A Room with a View

Lucy Seeks the Clergymen and Speaks to the Driver

Lucy addresses herself to the drivers, who sprawl in the carriages perfuming the cushions with cigars. The “miscreant,” a bony young man scorched black by the sun, rises to greet her with the courtesy of a host and the assurance of a relative. After much anxious thought, she simply asks “Dove?” His face lights up; of course he knows where, and not so far either. With grand sweeps of the arm and fingertips pressed to his forehead as if oozing with visible extract of knowledge, he gives her directions, ending the chapter on a note of Italian warmth and ease against which Lucy’s English companions have measured themselves unfavorably throughout the day.

CHAPITRE VI.

Chapter VI follows Lucy as she leaves the carriage to find the clergyman, accompanied through the wood by an Italian coachman. Their walk leads her to a violet-covered terrace where she unexpectedly encounters George Emerson, who kisses her before the moment is interrupted by Miss Bartlett’s voice calling her name.

Asking for the Clergyman

Lucy attempts to ask the Italian coachman for directions to the clergyman, struggling with the language. Her phrase “Dove buoni uomini?” is imperfect, and the man responds by showing her his cigar, given to him by Mr. Beebe, identifying him as the smaller of the two good men.

Preparing for the Walk

The Italian readies himself with remarkable speed, tying the horse to a tree, dusting the carriage, arranging his hair, remoulding his hat, and encouraging his moustache, all in under a quarter of a minute. The narrator reflects that Italians are born knowing the way and that finding people is a gift from God.

Picking Blue Violets

The Italian stops once during the walk to pick Lucy some great blue violets. She thanks him with real pleasure, feeling the influence of Spring for the first time in his company. He offers to show her more violets, but she insists they find the good men first.

Walking Through the Undergrowth

They proceed briskly through thickening undergrowth toward the edge of the promontory. The view begins to steal around them, but the brown network of bushes shatters it into countless pieces. Lucy rejoices in her escape from dullness, finding every step and twig important.

Hearing a Distant Voice

A voice sounds in the distance behind them, and Lucy wonders if it is Mr. Eager. The Italian shrugs, unable to grasp her concern that they may have missed the clergymen. The view continues to form around them, revealing the river, golden plain, and other hills.

Falling onto the Violet Terrace

The ground gives way beneath Lucy and she falls with a cry out of the wood, landing on a little open terrace covered with violets. Her companion, now standing above her, calls out “Courage and love.” The terrace is the primal source from which violets cascade down the hillside in profusion.

Meeting George Emerson

At the terrace’s edge stands not the expected clergyman but George Emerson, alone. He turns at her arrival and contemplates her as one who has fallen out of heaven, seeing radiant joy in her face and blue waves of flowers against her dress.

George Kisses Lucy

The bushes close above them, and George steps quickly forward and kisses her before she can speak or even fully feel what has happened.

Miss Bartlett Calls for Lucy

The silence is broken by Miss Bartlett’s voice calling “Lucy! Lucy! Lucy!” She stands brown against the view, interrupting the moment between Lucy and George.

CHAPITRE VI. : Carriage Drive to Fiesole

Chapter VI follows a mixed party of English tourists and local Italian carriage drivers on a day trip from Florence to Fiesole. The group includes Reverend Arthur Beebe, Reverend Cuthbert Eager, Mr. Emerson, his son George Emerson, novelist Eleanor Lavish, Charlotte Bartlett, and Lucy Honeychurch, who is navigating complicated, unspoken feelings for George Emerson after an unsettling shared experience earlier in their trip. The chapter covers the chaotic drive up the hill to Fiesole, a public confrontation over the drivers’ open displays of affection, a search for the spot where Renaissance painter Alessio Baldovinetti stood to capture a famous valley view, the group’s split into smaller factions, and Lucy’s unplanned, emotionally charged encounter with George on a remote, violet-covered terrace.