A Room with a View: Chapters 12–15

by E.M. Forster
In the early 20th century, a young Englishwoman travels through Italy. Read the full text here.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–7, Chapters 8–11, Chapters 12–15, Chapters 16–20
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. inexplicable
    incapable of being explained or accounted for
    George attended gravely, assenting or dissenting with slight but determined gestures that were as inexplicable as the motions of the tree-tops above their heads.
  2. acquiesce
    agree or express agreement
    Mr. Beebe, who was hot, and who always acquiesced where possible, looked around him.
  3. puerile
    displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity
    This attempt to divert the conversation was too puerile, and Mrs. Honeychurch resented it.
  4. supercilious
    expressive of contempt
    There was no concealing the fact, Cecil had meant to be supercilious, and he had succeeded.
  5. untoward
    not in keeping with accepted standards of what is proper
    Nothing untoward occurred until the pudding.
  6. inveigh
    speak against in an impassioned manner
    She would abandon every topic to inveigh against those women who (instead of minding their houses and their children) seek notoriety by print.
  7. conflagration
    a violent clash or conflict
    But soon the conflagration died down, and the ghosts began to gather in the darkness.
  8. spectral
    resembling or characteristic of a phantom
    But it had begotten a spectral family—Mr. Harris, Miss Bartlett’s letter, Mr. Beebe’s memories of violets—and one or other of these was bound to haunt her before Cecil’s very eyes.
  9. shibboleth
    a favorite saying of a sect or political group
    Life is easy to chronicle, but bewildering to practice, and we welcome “nerves” or any other shibboleth that will cloak our personal desire.
  10. ostentatiously
    in a manner intended to attract notice and impress others
    A solution seemed in sight, and even Cecil, who had been ostentatiously drinking his tea at the view, felt the eternal attraction of Chance, and turned round.
  11. ruse
    a deceptive maneuver, especially to avoid capture
    It sometimes seemed as if she planned every word she spoke or caused to be spoken; as if all this worry about cabs and change had been a ruse to surprise the soul.
  12. exude
    make apparent by one's mood or behavior
    All that he said on this subject pained her, though he exuded tolerance from every pore; somehow the Emersons were different.
  13. surmise
    infer from incomplete evidence
    To one of her upbringing, and of her destination, the weakness of men was a truth unfamiliar, but she had surmised it at Florence, when George threw her photographs into the River Arno.
  14. protege
    a person who receives support from an influential patron
    “How are my proteges?” asked Cecil, who took no real interest in them, and had long since forgotten his resolution to bring them to Windy Corner for educational purposes.
  15. mollify
    cause to be more favorably inclined
    Somewhat mollified, he sat down again.
Created on Mon Mar 22 09:57:17 EDT 2021 (updated Mon Jul 21 12:57:32 EDT 2025)

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