George Emerson: A Symbol or a Human Being - Book Report/Review Example

George Emerson: A Symbol or a Human Being " In the first version of the novel, George was an aesthetic prig; in the 'New Lucy' he was an ideal figure, a compound of noble peasant and Cambridge culture, killed off by his creator when he rode his bicycle into a tree in a storm; while in A Room with a View, he is a complex but negative figure, an imperfect product of his father's system of natural education, too passive to justify his final claim to Lucytoo weak to sustain his symbolic role as the embodiment of naturalism" So runs Colmer's assessment of George in E.M. Forster's novel 'A Room with a View' and there certainly is some truth in such an outright critical dismissal. To say the least, George Emerson, as Forster portrays him, does not appear to be a powerful enough character to bear the burden of symbolism placed on him and thereby becomes a victim of it. This paper would endeavor to show that the role played by George in the transformation of Lucy (which is the novel's central action) is rather passive and mostly have a symbolic bent; that the actual active agents of Lucy's transformation lie elsewhere and is distribute evenly among various other agencies; and that the symbolism that George is endowed with by the author stands in the way of his realization as a living breathing human being. To begin with, throughout the novel, we find Mr. Emerson (George's father) functioning as the mouthpiece for his son. Thus the words and the initiatives that should have come from George for him to become a truly dynamic character and a justifiable symbol of the 'naturalism' that Forster upholds, comes not from him but from the mouth of Mr. Emerson. The original offer of 'a room with a view' that begins the novels dramatic as well as the symbolic action, for instance, is tendered towards Lucy Honeychurch and her elderly chaperone Miss Bartlett, not by George, but by Mr. Emerson. And interestingly with this begins Lucy's initiation into naturalness and spontaneity against conventions and genteel propriety as symbolized by the typical English residents and the cockney run pension in Italy. Lucy's second step towards enlightenment also happens at the behest of Mr. Emerson. At the Church, when Lucy shocked at Mr. Emerson's frank approach refuses his invitation of joining their tour, his repartee "underlines the thematic contrast between naturalness and convention" which happens to be the central premise of the novel: 'My dear,' said the old man gently, 'I think that you are repeating what you have heard older people say. You are pretending to be touchy; but you are not really. Stop being so tiresome, and tell me instead what part of the church you want to see.' In fact Lucy's first introduction to the mysterious and melancholic George takes place through the agency of Mr. Emerson and it is through the old man's eyes that our heroine first sees George. He attempts to explain his son saying that George's trouble is that he is distressed that the "things of the universedon't fit". However, most important of all is perhaps, Mr. Emerson's direct appeal to Lucy to understand his son and not get confused by conventional viewpoints: ' "Let yourself go. Pull out from the depths those thoughts that you do not understand, and spread them out in the sunlight and know the meaning of them. By understanding George you may learn to understand yourself." Here, in a few words, Mr. Emerson has summed up the entire action of the novel as well as the role George is to play in it. His part is essentially passive. He is to be understood, his symbolic significance is to be realized and only through this Lucy would find her release from the stunting conventions of Edwardian England. The novel is for all intents and purposes about Lucy and traces her journey and growth to become a better and fuller human being. George is merely a passive subject understanding whom this transformation is brought about. The symbolic intent of the author in presenting George has been clear from the very outset when, affixed to the wall in George Emerson's former room Charlotte finds a large question mark drawn on a piece of paper. What is important here is that the symbolic presence of George in that question mark is more important here than the real person. His symbolic presence is further established, this time curiously and ironically by the irrational workings of decorum that is so important in the genteel English society, when Miss Bartlett takes the larger room "so that her tender young charge should not sleep in the room previously occupied by the young man, George Emerson". Lucy's next direct encounter with George Emerson is equally steeped with symbolism and the significance it has in Lucy's life does not lie simply in George but is shared equally by the particular moment, the context, the situation etc. Lucy faints in George's arm after accidentally witnessing an Italian murder. The spilling of blood and violence (Forster often equates violence with reality) appears as a crack in Lucy's sheltered existence and initiates her into a sphere of reality that has been alien to her until that point. That the incident throws Lucy into George's arm and acts towards bringing them closer is merely coincidental for George Emerson happened to be around. What is more important is that it "stains her 'dead' art-prints with 'live' blood." Once again we see that George depends on the situation and circumstances apart from his father to derive his symbolic significance as the agent of metamorphosis. He really has little active role to play in the action. Forster's scheme in presenting George and also Mr. Emerson to an extent is clearly indicated in his refusal to probe into their minds and thoughts in spite of posing as a third person omniscient narrator. This is a very well defined strategy; by keeping the thoughts of George Emerson out of the reach of the readers, the author attempts to endow him with a greater sense of mystery than is warranted by his character and actions. Other authors have done the same with similar characters viz. the character of Sarah The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles. However, there is an intrinsic difference between the mystery that shrouds Sarah and that envelopes Forster's George. Both George and Sarah are instrumental in bringing out Lucy and Charles respectively from their conservative English shells and making them face themselves. The internal workings of the minds of both George and Sarah are not investigated into by their creators and this strategy endows them with an aura of mystery and ambiguity thus amplifying their symbolic significance. The intrinsic difference lies in the fact that unlike George, Sarah is not a passive symbol; her actions justify her presentation as the mysterious force that brings about a metamorphosis in the protagonist. Unlike Sarah, George depends for his symbolic significance largely on other people's words about him and the significance of the situation in which the drama of the novel is worked out. Colmer is quite close to the truth when