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Virginia woolf to the lighthouse essay
Analysis of the novel The Lighthouse by Woolf
Comparison between Mr and Mrs Ramsay in Virginia Woolf's to the lighthouse
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The Character of Mr. Ramsay in To The Lighthouse
When reading novels, it is important to understand the aspects of each character to completely get the message that the author is trying to send to the reader. In the novel, To The Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf illustrates the character, Mr. Ramsay as a husband and a father of eight. As a husband, he mentally abuses his wife, Mrs. Ramsay, and as a father, Mr. Ramsay discourages and psychologically abuses his children to an extent that makes his children hate him. Mr. Ramsay has another side of compassion, and love for his family. Woolf describes Mr. Ramsay as insensitive, malicious, and brutal toward his family, but he also desires happiness and wants the best for his family.
Although Mr. Ramsay often scolds and mentally abuses Mrs. Ramsay, all he wants is love and affection from his wife. For example, when Mrs. Ramsay lies to James about the next day's weather, "There wasn't the slightest chance that we could go to the lighthouse tomorrow" (31). This comment shows that, if Mr. Ramsay doesn't want to do something, they are not going to do it. During the same conversation Mr. Ramsay say something that he would later realize he shouldn't of said. Mr. Ramsay regrets getting upset at his wife for no reason and he is ashamed of the actions that he took. As a result of hurt that he caused his wife, Mr. Ramsay wants to make her happy again.
Next, the novel displays Mr. Ramsay's insensitivity towards Mrs. Ramsay when his comments make her "bend her head as if to let the pelt of jagged hail, the drench the dirty water, bespatter her unrebuked" (32). This illustrates Mr. Ramsay as heartless to other's feelings, it seems like he enjoys torm...
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... are abusive, but he also has the positive traits of sincerity and sensitivity toward his family. Woolf illustrated Mr. Ramsay as both mentally abusive, but also loving and caring toward his wife, Mrs. Ramsay. Mr. Ramsay is very harsh and critical toward his children because he wants the best for them and for them to become self-sufficient, but his children do not realize this and makes them hate being around their father. Woolf does not describe Mr. Ramsay as only bad or good, but she describes him as a real person with personality flaws. She does this because it makes it easier for the reader to understand the individual as a whole, instead of just a fictitious character. By using this writing technique, Woolf allows the readers to fully grasp the concept of the character.
Works Cited
Woolf, Virginia. To The Lighthouse. New York: Harvest, 1955.
Furthermore, Mrs. Dempster’s “hysteria” and deviation from such society norms by way of abnormal sexual behavior, and wandering nature, are comparable with her journey to sainthood; and this is made explicit when Ramsay sees “Mary wandering by herself” (Davies 143). The act of wandering, according to Goldman, is a perversion of the proscribed female role in society, and is thus an affront (Goldman 992). Mrs. Dempster’s non-conformity is key to understanding her transformation with the process of sainthood, as her being seen as a simple woman, reduced to “a series of hysterical crying fits” after being hit by the snowball, essentially sets her down the path to social deviance and eventual sainthood in the eyes of the Ramsay. This notion of “hysteria” is attributed to Ramsay as well, and Goldman writes that the isolation and loneliness generated from Ramsey’s time in the army, causes him to suffer from a kind of
The narrator also feels intimidated by his wife?s relationship with the blind man. When he is telling of her friendship with Robert h...
What causes that crumpling? What makes the accumulated images fold up over the years? How can one smooth out the folds? These are the pivotal questions raised in the above passage, which captures the central exploration in Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse. Change and chaos create folds in Lily's life. She clings to images of Mrs. Ramsay as an iron. "For there are moments when one can neither think nor feel," (Woolf 193), but even in the agony of intense change, one can always see. Like a muse, Mrs. Ramsay's lasting presence inspires Lily to create a painting that irons out the folds. Lily eventually accepts some distance from Mrs. Ramsay, as well, which becomes another liberating step in the process of smoothing out her jagged soul. When those images are rediscovered, and sometimes re-invented, change is produced. Ultimately, Lily is released from the past, while smoothing out the creases.
