What you learn from reading… "A Room with a View" by E.M. Forster (Part 2)

'If Miss Honeychurch ever takes to live as she plays, it will be very exciting—for both us and for her.' - E.M. Forster

When encountering a novel of this magnitude there comes a time where you begin to wonder if you will ever stop underlining. Rocking back on your heels, floored by another unobtrusive comment or line that really is both something and nothing — becomes normal. Not even a chapter can go by without a passing thought in a characters mind stopping you in your tracks. Does it truly resonate so deeply, or am I stuck in a loop of finding meaning in everything?

Like anyone feeling a bit stuck, lost or in some way hopeless at this time of year (No I didn’t get invited to a NYE party, did you? Jealous), you start looking for meaning in everything. Thoughts like: Is this book the key? Is it this line? Or is it this podcast? Do I need that red pair of pants or need to eat 12 grapes under a table at midnight? Or even, I saw 11:11 today so everything must be ok, right?

Which is when this quote smacked me in the face. No, I do not need to be like everyone else on TikTok or social media, eating 12 grapes or being invited to a NYE party won’t change my life or my 2025. Instead it would be choosing to live life the way I want to…the way I am meant to.

Because this is such a slim little innocent looking volume about wealthy Edwardian families enjoying life free of normal worries, it helps to cut through the noise of our modern day social media comparison, glow-up reels and end of year round up posts to a grave truth. We are all hiding parts of ourselves to fit in.

Lucy is perfectly built to be well-loved by society, raised in the country, travelling in Italy and now it’s just about marrying her off. In other words she’s someone brought out to shine in the light and perform for the masses. She will get the education required, take her trips, learn her languages and shut down whatever is within her that leads her to be wild and free. The very thing Mr Bebe sees so fleetingly when she is playing the piano is a part of herself she’s never had a chance to meet let alone nurture. Individuality, uniqueness and authenticity are not encouraged by a society that’s primary goal is control.

So Lucy hides that part of herself. Which is what all of the women in this story do, they adhere almost explicitly to their chosen female archetypes. Whether those be obvious or not, both Miss Lavish and Charlotte also agree to play roles within society. Miss Lavish is the eccentric older unmarried woman, while Charlotte took on the role of ‘Poor Charlotte’ the penniless and much-pitied spinster aunt.

These women all fulfil their roles within the novel, they create tension, drama and, of course, wit and humour. But they are all archetypes. The elder two have agreed their own roles within themselves, a willingness to be what they are cast as - even doubling down and going against their own desires to fulfil them.

Forster therefore chooses Lucy who is on the precipice, as our heroine. She is preparing for her role and it is this trip, this fated kiss amongst the violets, the chance meetings of destiny and providence that open up another path for her. She is being giving a choice: adhere to the world of Windy Corner, the safe life where she can do anything she wants and yet nothing ever happens. Or she can leap. This is what Mr Bebe is seeing, be it too much Beethoven or not, he can sense within Lucy the truth she has hidden even from herself. The same self that feels the thrum of connection to George and is afraid of what that truth of deep connection could mean.

But isn’t it always the way that society, life and the pressures of getting everything right, tends to hold us back from letting ourselves truly be ourselves. Surprisingly when we trust society to care for us, it actually sends us careening to Rome and agreeing to marry a weasel like Cecil? Someone who fulfils his role - seeing Lucy as that doll, the one ready to be moulded and stuck up on a mantel piece and brought down for delightful piano recitals.

Of course our modern lives are different. Firstly, compared to these fictional characters, our lives, feelings and journeys are real. They are unwritten, unplotted and tend to twist and turn without warning. We may have to battle cosmic forces, external disappointments and many other real life woes that these women crafted within a book could only dream of. Yet, on reading this quote it struck me anew, that we have a choice.

We don’t have to just ascribe to the ways we have always been or the ways we have been told to behave. We don’t have to continue pulling the mask of our own fear tighter and tighter. We can choose who we are. Today, tomorrow, the next day…we are not forced to stay in our lane and fit in or pander to the loudest voices to stay safe. Maybe those social constructs can be cast aside, and we can choose to just, take off the mask. Perhaps that small hidden part of you will come out and you might just get your Lucy Honeychurch happy-ever-after. Because that final part of the quote is also the most important to remember when you strive through this ‘healing journey of self-discovery’… ‘it will be very exciting—for both us and for her.'

Us being our true selves might even be better for everyone… Think about it - George only gets the girl he loves because she chooses to be her true self. He doesn’t win unless Lucy meets him there, Freddie would have ended up with a coward who wouldn’t say yes to a bathe for a brother-in-law, Mrs Honeychurch would lose her daughter to the pettiness of London society and well, you see where I’m going with this.

So let’s stop thinking that being our true selves and living the life we dream of is selfish, because what if it’s not? What if it’s the most selfless thing we could ever do? What if everyone meant for you is just sitting there waiting for you to step out of your fear and run with wild abandon into their arms? It’s a new year, so why not give it a go. Live like Lucy Honeychurch, live life like you are playing Beethoven and be selfless!

This is a confused and stream of consciousness writing exercise, all undertaken thanks to more Terry’s chocolate orange than advised. Any errors, idiotic mistakes or cringing self-depreciating humour are my own - now enjoy your NYE’s and remember to be more Lucy!