A Room With a View · Character

Mr. Eager

A resident English chaplain in Florence who pities poor tourists, arranges tasteful drives, and quietly blacklists a journalist who murdered his wife in the sight of God.

supporting

Also known as Presently Mr. Eager, The one Mr. Eager

First appearance: part i i the bertolini

As a supporting figure in A Room With a View, Mr. Eager is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Lectures on Giotto in Santa Croce; is interrupted by Mr.

In the storyIn Santa Croce with No BaedekerOpen this moment free

See Mr. Eager in In Santa Croce with No Baedeker Book page

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Mr. Eager moves through Florence as a man of private galleries and unhackneyed views, contemptuous of Baedeker and of the herd of his countrymen, yet fussily proprietary about who deserves to enter a Renaissance villa. His snobbery and his grudge against the Emersons make him a comic and faintly sinister gatekeeper, and his carefully arranged expedition becomes the vehicle that forces Lucy and George into each other's company. He matters because he embodies the respectable English world whose judgments Lucy must learn to see through.

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See Mr. Eager in part i i the bertolini

Character Web

10 connections

A slice of how Mr. Eager sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Social
Other

Character groups

Main characters and family
Minor and background characters
Protagonist

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This is the dramatic climax because Lucy reaches an emotional and psychological peak of defiance, finally asse…

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Relationships

Lucy Honeychurch
social · negative
Lucy Honeychurch
social · negative
Lucy Honeychurch
social · negative

Lucy Honeychurch
Mr. Eager is a snobbish and manipulative English chaplain in Florence who tries to influence Lucy against the Emersons.
Lucy Honeychurch
Mr. Eager is a snobbish and manipulative English chaplain in Florence who tries to influence Lucy against the Emersons.
Lucy Honeychurch
Mr. Eager is a snobbish and manipulative English chaplain in Florence who tries to influence Lucy against the Emersons.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Mr. Eager in part i i the bertolini

In the story

Mr. Eager appears across 4 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

In Santa Croce with No Baedeker
Lectures on Giotto in Santa Croce; is interrupted by Mr. Emerson and leaves the chapel with his flock.
Possibilities of a Pleasant Outing
Leads the shopping expedition, reveals his prejudice against the Emersons, and accuses Mr. Emerson of murdering his wife.
VI: The Reverend Arthur Beebe, the Reverend Cuthbert Eager, Mr. Emerson, Mr. George Emerson, Miss Eleanor Lavish, Miss Charlotte Bartlett, and Miss Lucy Honeychurch Drive Out in Carriages to See a View; Italians Drive Them
The chaplain objects to the driver's behavior, insists on separating the lovers, and delivers a condescending lecture to Lucy about the superficiality of tourists.
VII: They Return
Mr. Eager is mentioned by Miss Bartlett as someone Lucy does not trust.

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for Mr. Eager unlock in the free preview.

See Mr. Eager in part i i the bertolini

See Mr. Eager in In Santa Croce with No Baedeker