he writes: "Since George is too weak to sustain his symbolic role as the embodiment of naturalism, the main weight of the novel's meaning falls elsewhereon visionary moments and dialogue. It falls especially on the simple-life philosophy of 'comradeship' and respect for the bodyunfolded by Mr. Emerson" The climactic kissing sequence that follows is such a visionary moment. Even here, we see George from only an objective distance. It is Lucy's thoughts that the omniscient narrator follows and there is no doubt that by now Mr. Emerson and his mysterious son has had a profound effect on her young and tender mind. Her sincere attempt to be truthful is a perfect instance of that. Also one curiously notes her attempt to explain and excuse away the behavior of George Emerson to her shocked chaperone Miss Bartlett: I think he was taken by surprise, just as I was before. But this time I'm not to blame; I do want you to believe that. I simply slipped into those violets. No, I want to be really truthful. I am a little to blame. I had silly thoughts. The sky, you know, was gold, and the ground all blue, and for a moment he looked like some one in a book. However, what has brought about this change in Lucy is not simply George Emerson and cannot simply be George for he is too passive, too much of a symbolic substance to be a dynamic life-changing influence. Italy as well as Mr. Emerson has as important a role to play in it. As Lucy herself realizes, the golden sky and the blue earth were just as effective as George was and categorizes the three together. The terrace is described as "the primal source whence beauty gushed out to water the earth," which marks George's kiss as a part of this essential, uncivilized, raw beauty, which--like Lucy's music--can transcend social barriers. Moreover, it is the Italian driver who leads Lucy to George in spite of her attempts to make him understand that she is looking for Mr. Beebe. Thus it is Italy, itself, embodied in the carefree driver that has other plans for Lucy despite her attempt to find her way back to civilization. And once again Mr. Emerson had paved the way for this development by his free-speaking nature when he had defended their Italian driver and his sweetheart kissing freely to the English company's utter indignation by saying that the effects of 'spring' are as admirable in human beings as on the nature they have come to appreciate: "Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there To be driven by lovers - A king might envy us" Once again we see the need of Mr. Emerson's voicing of the philosophy of spontaneity against conventions to support and uphold George's symbolic character. And once again Colmer's assessment seems quite true that: It is the central weakness of the novel that Lucy's emancipation from the spirit of muddle should have come from Mr. Emerson ('beware muddle'), when the reader feels it should come from his son. From this sense, George Emerson is truly a rather weak and passive character or rather a character that had been killed off by the weight of symbolism and mystery the author has bestowed upon him. In the second part of the novel, Cecil appears allowing the reader to better grasp and understand the symbolic significance of the character of George Emerson. One easily grasps the fact that Cecil is a 'foil' to George and they represent the two poles of the novel, the tow poles within which Lucy flutters throughout its action. This new character and the new setting function to consolidate the character of George to an extent. For the first time we see him outside the influence of Italy where he seemed to be just an extension of the country's spirit; we see him in an alien land and for the first time is able to appreciate his symbolic significance. George Emerson rises to his full height only in Chapter 16 when he finally confronts Lucy and proclaims his love for her advising her to break off the engagement with Cecil. However, before this the author has further extended his symbolism and he has been mythologized into a modern-day Pan. When Cecil, Lucy and her mother come upon the impromptu swimming party, George is revealed as "near-naked, natural, uninhibited man": "'Mother, do come away,' said Lucy. 'Oh, for goodness' sake, do come.' 'Hullo!' cried George, so that again the ladies stopped. He regarded himself as dressed. Barefoot, bare-chested, radiant and personable against the shadowy woods, he called: 'Hullo, Miss Honeychurch! Hullo!'" Soon after this we find George in his most active role in the entire novel when at the tennis party he advises Lucy to break off her engagement with Cecil, proclaims his love for her and says he also want her to think for herself. This is the most direct that George gets about what she represents in the novel and this is where he succeeds the most. But even in this scene George is not completely out of Mr. Emerson's shadow. His speech on vistas reveals his father's great influence on him. From all this evidence one might conclude that George Emerson is not a very powerfully developed character and this lack of power is evident in the author's need to use Mr. Emerson's dialogues, the highly symbolic backgrounds and the visionary situations to cover up for George's weakness. Rose Macauley points out in her book The Writings of E.M. Forster that all the characters in this novel (or for that matter any novel by Forster) that can be identified with 'good' share a flexible appreciation of other people that avoids the strict moralizing and pigeon-holing of traditional values. From this perspective, there can be no doubt whatsoever that George is meant to be one of the most positive characters in the novel and instrumental in bringing about the transformation in Lucy. But as delineated in this discussion, throughout the novel we find Lucy being educated and inspired by things other than George, at times it is Mr. Emerson, at others it is Italy or spring. In the second part also the education proceeds from a negative angle. Only after discovering 'the muddle' that Cecil is, Lucy realizes George's worth and admits her love. From this perspective one might conclude that George Emerson is truly too passive a character to carry out the significant role he had been endowed with in the Forster's tale single-handedly. However, as discussed there can be hardly be any second opinion about his symbolic significance. Rather one might say that Forster's attempt to imbue George with symbolic significance is so strong that often his humanity is overlooked in the process and the character becomes simply a repository of symbols than a living breathing human being. Works Cited Abrams, M.H and Stephen Greenblatt. "E.M. Forster." The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 2C, 7th Edition. New York: W.W. Norton, 2000: 2131-2140. Colmer, John. E.M. Forster - The Personal Voice (London, 1975). Forster, E. M. A Room with a View. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1995 Fowles, John. The French Lieutenant's Woman. New York: Signet, 1969. Macaulay, Rose. The Writings of E. M. Forster. New York: Barnes and Noble, Inc., 1970. Read More