1. Miss Lavish has written a novel set in Florence, and the scene Cecil reads aloud is a description of the scene in which George kissed Lucy (407-408). How do you suppose did Miss Lavish know about this?
2. Earlier, it brought Lucy inward joy to know that George did not tell her father what happened on that hillside near Florence. (She can tell because of the way Mr. Emerson senior treats Charlotte Lucas after her col hello, I think--I'm not sure.) Why is the ability not to tell a secret such a good quality? (402)
3. George thinks a person should "Choose a place where you won't do harm--yes choose a place where you won't do very much harm, and stand in it for all you are worth, facing the sunshine." (401) Comment.
4. Probably Forster is making fun of Miss Lavish's prose style: is there anything Cecil reads from her novel that strikes you as laughable, as writing? (408)
5. George kisses Lucy again (408). Is this wrong of him? Right of him?
George kisses Lucy again! I don't think this is wrong of him, in fact, it made me smile. I like the idea of Lucy and George being together, as I find Cecil a bit stuffy and not suitable for Lucy. George, with all his intellectual awkwardness, truly is attracted to Lucy and she to him. I think them kissing is only natural. It does, however, complicate things a bit. Lucy was finally settling into being Cecil's fiance. Having George so nearby, and so passionate, will pose a real problem for Lucy. I wonder, will she conceal her feelings for George, and continue pretending nothing has gone on between them, or will she take the leap for love, and admit to her socially unacceptable passion? I can't wait to read more!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy that George kisses Lucy again in this chapter. I think now that George has settled into her neighborhood, she is forced to think about her old feelings for him once again. This second kiss will remind Lucy even more of what she wants. It can only help her further in deciding what is best for herself. The kiss also tells Lucy that George is still feeling the same emotions for her that he did when they shared a kiss in Italy. It shows that George has not forgotten her or moved on yet. Hopefully the second kiss will wake up Lucy soon from her nightmares about becoming one of the Vyses.
ReplyDeleteI think it is rather funny how Mrs. Lavish writes about Italy. She is obsessed with Italy's beauty and landscape. Her descriptions of Italy are overflowing and too much.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, Mrs. Lavish gets the fact that the kiss was organic and pure when she writes "there came from his lips no wordy protestation such as formal lovers use. No eloquence was his, nor did he suffer from the lack of it. He simply enfolded her in his manly arms".
It is strange how precisely she captured the moment where Lucy and George kissed. Mrs. Lavish must have either been there and saw it herself, or Ms. Bartlett told her. It seems unlikely that someone told her though, because every detail matches precisely with the real event- and it is not possible that Ms. Bartlett would have told Mrs. Lavish every detail or remembered it.
I think that it might be just fate that Ms. Lavish wrote about the scene where George and Lucy kissed. It is also fate that of all the scenes in the book Cecil decides to read the scene with special significance to Lucy and Georg. This particular scene it replicates the their kiss in the Italian countryside, and upon hearing this from Ms. Lavishes novel Lucy is appalled. Just as fate plays a major role throughout the novel, it could defiantly occur here. It is very possible that Ms. Lavish actually did witness the kiss, but i think rather that the setting for the kiss was so perfectly beautiful and whimsical that it is no surprise Ms. Lavish writes about it. The beautiful flowers and the lovers together with a beautiful view, makes kissing seem like a natural instinct. I think that Ms. Lavish just happened to write about this, though it is very possible she was spying on Lucy and watched it all occur. Either way, I think that without this scene being read aloud, George would not have been inspired. On the way back to the house, Cecil goes to retrieve the book, as he left it where they were sitting, and had he not read it aloud George wouldn't have been able to seize the opportunity and kiss Lucy again. Its is fate recurring over and over again.
ReplyDeleteI think the best guess would be that Mrs. Lavish was told by the gossiping Charlotte, who had interrupted them. It seems like all of Charlotte's kindness is nearly reversed in this action (Lucy had grown to like Charlotte).
ReplyDeleteGeorge's phrase about standing in a place that won't do harm is interesting, but slightly hypocritical. George is in a situation between Cecil and Lucy, convincing Lucy that Cecil is not the person for her (even more evident by the second kiss exchanged at the end of the chapter). However, I see what he means by this and what he is trying to tell Lucy. Lucy undergoes a transformation for the worse so far, and George reverses that side of her. It is the "delicate" side rather than the "beauty" side. George influences her towards the "beauty" side. I think there was even a point that Lucy admits George was overcome with the beauty of the situation the first time he kisses her. There is Cecil standing for "delicacy" and George for "beauty." This has become the apparent decision of Lucy and which life to lead.
