A Room with a View
by E. M. Forster

A Room with a View: Setting 1 key example

Definition of Setting

Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:

The geographical setting of A Room with a View is not merely a backdrop of the novel's events, but rather a driving force for everything that takes place in each of the novel's halves. It is necessary for the first part to take place in Italy, as the unfamiliar environment, culture, and language sets essential character development and character relationships in motion. Similarly, it is necessary for the second part to take place in England, as it gives the reader the chance to see everything that was set in motion in Italy now unfolding in a familiar environment. Forster repeatedly suggests throughout the novel that Lucy had to go to Italy to come into herself and eventually gain true agency over her life. Italy has an anarchic effect on Lucy's inner and outer lives; in England, she puts the pieces back together in a way that is informed by her time abroad.