One Room, Many Views

So far, our Journey Into Literature course has been filled with great discussions regarding all sorts of aspects about travel. We've discussed the importance of both internal and external journeys, as well as how different -isms (classism, racism, sexism, etc.) can influence us into "othering" people. The film A Room With A View (1985), which is set in the Edwardian era, seemed like the perfect opportunity to discuss all these social issues. 

 In my small way I am a woman of the world. And I know where things can lead to. - Charlotte Bartlett

Remember the facts about this church of Santa Croce; how it was built by faith in the full fervour of medievalism.  [The Reverend Mr. Eager]

Built by faith indeed! That simply means the workers weren't paid properly. [Mr. Emerson] 

Yet surprisingly, what struck me most about the movie was that it got me thinking about how people used to travel in the early 1900s. How did tourism work back then? In what ways has it changed? How has it stayed the same?

Lucy Honeychurch, our main character, goes on a trip with her older cousin Charlotte Bartlett as her chaperone. They're from the United Kingdom and they're visiting Italy. One of the most curious details I noticed is how some locals in the movie disliked the idea of using a Baedeker, a popular travel guide. I haven't traveled a lot, but I've done a lot of research about traveling. There seem to be two perspectives through which you can explore a different country: either as a tourist, or as a traveler. Nowadays, 

It is obvious that in the beginning of the film, both Lucy and Charlotte are tourists. The opening scene features them complaining about how they were given a hotel room without a beautiful view. This sparks the question: how much time were they planning to stay inside the hotel, that they give  such priority to a nice view? 

The whole point of traveling, in my opinion, is to spend little time indoors and stay all day outside, exploring the city. It can be argued that, throughout A Room With A View, Lucy transforms from a tourist to a traveler, while Charlotte stays a tourist. 

Smell! A true Florentine smell. Inhale, my dear. Deeper! Every city, let me tell you, has its own smell. - Eleanor Lavish

In Lucy's particular case, her external journey and internal journey are tied. She grows, matures, and falls in love all while being away from her home country. Her physical journey is going to Italy, but her personal journey is becoming an independent woman in a time when societal norms limited women's ability to do anything completely on their own.

Nowadays, it's technically easier for women to travel alone. I say "technically" because there is still a lot of stigma. Everyone has seen the movie Taken. Other countries are dangerous and filthy. Criminals are lurking in every corner. Women are always unsafe by default, right?

I refuse to believe that. As a young woman who fervently wants to travel, I do not believe the world is nearly as terrifying as people have made it out to be. Is the world a dangerous place? Yes, but arguably so is my hometown. So is my college. So is my country. I take precautions when I walk alone, when I go out to drink, when I'm out at night. I take these precautions here, where I live. What's stopping me from traveling and enjoying another country while taking these same precautions?

A couple of months ago I read a fantastic comic/blog post titled "Don't let fear stop you from traveling!" It's a bit long, but it's worth the read. In it, a woman named Natalie recounts her experiences as a traveler and hitchhiker. I won't spoil anything else, you'll have to read it to understand why I loved her post so much!

By the end of the movie, Lucy gets her happy ending. She elopes and ends up in Italy, in a room with a view. This won't happen to most of us who travel. We won't necessarily find our soulmate, and even if we did, not all of us would be willing to leave everything behind and move to a new country. But that's not what's important. The important thing is to recognize they way in which trips change us. Most of the time, we come back home from traveling feeling as if what happened there, has to stay there. But we must never underestimate the way journeys can affect and change us.