Throughout the story, Lucy has been socially repressed by those around her. Lucy is a symbol of rebellion against the system. She desires nothing more than to be free of all the constraints that are placed on her by those around her. Her first evening in Florence, Lucy wishe

d to go out. Even with Miss Bartlett not around, she was still constrained by her companions. Though all she wanted was a little freedom, “they still looked disapproval, and she so far conceded to Mr. Beebe as to say that she would really only go for a little walk, and keep to the street frequented by tourists” (Forster 309). Her small request of autonomy was received only with disapproval. The group she is with in Florence, excluding the Emersons, is obsessed with propriety and social conformity. These characters have very strong ideas about the need to repress passion and control young girls. Lucy struggles with these standards throughout the story.

This conflict between conformity and passion is illustrated in the story with the clash between George Emerson and Cecil Vyse’s relationship to Lucy. Lucy’s attraction to George, by social standards, is completely unacceptable. Her engagement to Cecil is far more conventional by her society’s standards but marriage to Cecil, being so controlling and proper, would destroy Lucy’s spirit and dr

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