Female Emancipation in Forster's "A Room WIth A View"

Introduction

This writing is based on Edward Morgan Forster’s work “A Room with a View”.  There are many themes mentioned and highlighted in this novel but I will focus only on propriety and passion.  The conflict between propriety and passion is an age old phenomena that is faced by every generation.  Propriety reflects the particular society and its values.  A society is always in transition so the propriety change from time to time, but the change is subtle.  Propriety acts as a catalyst to function a society smoothly, but at the same time it also hinders in expressing true feelings.  Passion on the other hand helps in achieving one’s goal, making him focus on the goal.

This paper will discuss on the female emancipation and the changes that can be seen in the main character, Ms Lucy Honeychurch.  She goes through an evolution as a character, from a simple and ordinary English girl who comes from a protective environment to an independent and intelligent woman.  Lucy goes through a lot of internal turmoil and exposed to intense emotional feelings like love, hate, trust, deceive (through lies) and some life changing experiences throughout the novel.

This without fail forces her to question the ideas, beliefs and manners which have been taught to her in her life, against the new refreshing and unconventional ideas which she encounters during her trip to Italy. She refers the unusual situation raised from the conflict of her ideas in the novel as “muddle”. In the novel “A Room with a View”, Forster shows how questions of propriety and class build a lot of difficulties between two individuals who are fond of each other and how the early 20^th century British society in the disguise of propriety restricts women’s freedom and their individuality.

Early 20th Century - Edwardian era

The novel is based during the period of modernism that is the early 20^th century which is also known as the Edwardian era, named after the king at that time, King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. Socially, the Edwardian era was a period during which the British class system was very rigid.  However, economic and social changes also created an environment in which there was more social mobility than previously.

Literature of the Edwardian era reflected the restless ambivalence of the new millennium.  Playwright George Bernard Shaw transformed Edwardian theatre into an arena for debate over the issues of his time: the question of political organization, the morality of armaments and war, the function of class and professions, the validity of the family and marriage, and the challenge of female emancipation.  E.M. Forster, who penned such novels as “Howard's End’ and “A Room with a View’, explored difficult themes such as the insensitivity, repression, and philistinism of the English middle classes. (Art, Literature and Music, Edwardian Era)

Changes that can be seen in “A Room with a View” included rising interest in socialism (this issue is brought up during the discussion with Mr. Emmerson), attention to the class hierarchy in the society (this issue is shown numerous times in the novel: unacceptability of Mr. Emmerson because he is the son of a labourer) and the status of women (this issue is shown in the form of Cecil Vyse’s attitude towards Lucy where he thinks he was doing a favour in marrying her and pulling her from the ordinary life to a high social life not giving importance to her feelings, her likes and dislikes).

Theoretical approach

Feminist discourse shares many similarities with post-colonial theory and for this reason the two fields have long been thought of as associative, even complimentary. Firstly, both discourses are predominantly political and concern themselves with the struggle against oppression and injustice. Moreover, both reject the established hierarchical, patriarchal system, which is dominated by the hegemonic white male, and vehemently deny the supposed supremacy of masculine power and authority. The oppressed woman is akin to the colonized subject. Essentially, exponents of post-colonialism are reacting against colonialism in the political and economic sense while feminist theorists are rejecting colonialism of a sexual nature. (Key Concepts in Post colonial Studies)

According to feminist theory, the subordination of women originated in primitive societies in which women served as objects of exchange between father-dominated families that formed alliances through marriage.  While such clan relations have been replaced in contemporary capitalist societies by more fluid forms of sexual alliance, the modern industrial world is still by and large patriarchal in character. (Ryan, 101) The assumed norm in many societies is for women to be in charge of domestic labor and childrearing while men engage in more public concerns.  Such continued male domination is a consequence of male violence against women. (Ryan, 101)

According to Tyson, a patriarchal woman is a woman who has internalized the norms and values of patriarchy, which can be defined, in short, as any culture that privileges men by promoting traditional gender roles. Traditional gender roles cast men as rational, strong, protective and decisive; they cast women as emotional (irrational), weak, nurturing and submissive. (83) While all women are subject to patriarchal oppression, each woman’s specific needs, desires and problems are greatly shaped by her race, socioeconomic class, sexual orientation, educational experience, religion and nationality. (Tyson, 95)

The female emancipation

Lucy faces conflict between propriety and passion, which she discovers in Italy and later resolves them in England.  She comes from a conventional background of the Edwardian era where the women are expected to behave in a certain and proper manner that is accepted by the society.  The society enforced the restrictions especially on women in the name of propriety. The restrictions include the way they are to behave in public places, with who they talk and walk with, as well as in the matters of choosing their spouses. These restrictions are enforced so as to curtail the independence and individuality of the women. Lucy, being a different kind of woman as illustrated in this novel, goes through an evolution from a simple and ordinary to an independent and intelligent English woman. 

Despite having a conventional background, Lucy insists to have a “view” of her own.  She is adamant to have a view of the wide Arno River in which she will be exposed to varieties of new things and experience new world instead of the view of a courtyard where it is more secluded and sheltered. The window is seen as a metaphor where it symbolises the spacious view that Lucy craves for where she can see things in the world in a broader perspective.  It also reflects the views and desires that Lucy has longed for all this while, the view that can make her open to many new things, new ideas and new challenges in life.

