Fleeting Connections

Fleeting Connections in Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse

In Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse, Mrs. Ramsay plays the role of a beautiful, dutiful wife and mother. She also is a peacekeeper, who struggles to find unity, even in situations where it seems that none can be found. Through Mrs. Ramsay's attempts to unify conditions, many characters experience an extreme sense of connection with her. Often, like Mrs. Ramsay's successful unifications, these connections are but fleeting ones, lasting only momentarily. Nevertheless, they do exist and are a reoccurring event throughout the course of the novel.

'That's my mother, thought Prue. Yes; Minta should look at her; Paul Rayley should look at her. That is the thing itself, she

Ramsay's skills as a woman is her ability to soothe, comfort and boost the fragile male egos. For this reason, males in this novel also experience the connection to Mrs. Ramsay. A good example of this is Charles Tansley. This man is very dull, but is a great admirer of Mr. Ramsay's work. The Ramsay children often call him "the little atheist." Despite the fact that Mrs. Ramsay thinks that he says the most "disagreeable things" (12), she does not allow herself to become rude and cold to the man. Instead, she once again strives for unity. She does so by inviting him to join her on a walk into town. On the walk, Tansley reveals his impoverished past, and in turn, opens a part of himself up to Mrs. Ramsay that previously was hidden. Doing so allows her to feel a temporary sense of connection to him. Tansley also experiences this connection. Her beauty overcomes him as they walk. He thinks, "she was the most beautiful person he had ever seen" (25). He is also filled with an "extraordinary pride… for he was walking with a beautiful woman." However, this connection, like the others in the novel is merely a temporary thing. When Tansley crushes James' hopes of travelling to the lighthouse Mrs. Ramsay thinks of him as an "odious little man" (26). This proves, once again, the transient nature of these connections.

From a contemporary viewpoint, Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay's relationship may seem strange. At times in the novel, they feel an extreme sense of connection; at others, even when they are together, they are two separate beings who are not joined in any way. This is yet another example of the how ephemeral these connections are. Not even with her husband does Mrs. Ramsay undergo a long-lived, continuous