# Mr. Emerson — A Room With a View character guide

> Mr. Emerson in A Room With a View by E. M. Forster.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** old Mr. Emerson, that old Mr. Emerson

**First appearance:** 0000-part-i-i-the-bertolini

## Who they are

George's blunt, warm-hearted father, whose tactless honesty about love and kindness scandalizes and liberates everyone around him.

## In the story

### [The Bertolini](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_room_with_a_view_se/chapters/part-i-i-the-bertolini)

The old Mr. Emerson, who offers to exchange rooms and is described as kind but tactless.

### [In Santa Croce with No Baedeker](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_room_with_a_view_se/chapters/part-i-ii-in-santa-croce-with-no-baedeker)

Helps a fallen child in the church; criticizes the frescoes loudly; apologizes to Mr. Eager; invites Lucy to join them.

### [III: Music, Violets, and the Letter S](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_room_with_a_view_se/chapters/part-i-iii-music-violets-and-the-letter-s)

Mentioned as looking for his son; the Emersons have failed to integrate into Bertolini society.

### [Possibilities of a Pleasant Outing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_room_with_a_view_se/chapters/part-i-v-possibilities-of-a-pleasant-outing)

Subject of Mr. Eager's slander; accused of murdering his wife, though Lucy defends him.

### [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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_room_with_a_view_se/chapters/part-i-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)

Defends the lovers' happiness against Mr. Eager's interference, arguing that separating them is 'defeat' and 'sacrilege,' and quotes Lorenzo de Medici's line 'Don't go fighting against the Spring.'

### [Twelfth Chapter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_room_with_a_view_se/chapters/part-ii-xii-twelfth-chapter)

Delivers a philosophical discourse on comradeship and the future Garden of Eden; encourages the bathe.

### [XV: The Disaster Within](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_room_with_a_view_se/chapters/part-ii-xv-the-disaster-within)

Expresses upset about displacing the Miss Alans; speaks warmly to Lucy about her engagement; shares a philosophical view on views and crowds.

### [XIX: Lying to Mr. Emerson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_room_with_a_view_se/chapters/part-ii-xix-lying-to-mr-emerson)

Confronts Lucy about her deception, reveals George's despair and his wife's tragic death, and urges Lucy to marry George for the sake of truth.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_room_with_a_view_se/characters/mr_emerson_senior
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_room_with_a_view_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_room_with_a_view_se/characters