Lucy faces her first conflict when she meets George at Piazza Sinoria where she is exposed to extreme emotional feelings of hatred (witnessing the murder at Piazza Sinoria) and the soothing and calming feeling of talking and spending time with George.  She feels the changes in her emotions when “Her heart warmed towards him for the first time.” (Forster: 42), indicating a feeling that she has never experienced in her entire life before.  She realises that along with independence there is a price to pay.  She notices that unkind things do happen but life has to go on as usual.  This is illustrated from line, “How quickly these accidents do happen, and then one returns to the old life!” (Forster: 43)

Lucy worries about George telling every one what happened at Piazza Signoria where she faints after seeing the murder.  She fears as a typical man he will be boasting about rescuing women who wanders on her own with out an escort, and finds her self in trouble. George is an unconventional man.  He sees no reason to brag about what had happened at Piazza Signoria. Lucy has a good impression on him after observing his attitude.

Young Lucy finds herself in a “muddle” after meeting the Emersons.  She hides her passion behind propriety.  This can be seen when she cries out loud, “It isn’t true. It can’t all be true. I want not to be muddled. I want to grow older quickly.” (Forster: 77)  Lucy was born and brought up in the formal and rigid upper middle class society from which she inherited her social values.  She comes out of her country with her inherited ideas but her own ideas and thoughts are challenged by the new country and people she meets in Italy, especially by the Emersons.  Some times she lets herself go back to the more protective cocoon of the propriety than facing the challenge of newly acquired freedom through her passion.  Hence, she left for Rome as a form of escapism; to avoid the Emersons as well as to hide her true inner feelings.

Lucy used to follow others and her family all her life. All her decisions are made by others for her.  However, during her trip to Italy, Lucy started taking her own decisions and forming her own opinions. The more she tries to become independent   the more   she becomes distant from others, who try to push their will on her in the name of propriety. She starts forming her own opinion based on the interaction with the people she meets. She has a soft spot for Emmersons as she likes their unconventional ideas and willing to speak openly. She starts showing her opinion in the form of defending the Emmersons when others try to belittle them. This happens when Mr. Eager tries to slander the Emmersons and Lucy tries to defend them and doesn’t like to believe him, which in turn irritates him.

Lucy is passionate but not a rebel woman.  She is exploring her independence though the experiences she is going through, with each new experience her independence increases and her dependence on others reduces.  Even though she gets the taste of independence in Italy, she is not completely sure of herself yet, so she still gives up to the pressures of propriety momentarily and accepts Cecil’s marriage proposal.  As she knows more about him and as her independent mind develops and reinforces, she is not afraid to cancel her engagement with out caring what others might say or for the sake of propriety.

Lucy realises Cecil’s attitude towards her.  He feels he is doing a favour to her and her family by marrying her.  This is illustrated clearly from line, "He practically put it like this: Wasn’t it a splendid thing for Lucy and for Windy Corner generally if he married her?” (Forster: 83)  He feels that after marriage she has to change a lot according to the propriety of the aristocracy society standards. He starts treating her as an object, like precious artefact, which in the raw form is worthwhile, but has to be refined to be appreciated as a marvel by every one.  According to Bland in her essay “The Married Woman, the ‘New Woman’ and the Feminist: Sexual politics of the 1980s”, marriage – at least loveless marriage – was nothing but “legalised prostitution”, or seen as no better than slavery.  Once married, a woman became effectively her husband’s property, including his sexual property, given his irrevocable sexual rights over her.

Cecil thinks as himself as the artist who will bring new life to Lucy. He is in love with not the real Lucy; he is in love with the idea of having Lucy to be his own. He has some of his own ideas about women and the way she should be; how she should behave in the society, which songs she should play on piano when she was among with others. Cecil wants to enforce these ideas on Lucy.  He sees Lucy as one of the praised poetry or artefacts which he is going to own soon. Even though the praise is an honest one, the intent is to objectify Lucy rather than treating her as a living person.

When George argues the reasons that Lucy and Cecil are not made for each other, initially she dismisses it.  According to George, “He daren’t let a woman decide. He’s the type who’s kept Europe back for a thousand years. Every moment of his life he’s forming you, telling you what’s charming or amusing or ladylike…” (Forster: 162)  However, later she realises it and breaks her engagement.  She explains to Cecil later that it was not an instant decision and she thinks they are not made for each other. She tells him that he would not respect her and he will curb her independence. In spite of him being well travelled and well educated, he is not able to know how a woman wants to be treated. 

Conclusion

The society enforced the restrictions especially on women in the name of propriety.   These restrictions are enforced so as to curtail the independence and individuality of the women. Women who try to follow their passion and want to stand on their own are seen as rebels. Lucy is a simple girl who is passionate about her independence. She is not flamboyant or icon of women liberalism, but a person who develops with her circumstances. She is embodiment of her family and society values, but as she experiences life on her own without anyone’s support or intervention, her personality develops into a strong and independent personality. She for that reason rejects the protectionist and controlling Cecil and goes for independent and free thinking and free speaking person like George.   

Through Lucy, Forster departs from the norms by having the female to have full control of their own body and making own decisions, a phenomenon that is not acknowledged in the patriarchy world, during the Edwardian era in particular.  Forster’s novel helps us to think about how women are being suppressed and refrain from leading their own lives due to propriety and how some escape male domination by making sturdy decisions with their strong characters.  Through this novel, one can see Forster’s attempt to create a new and independent woman in this challenging world.

Work cited:

Bland, Lucy. “The Married Woman, the ‘New Woman’ and the Feminist: Sexual politics of the 1980s.”               Equal or Different: Women’s Politics 1800 – 1914. Ed. Jane Rendall.  Great Britain: Billing & Sons               Ltd. 141 – 164.

Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-friendly Guide. New York: Garland Publishing, 1999.

Ryan, Michael. Literary Theory: A Practical Introduction. USA: Blackwell Publishers, 1999.

“The Edwardian Era (1901 – 1919).” Eras of Elegance. 21 April 2009 <http://erasofelegance.com/history/edwardian.html>