I think one of the links that can usefully be made between
these two Modernist texts is the way that both authors explore customs and behaviour of
the Edwardian society. Clearly this is more evident in A Room With a
View, but we can draw some interesting parallels with "The Open
Window."
If we examine the character of Lucy Honeychurch,
it is clear that she is a character who is not yet fully "formed" in the Edwardian sense
of the word. She is desperate to "fit in," practising statements and bows, and wants to
be accepted by society, becoming a social mover and shaker by marrying Cecil Vyse. This
is of course why she is in Italy at the beginning of the novel, so that this finishing
process can be completed, with Miss Bartlett playing the role of her teacher. Of course,
we are already given evidence of the cost of "fitting in" as Lucy tells Cecil that she
was prevented from bathing in the Sacred Lake along with her brother. Of course, it is
the Emersons, a family who do not "fit in" and are very happy to not fit in, who show
Lucy that to be a slave to such social customs is actually to betray your deepest self
and to risk becoming little more than a programmed robot. Lucy is thus able to reject
the conforming force of society and be true to her own emotions and desires by marrying
George Emerson.
Of course, social customs are evident in
"The Open Window," as Framton Nuttel has been given letters of introduction to all the
best families of the society he is visiting and is met politely by Vera whilst he awaits
her aunt. Note how Framton Nuttel is depicted as he faces the "self-possessed youn glady
of fifteen":
Framton Nuttel endeavoured to say the correct
something that should duly flatter the niece of the moment without unduly discounting
the aunt that was to
come.
Behaviour is dictated
by the customs of Edwardian society, as Framton Nuttel tries to "fit in" during this
"formal visit" where he is expected to act in a certain way and say set platitudes that
are demanded by society.
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