Oh, the irony.

One particular element that makes A Room with a View an enjoyable read is the element of the ridiculous/ironic which is especially prevalent in dialogue. Wealthy tourists exclaiming over the delicious dirtiness of certain parts of town, disliking others because they are nice, and absorbing themselves in “tragical” piano-playing (among other things) create a pretentious and self-indulgent world that is ripe for ridicule; this work fits well with other comedies of manners from the Edwardian period, such as Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. However, ridiculousness is not limited to the upper class; even the Signora, who speaks in a horrendous Cockney accent, complains that her children are attending Italian schools where the teachers are ignorant, failing to realize how ignorant she herself seems to her patrons. She even attempts to appeal to the upper class’ taste in her decorations.