While Forster may be accused of sentimentality in his championing the inevitable victory of true love, he is at least realistic insofar as he shows that such love-while it may seem fated or destined to be-doesn’t simply come about by itself. As George opines at the end of the novel, many people and things help Lucy and him end up together (including, for example, Mr. Emerson, who then convinces her to follow her heart.

Lucy can only ignore her true feelings for George for so long.īut, even once Lucy realizes that she does not love Cecil and starts to acknowledge her feelings for George, she doesn’t immediately pursue her love, and only ends up with George because she coincidentally (or perhaps with Charlotte’s help) runs into Mr. Through Lucy’s experiences, the novel seems to suggest that one can try to stifle or suppress love, but never entirely get rid of it.

True love is more of an unintentional, irrational experience that often surprises those who feel it. Forster thus shows that one cannot force or engineer love, as Cecil and Lucy try to do. At last, though, her true feelings come to the surface, and she realizes how she feels. She gradually convinces herself that she loves Cecil and denies any affection for George until the very end of the novel. Lucy herself is unaware of her own feelings for George for most of the novel. Whereas Cecil politely asks for Lucy’s hand in marriage three times, and asks her permission to kiss her once they are engaged, George impulsively embraces and kisses Lucy twice-once when she is already engaged to Cecil. It grows out of sudden moments of immediate attraction in ways that traditional society finds inappropriate. By contrast, Lucy’s relationship with George is confusing to her and irrational. He is from a respectable social background, and her mother is pleased at the match between Lucy and him.

With Cecil, Lucy has a rational relationship with gradually growing affection, of which her family approves. Through Lucy’s relationships with these two men, we see two different kinds of love. A Room with a View can be seen as a romance novel, revolving around the romantic plot of Lucy and her decision between George and Cecil.

A room with a view book