I think Miss Lavish was inspired by George and Lucy’s kiss back in Florence and wrote about it in her novel. She describes the kiss with a great deal of detail indicating that she was watching them at the moment.
ReplyDeleteIt is obvious that Lucy’s feelings for George do persist after the second kiss, but it seems almost like she is afraid to show what she really wants. Also, it looks like she is not convinced at all with Cecil because of his insensitive attitude. She should choose to take a stand for her heart and escape with George!
I think that it is very random, and spontaneous of George to kiss Lucy again, but I feel as is that was one of his subtle attempts to rekindle the love and attraction he felt for Lucy in Italy, before she gets married to Cecil. I think it was right of George to kiss her to remind Lucy that the intimate moment they shared in Italy was not when both of them were delirious, it meant something. It meant so much George does it again!!! I don't think it is right in the moral sense, of George to kiss Lucy, because she is engaged, and Cecil got to Lucy first. Also, I don't think it's right of Lucy to completely write off George from her possibilities, because they do have chemistry still, and they seem much more suited for each other than Cecil and Lucy do. However, I think Lucy is scared of committing to George because he is not the typical husband, or man for that matter, and he would be much more of a risk socially, for Lucy, than compared to Cecil.
ReplyDeleteIt is probably that Mrs. Lavish learned of the kiss between Lucy and George Emerson from two ways. She either observed the event occur, the day that they whole of them had gone off together in Italy, or, she was told by someone else. I doubt that she was told by either of the Emerson, mainly because she didn't like associating with either of them in the first place, but also because neither of the two would likely reiterate such an event to her lightly. I believe that it was Mrs. Bartlett who had told them. While Mrs. Bartlett and her were very close, she was also very close with Lucy and had witnessed the event first hand. It was also made clear by Mrs. Lavish earlier in the story that she (similarly to other writers) is very intrusive and prying when i comes to getting information for her book. Not to mention that Mrs. Bartlett is a negative character for a variety of reasons, it's only fitting that she'd do such a deceitful thing.
ReplyDeleteThe kiss was indeed the right thing to do. However, there is a difference between what is prudent and what is right, and the kiss was not prudent. I believe that this kiss was the right thing to do because it genuinely was what Lucy wanted. It also was what George wanted other wise he would not have kissed her under such circumstances. The reader knows that this is what Lucy wants because she slips up in conversation with Charlotte. This would not happen other wise because she is very careful with her words and didn't even tell Charlotte initially (back in Florence) of her affection towards George. But now that it came up accidentally we know that she is being less careful and it is what truly is on her mind. The fact that she is being less careful with her words shows that anything other than george is becoming less significant.
ReplyDeleteGeorge clearly feels the impulse to kiss Lucy a second time. I do not believe this to be a mistake, but it was a potentially harmful thing to do. Lucy protests as she sees him approaching her. She does not like to lie to anyone, as she demonstrates earlier on during the family meal when she tries not to lie about Charlotte's letter to her. This kiss from George will cause her more confusion and stress throughout her days. She is already overwhelmed with trying to figure out if marrying Cecil is the right thing to do. If she also must now see George as a more fitting option for herself, there is no telling how conflicted she will be. Lucy is a a smart girl, but when it comes to matters of the heart, she has much to learn.
ReplyDeleteGeorge kissing Lucy yet again is a very important moment. I think it makes clear to Lucy that the first kiss wasn't an accident in any way. It was intentional and meant to happen. The kiss was not wrong of him but I think it only further confuses Lucy. She is already trying to decide whether she should marry Cecil and who she loves. Now George has just thrown something else in there that could potentially damage any chances he had with her to begin with. Lucy is very inexperienced when it comes to love. Blindly trying to find her way in the dark, she is bound to fall down.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Charlotte told Miss Lavish about what happened. She was the only other soul who knew and George Emerson hadn't even told his own father. So Charlotte was the only other soul and we know that the only one Charlotte would talk to is Miss Lavish so it isn't hard to presume that Charlotte told her. What I find is wrong about this is the fact Charlotte told Lucy not to tell a soul for her OWN sake and yet went out on a limb and told the story to Miss Lavish.
ReplyDeleteGeorge kissing Lucy is very, very wrong of him. It is up to Lucy to forget about George as she is supposed to marry Cecil, yet he is making it incredibly difficult for her. The act of him kissing her is just reminding Lucy of how much she loves him and wants to be with him, which would make Cecil and the rest of Lucy's family very unhappy, as well as making herself unhappy because she has to live without George.
ReplyDelete