In “A Room with the View” the characters and their
shortcomings are the most central addition to the conflict, but Italy does
function as a prevalent setting in which its surroundings distort and later
misconstrue Lucy’s perceptions of the ancient “civil/barbarian” binary. Of
course, Lucy (the protagonist) is only able to tackle this altered reception of
civility via a facilitated approach through the characters George and his
father (the British tourists), who view the world rather bluntly and through
less socially (and religiously) acceptable spectacles. Italy, rather than functioning
as the sole place of her change, instead operates as a sort of charting
mechanism that illustrates the steps and different approaches Lucy undertakes in
seeing Florence and all its sights—she progresses from the Baedeker toting
tourist, to the active engager, and later, to the lone traveler—an incident
that resulted in, perhaps climatically, the moment in which everything changed
for her; Lucy faces death and in doing so, exchanges a degree of vulnerability
and youthful understanding with the Other, George. As well, the sort of
agreeability she displays with the more snub-nosed presences of her cousins and
the prim people around her falters as her intimacy with Italy and the plight of
the Italian people progresses.
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