A Room with a View

Analyze the role of the clergy in the novel, especially the characters of Mr. Beebe and Mr. Eager. How is the clergy depicted? What are their connections to middle-class social and economic expectations?

The novel opens with the bad news that Lucy and Charlotte's rooms do not have the view of the Arno that they were promised. What is the symbolic meaning of this view? How does Lucy’s “view” change throughout the novel in both a literal and figurative sense?

In what ways does the novel explore the differences between rural and urban settings? What role do these settings play in terms of the novel’s narration, themes, and/or characterization?

Lucy's decision comes down to a choice between Cecil and George. What do each of these men represent for her future? Do you think she made the right choice? Why or why not?

How is class depicted in the novel? What marks a character as lower-class or middle-class? In what ways, if any, are class distinctions sometimes blurred or superseded?

Although the novel deals with English protagonists, it begins in Italy, where many of the novel’s key events take place. How are Italy and the Italians depicted? How are the Italian scenes similar or different to the scenes set in England?

What roles do art, beauty, and aesthetics play in the novel? How do different characters interact with art and literature, and what do these interactions reveal about their own characterization and/or the novel’s key themes?

George is, in many ways, a liminal figure caught between his working-class origins and the middle-class milieu in which he travels and sometimes socializes. How is George characterized in the novel? Does his own “view” change over the course of the novel, as Lucy’s does? Why or why not?