Kissing and telling turning round in A Room with a ViewJeffrey Heath福斯特看得见风景的房间论文.docx

Kissing and telling turning round in A Room with a ViewJeffrey Heath福斯特看得见风景的房间论文.docx

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KissingandtellingturningroundinARoomwithaViewJeffreyHeath福斯特看得见风景的房间论文

Title:

Kissingandtelling:

turningroundin'ARoomwithaView.'

Author（s）:

JeffreyHeath

Source:

TwentiethCenturyLiterature.40.4（Winter1994）:

p393.FromLiteratureResourceCenter.

DocumentType:

Article

Lucy（86）who,withher"warped"brain,is"caughtinthetangle"（213,224）,can't"disentangle"heremotions（68,94）,endsconversationsin"awrangle"（215）,andgives"anervouslittlebow"whenshefirstmeetstheEmersons（27）.Lateron,whensheseesthenearlynakedfigureofGeorge,radiantagainstthewoods,LucyyieldstothedemandsofCecil'spropriety:

"'Bow,Lucy;betterbow.'...MissHoneychurchbowed"（152）.Sheintroduces"windingintricacies"intoBeethoven,whoisusually"sosimpleanddirect"（51）,andinascenethattellsusalmostallweneedtoknowabouther,sheshakeshandswithCecilwithonehandwhile"twistingupherotherhandinthecurtains"（193）.Mr.Beebe（evenhisnameturnsbackonitself）expressesadmirationforthewayshehasbeenableto"windherselfuptospeak"（203）,andthinksofherasakiteinthe"wind"（112）.MissBartlettwithherringsYesterdayhadbeenamuddle-...thekindofthingonecouldnotwritedowneasilyonpaper....[Lucy]thoughtnotsomuchofwhathadhappenedasofhowsheshoulddescribeit....But...herwordsfellshortoflife.

（ARoomwithaView68,94,229）

ARoomwithaViewinvitesthesamequestionthatCharlotteBartlettaskswhensheseesGeorgeEmerson's"enormousnoteofinterrogation":

"Whatdoesitmean?

"（43）.ThereplymightbethatForster'snovelis"about"suchmattersaslove,art,self-realization,Edwardianmanners,feminism,valuesandtheirrevision,exposureandconcealment,completionandinterruption,dailylifeandcelestiallife,thesubconsciousmind,language,myth-andsoon.Theseandotherconcernspointtoanenticingvarietyofwell-triedcriticalperspectives;however,beforerestrictingouroutlooktoanyoneofthem,we'lldowelltorememberForster'sownexpressionofpleasureinMatthewArnoldasanauthorwhowrites"tousbecauseheisnotwritingaboutus"（Abinger91）,andhisobservationthatVirginiaWoolf'sfictionisnotaboutsomethingasmuchasitissomething（Two252）.Inwhatfollows,IshalltrytoavoidLucyHoneychurch'spenchantforsubordinatingexperiencetocalculatedandthereforevaluelessstoriesaboutexperience,andIshalltrytodoatleastsomejusticetotheimmediateyetelusive"something"thatARoomwithaView"is."Apromisingwayofdoingthis,itseemstome,isnottoscrutinizeARoom（oraspectsofit）inisolation,buttoconsideritasawholewhileatthesametimebecomingfamiliarwithForster'scharacteristicshiftsandturnsofthoughtastheyaremanifestedinsomeofhisotherwork.Without,Ihope,losingsightoftheforegroundinthebackground,IproposetolookatForster'snovelinthebroadercontextofhisfictionandnonfiction,andtorespondtoitasitinvitesitselftobeexperiencedwithinthatcontext.InoteinparticularhisremarkinAspectsoftheNovelthat"allthatispre-arrangedisfalse"（99）.Forsterarticulatesanddramatizesthisideasooftenandsovariously（wemightconsiderhisironictreatmentofAdela'sloveof"planning"inAPassagetoIndiaandhiswryhumoratLucy'sconstantdifficultyinremembering"howtobehave"inARoom）thatitisimpossibletoregarditasanythingotherthancrucialtohisworldview.Ithasseemedtome,therefore,inthinkingaboutForster,thatcriticsofanovelistwhoprizestheunpremeditatedandtheinvoluntarywillbewelladvisedtoadoptflexibleandunconventionalapproachesthemselves.

UnliketheLucyHoneychurchoftheearlychaptersofARoom,Forstervaluesdirectexperience-oftenprofoundlyhumanexperienceonagrandscale-overlimitedandeditedaccountsofit.Infact,itwasprobablyForster'spreferenceforexperiencethatincludesbutsomehowtranscendsthepersonalthatpromptedPeterBurratoremark,nearlysixtyyearsago,thatwhatstayswithusafterreadingForsterisatoneof"AnonymousProphecy"that"rise[s]up...fromthatanonymouspartofamanwhich'cannotbelabelledwithhisname....'"（"Introduction"inForsterAPassage332-33）.Burra'sobservationisashrewdandsensitiveone,andtheremarksthatfollowmaybeseen（inpart）asanexplorationofsomeofitsimplications.I'llconsiderprophecyfirst,andanonymityasIgoalong.