Virginia's relationships throughout her life contributed, not only to her literature, but the quality of her life as well. Perhaps the greatest influence in Virginia's life is her mother, Julia Stephen. "Julia Stephen was the most arresting figure which her daughter [Virginia Woolf] tried to resurrect and preserve" (Gordon 4). Woolf, a manic-depressive, found herself constantly searching for approval. "Virginia needed her mother's approval in order to 'measure her own stature" (Bond 38). Battling with a sense of worthlessness, Virginia's mother helped her temporarily rid herself of self-criticism and doubt. This however was short-lived. When Mrs. Stephen rejected Virginia, she felt her mother's disapproval directly related to the quality of her writing. "Virginia Woolf could not bear to reread anything she had written… Mrs. Stephen's rejection of Virginia may have been the paradigm of her failure to meet her own standards" (Bond 39). With the death of her mother Woolf used her novel, To the Lighthouse to "reconstruct and preserve" the memories that still remained. According to Woolf, "the character of Mrs. Ramsey in To the Lighthouse was modeled entirely upon that of her mother" (Bond 27). This helped Virginia in her closure when dealing with the loss and obsession with her mother. Although Virginia clung to the relationship with her mother, she favored her father, Leslie Stephen. Virginia resembled her father uncannily in character traits, in her writing and self-doubts, in her great and malicious sense of humor, in her marriage, in her frugality, in her fear of aging, and in her social consciousness. (Bond 59) They were both extremely outspoken while sparing no one's feelings with their comments. Virginia and Leslie both had strong personalities and rapid mood changes. Woolf portrayed her father, like her mother, through characterization in To the Lighthouse. Mr. Ramsey captures her father as a man of "baffling mutability, a lightening switch from the most lovable of men, to a 'famished wolfhound' and back again" (Gordon 22). This portrayal of Leslie Stephens relates to his uncontrollable rages and mood swings. Leslie Stephen not only controlled Virginia's mental development, but her intellectual development as well.
Pause, reflect, and the reader may see at once the opposing yet relative perceptions made between life, love, marriage and death in Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse. In this novel, Woolf seems to capture perfectly the very essence of life, while conveying life’s significance as communicated to the reader in light tones of consciousness arranged with the play of visual imagery. That is, each character in the novel plays an intrinsic role in that the individuality of other characters can be seen only through the former’s psyche. Moreover, every aspect of this novel plays a significant role in its creation. For instance; the saturation of the present by the past, the atmospheres conjoining personalities and separating them, and the moments when things come together and fall apart. This paper will explore such aspects of To the Lighthouse while incorporating the notion that the world Woolf creates in this novel is one that combines finite and infinite truth. A created world that recognizes both limitation and isolation and how these themes are interrelated in and throughout the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay. Conceptually, Woolf combines all of the aforementioned realities of life into the presentation of Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay, a married couple that seem to stand for both accurate and visionary approaches to the reality of life. It is important, then, to consider that To the Lighthouse is not only representational of life, but that it also catches life. It is thus the goal of this paper to readily show why this is so.
Artists of all mediums offer the public different perspectives of reality and within the multitudinous amount of works, a truth is brought to the attention of the viewer. The truth brings awareness to the masses and changes the means of thinking of the public. Virginia Woolf’s novel, To The Lighthouse, represents a cultural shift in thought from the 19th to the 20th century state of mind by being inspired by the situation of the world at the time and the changes turn of the century brought to humanity by creating a novel that alludes to major revolutions of the time, such as the social, physiological and philosophical, and social revolutions. Woolf does this by creating a new way of expressing thought in writing, and creating characters with
The relationship of the narrator and her husband, John, is one that of the time period. The narrator has no other choice but to be obedient to her husband and the things he asked of her, though that isn’t much at the time, due to the recent birth of a child and the “mental state” of the narrator. Though the house seems to intrigue her to an extent, John has her in a room she doesn’t really like and has her isolated for most everything and everyone. He treats the narrator as though she is a child and dismisses her thoughts and ideas, even of her own health and what may help her get better. He “hardly lets me stir without special direction” (Gilman).
