A Room with a View

In A Room with a View, two bodies of water have significant symbolic meaning. The River Arno that runs through Florence plays an important role in Lucy's story. It is the view of this river that leads to her first conversation with the Emersons, when they offer to swap rooms with her so that she can see the Arno.

For Lucy, the Arno is closely associated with George and his challenge to the social norms of the era. After Lucy witnesses a stabbing, George helps her. She walks with him alongside the river, and the narration notes the rushing waters that are passing nearby. The rush of the Arno reflects the churning emotions inside Lucy: Like the river itself, George is a powerful force of nature who is not tamed by social etiquette and systems of manners. The river exists beyond the boundaries of human demands, much like the emotions that Lucy is beginning to experience and that society encourages her to hide.

In England, a second body of water also plays an important role in Lucy's life. Near her family home is a small pond that the Honeychurches jokingly refer to as “the Sacred Lake.” The joke is an echo of similarly delusional sentiments in the Summer Street community.