Inhisimportantdiscussionof"prophetic"novelsinAspects,Forstermaintainsthatalthoughsuchnovelshaveuniversalscope,whattheysayaboutthemeaningoftheuniverseisnotofprimaryimportance:

"Wearenotconcernedwiththeprophet'smessage....Whatmattersistheaccentofhisvoice....NothingcanbestatedaboutMobyDickexceptthatitisacontest.Therestissong"（123,128）.RemarkslikethesefromForster'snonfictionsuggestthataswereadARoomweshouldnotinquiretoointentlyaboutitsmeaningbecause,likeCharlotteBartlett,wemaylosesightofthegoalasweapproachit（76）,andexperiencemayslideawayintothe"untrue"realmofmere"information"（37）.Forsterknewthatthestudyofliteratureteachesuseverythingaboutit"exceptthecentralthing,"the"pearlofgreatprice"（Two94,96）.Heamusinglyconfesses,forexample,thathisfountainpenvanishedassoonashehadplanned"asuitableopeningparagraph"onWoolf'selusivenovels."Sonear,andyetsofar!

...Thewordsareherebutthebirdshaveflown（Abinger125）.Forster'sdifficultieswithWoolf'sworkcanhelpustohearthepropheticsonginhisown:

inARoomthereader'sgreatestproblem（anditisonethatafflictsthemaincharacterstoo）isoneofconceptualfocus.ItisnotthatweshouldavoidallinterestinwhatForster'snovel"means,"butthatwemustnottrytoknowintooexcludinglyparticularorconsciousamanner,orgetitssignificanceprematurely"narrowedandhardened"intowords（Aspects126）.AsForsterwrote,concerningpeoplewhoareintentonunderstanding"Love"and"God,"theyaremorelikelytograsp"thecentralfireandthecentralglow"iftheyrelaxintheirquests:

Loveisnotawordoffourletters,norGodawordofthree....Thefateoftheemotionalistisironic,andhewillneverescapeituntilheislessobsessedwiththeimportanceofemotion.Whenheisinterestedinpeopleandthingsfortheirownsake,thehourofhisdeliverancehasapproached,andwhilestretchingouthishandforsomeotherpurpose,hewilldiscover-quitesimply!

-thathecanfeel.（Albergo247）

（1）

Asweproceed,then,wemightrememberhowinAPassageProfessorGodbole"tookhistea...fromalowtableplacedslightlybehindhim,towhichhestretchedback,andasitwereencounteredfoodbyaccident"（89）.LikeGodbolewithhistea,weshallencounterForster'smeaningbestifweinadvertentlystretchbacktoit（asitwere）,byaccident.

Knowingmoreaboutthemerelyintermittentuseof"realism"inForster's"prophecy"willhelpusalongourway.Forsterwrites,"Beforewecondemn[thepropheticnovelist]foraffectationanddistortionwemustrealizehisviewpoint.Heisnotlookingatthetablesandchairsatall,andthatiswhytheyareoutoffocus.Weonlyseewhathedoesnotfocus-notwhathedoes-andinourblindnesswelaughathim"（Aspects117）.Westoplaughingathimwhenweadjustorreverseouremphasis;infact,reversaloffocusandotheropticaltricksareofgreatimportanceinARoom,whichisoftenconcernedbothtechnicallyandconceptuallywith"thesnaresof...perspective"（43）.WeshouldbewaryabouttherealisminARoom,becausebythetimewearefinished,we'llbeabletosayofForster'snovelwhatForsterhimselfsaysofMobyDick-thatoncewegetpastthetablesandchairsofrealism,it"reachesstraightbackintotheuniversal"（Aspects130）.Moreover,asForsterhimselfrecommendsashereflectsonpropheticnovelists,itwillbeusefulforthereaderofARoomtopayattentionto"theturnsofthenovelist'sphrase...theminutiaeof[his]style...and...theactualwordsheuses"（116-17）.Thismeans（almostatForster'sowninvitation）thatthediscussionthatfollowsissuesfromclosereading:

readerswholiketheircriticismatacomfortabledistancefromthetextshouldabandonallhopeiftheycontinuehere;ontheotherhand,iftheydocontinue,theymayhavesomefun-theverythingForsterdeclaredtheyshouldnothaveinreadingprophecyitself（117）.

Ifprophecycontainselementsofcontestonthelargescale,ARoomprovidesasurprisingarrayofsmallerencounters.Wehaveachoiceofcontests:

theopposingrowsof"whitebottlesofwaterandredbottlesofwine"onthedining-roomtableofthePensionBertolini（23）;Lucy's"hammer-strokesofvictory"atthepiano（51）;thecomplicatedgameonthehillsideaboveFlorence;thefootballgameplayedwiththearmyofcast-offclothingat"TheSacredLake";themanyritualsofsocialone-upsmanship;theGuelfsandtheGhibellinesandthemanyotherreferencestoactualwarfare,victory,anddefeat.Beyondthese,curiously,thereistennis,withitsmirror-imagecourts,anditssuggestiveterminologyofdoubles,deuce,serve,fault,advantageinandout,set,love,andmatch.

Thepre-eminentcontestinARoomisbetweenwhatForster'snarratorcalls"therealandthepretended"（181）.Itisabattlebetweenthespontaneousresponsetolife（thedirect,open,sincere,andchildlike）andthemuddledresponse（theself-conscious,rehearsed,ostentatious,inhibited,andexcluding）.Muddleiswhatresultswhenpeopleignoretheirdeepestpromptingsandresponddishonestlyandindirectlytoexperienceastheyareexpec