif, Forster also uses the motif of light versus darkness to communicate his theme of honesty versus deception. One of the clearest examples of this motif occurs when George first kisses Lucy amidst a sea of violets: “light and beauty” enveloped Lucy and “radiant joy” was on her face (Forster 55). Similarly, after George confronts Lucy about Cecil's hard-heartedness, "the scales" fall from Lucy's eyes and she, 1995.
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