The novel To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf published in 1927 is a milestone of high modernism and experiments the stream-of-consciousness style. There are three sections in the book and the text revolves around the Ramsay family during their visit to the Isle of Skye in Scotland between 1910 1nd 1920. The fundamental theme of the novel is the universal contradiction of feminine and masculine opinions.
The two leading characters in the novel represent the two contradictory themes. Mrs. Ramsey is highly sensitive and emotional in her outlook and she represents female attitude, while Mr. Ramsey is egotistical theorist and
The most dramatic scene of Mrs. Ramsay’s dinner party is the nucleus of the novel. The party begins with a catastrophe. The guests come late and Mr. Ramsey behaves rudely towards them (chp-xvii).The opening of the chapter shifts from one party goers’ observation to the other. Each is seen to be “remote” and like Tansley they all feel “rough and isolated and lonely”. The connection of Lily and Mrs. Ramsey deepens in chapter xvii and she feels she acts in the same way in her mockery with Tansley. She concludes all women even those in conventional position feel the control of tradition.
The section of the novel gives the impression of the time passing and the feeling of absence and death. Woolf wrote that her purpose of writing this section was “an interesting experiment (that gave) the sense of ten years passing. It’s the time when Britain got involved and finished fighting the World War I.A number of changes take place. Mrs. Ramsey passes away, Pru dies in childbirth. Mr. Ramsey is left alone, no one is there to praise and comfort him in times of his frustration when he doubts the long term existence of his philosophical work. Woolf’s works closely observe men and their perceptions rather than concentrating on the objects of vision. There is much allusion to autobiography of Woolf throughout the novel.
Works Cited
Woolf, Virginia, To The Lighthouse (1927)
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Reference articles and journals on To The Lighthouse.