The influences of Cecil and George on Lucy's development in 'A Room with a View'

Essay from the year 2010 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Trier, language: English, abstract: 'Remembering that she was engaged to Cecil, she compelled herself to confused remembrances of George: he was nothing to her; he never had been anything; he had behaved abominably; she had never encouraged him' (A Room with a View). This quotation from E. M. Forster's novel A Room with a View, published in 1908, shows the protagonist's, Lucy Honeychurch, confused feelings towards her two suitors. While Cecil is a promoter of the ancient image of womanhood and is regarded as her perfect suitor, George holds a more modern view. In the beginning, Lucy's conservative upbringing can be accounted for her very conventional view and ambiguous feelings towards the unconventional George. She is mainly shaped through her family and their values and in George, she encounters a passionate and rather individual man for the first time in her life. Both men, Cecil and George, influence Lucy's development equally and can be considered crucial determinants in her transition from a conventional girl to a freethinking woman.