Woolf’s pathos to begin the story paints a picture in readers minds of what the
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf is a story that centers around the the value of memory to self. The story does this by centering around the characters that Woolf writes about, and their thoughts pertaining to their memories of one another. Woolf’s writing in To the Lighthouse is rich in her characters, Mrs. and Mr. Ramsay, their kids, and their friends’ thoughts and feelings towards everything they are going through, and more importantly, their thoughts and memories of one another. The reader learns about the characters’ through the complex thoughts Woolf’s characters’ have.
The narrator’s name is unknown through out the story, yet at the beginning the reader is given her husbands’ name (John), and the narrator’s identity through the novella is as John’s wife, who is dominated by John in their relationship. This effect created by Gillman masterfully establishes the lack of a female determined identity. He diagnoses her, and with the exception of her being tired and wanting to write, John continues to establish that her health is unwell. John is the dominant personality in the marriage he does not see her as an equal in their relationship. This is a wonderful tone and mood used to reflect the cultural norm at the time of Gillman's writing. She is not viewed as an equal, she is treated like and often referred to as being a child. When she decides that she likes a downstairs bedroom next to the nursery, John insists on her having the bedroom upstairs with the yellow wallpaper. The narrator/wife hates the color of the room and describes the color as “repellent, almost revolting” (432) When she asks for her husband to change the color, he decides to not give in to her wants, and the reader is informed that John, who knows best, does this for her benefit. It is reflective of a parent not wanting to give into their child's whims for fear the child will become spoiled and will expect to get everything they ask for. Though her husband belittles her, she still praises everything he does and sees everything he is doing for...
Furthermore, the love that Heathcliff’s young niece and nephew share is one that echoes that of what his and Catherine’s love could have been, which provides even more ground for the fiend to tyrannize the two. The semblence in their relationships can be seen in comparable scenes, the first of which recounts Catherine uttering, “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now…” (74) Later, Heathcliff pronounces apropos of Cathy caring for Hareton, “Your love will make him an outcast, and a beggar.” (299) The similarities between their two relationships is therefore outlined in their alluded elements of shame and social degradation that can be found in both occasions , and this likeness further agitates the aching heart of Wuthering Height’s antagonist.
“I am a jew?”-Shylock the merchant. The Merchant of venice is a play from William Shakespeare, in which a merchant called Antonio gets a loan from Shylock to pay for Bassanio's trip. Through a string of unfortunate events lead to a angry Shylock nearly killing Antonio, but that is narrowly averted. Shylock in the play “The Merchant of Venice” can be seen as a victim due to the hostile prejudice towards his kind, unfair treatment of him, and the random events that cause him misery.
But at the same time, it seems clear (to me, at least) that Shakespeare creates Shylock against an historical and cultural backdrop that was intensely hostile to Jews. Given this social context and historical tradition, it should come as no surprise if some of this hostility against Jews should infiltrate Shakespeare's work. Shakespeare was, after all, a commercial dramatist and many commercial dramatists make their livings by pandering to, rather than working against, conventional social mores.
Shylock, in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, epitomizes emotion unrestricted by moral character or intellectual rationality. Shylocks' conversation at the beginning of act four, scene one clearly demonstrates this as the Duke and Antonio urge Shylock to use both his empathetic and rational abilities. Shylock’s humanity, a trait which would normally allow him to feel empathy, is doubted by Antonio who describes Shylock as. By calling him "stony" and "inhuman" and "empty," Antonio draws attention to Shylock’s clear lack of empathy and humanity, and furthermore, suggests that Shylock is deeply and inherently evil, describing him as something monstrous or animalistic.
Woolf presents three characters who embody three different gender roles. Mrs. Ramsay is the dutiful wife and mother. Mr. Ramsay is the domineering patriarch. Lily Briscoe is an independent, aspiring woman. Woolf sets these three roles in contrast with each other. She allows the reader to see the power and influence each character has. Mrs. Ramsay’s submissive and supportive nature arouses admiration. Mr. Ramsay’s condescending manner provokes animosity. Lily Briscoe’s independence enables her to find meaning and fulfillment in her life.