A Room with a View by EM Forster contains two chapters with curious names: "Chapter Four" and "Chapter Twelve". Every other chapter in this early 20th-century novel has a descriptive, often humorous title. For example, the chapter following "Chapter Twelve" is titled "How Miss Bartlett's Boiler Was So Boring." From this obvious distinction one can assume that something important will happen in each of these strangely named sections of the book. In "Chapter Four", Lucy has a pivotal encounter with George that makes her question her own emotions and upbringing. However, this article will focus on a passage from “Chapter Twelve,” which describes Freddy, George, and Mr. Beebe playing naked in the pond behind the Honeychurch house. The next passage in this chapter reveals the rigid constraints that govern English society and the sense of freedom and interpersonal connection that accompanies the escape from these conventions: a theme that pervades not only this chapter, but the novel as a whole. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay "They ran to dry themselves, they bathed to cool themselves, they played at being Indians among the willow grasses and among the ferns, they bathed to clean themselves. And all the while three little bundles lay discreetly on the lawn, proclaiming: ' No. What matters is us. Without us no undertaking will begin. To us all the flesh turns in the end.'” (150). pond before they are accidentally discovered by Lucy, Cecil and Mrs. Honeychurch This passage accurately shows the evolution that has occurred in these characters over the course of “Chapter Twelve”. extremely distant towards each other, despite Mr. Beebe's best efforts to make conversation. It is stated that Freddy is "never amused" by "his own kind" and didn't even want to visit the Emersons: he only joins because. Mr. Beebe convinces him to do so (142). Once the group begins walking through the woods towards the pond, the awkward silences remain, even though you would think that being outdoors, in nature, would have opened up the characters. But, much to Mr. Beebe's chagrin, although he is "forced to chatter," "none of his companions would utter a word" (146). And when Giorgio finally deigns to speak, he does so only “gravely” and without “enthusiasm” (146, 147). It is only after they have taken off all their clothes and immersed themselves in the pond that the men begin to interact wildly. Ergo, it seems that clothing, in this passage, serves as a metaphor for the rigid social conventions of the 20th century. century Great Britain. While fully clothed, the three men are unable to form a meaningful connection, but once their clothing is removed, they enjoy each other's company and appear to be having as much fun as their young (and old) lives. In the first part of the selected passage, Forster exemplifies this connection by using repetition to add emphasis to the characters' actions: "[t]hey ran... got wet... played... got wet..." (150, italics added.) The subject is a unified “they,” revealing how this deviation from traditional conventions brought men together where simple conversation could not. The repetition in this passage also suggests that they have spent quite a bit of time enjoying themselves in and near the pond, as they continue the cycle of playing, getting dirty, cleaning themselves, and playing once again. There is a sense that men have lost track of time and couldcontinue their revelry for much, much longer, unless interrupted by Lucy and company, who, as they are dressed, represent English society at large. "bathing to clean oneself" seems to suggest that this time spent playing in the pond is somehow purifying for the three participants (150). In this case, society's conventions can be seen as polluting because they seem to stifle human connection, freedom and happiness. The playful debauchery in which these men engage can be seen as the solvent in which these “pollutants” are dissolved. Unbound by social restrictions, they are able to purify themselves by washing away the false image of themselves that society has imposed on them and to be their true instinctive self. This passage, with its focus on men immersing and cleansing themselves in water, may also evoke religious imagery of a baptism. Many Christian baptisms, including that of Jesus himself, by John the Baptist, were (and sometimes still are) performed in natural, open bodies of water, such as Honeychurch Pond, rather than in a cistern in a chapel. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for men of Freddy and George's or even Mr. Beebe's age to be baptized late, after a conversion or simply because they were not baptized as children. The religious implication is further strengthened when you consider that Mr. Beebe is a priest himself. However, it seems that instead of being indoctrinated into a Christian tradition by Mr. Beebe, it is the boys who immerse him in the carefree customs of youth and freedom. So it seems that, here, Forster is using religious imagery to convey a decidedly non-religious, but still important, message. Beebe is the most reluctant to enter the water, declaring only that “'he might as well wash himself'” after the boys have already been in the pond for several minutes (149). But, as mentioned above, once he takes off his clothes and enters the water, he too becomes part of the unified “they” who swim and play together, despite his advanced age and superior role as a priest. Thus, the water and the removal of clothing succeed not only in erasing social conventions, but also in destroying the boundaries of class, profession, and age found between the boys and Mr. Beebe. items of clothing that men have put aside and tossed around giving them a voice. Continuing the previously mentioned metaphor, the clothing speaks to British society being horrified by the freedom men are currently experiencing. He tries to warn them that they are essentially nothing without their clothes – that is, the restrictions imposed by society – by declaring, “[w]e are what matters. Without us no business will begin. All flesh, in the end, turns to us” (150). But despite these grandiose proclamations, the garments are described as “three little bundles” that “lie discreetly on the lawn” (150, emphasis mine). It therefore seems that this message is in itself small, discreet and unimportant; an empty threat that is easily drowned out by the shouts, splashes and laughter of the three jubilant men. So, men are able to ignore this pre-warning and continue to have fun, even kicking and playing with clothes, which further exemplifies their freedom. Here, through metaphor, they are not just abandoning social conventions, but actually setting them aside. It is also important to note the reference of the personified clothing to the amateur inscription on the furniture of the Emersons' house, as presented earlier in the chapter. On the “closet cornice” we read “‘[I] trust all businesses that ask for new clothes'” (143). This is a variation of a quote from the first.