To the Lighthouse in Easley Library Bookworms

May 02, 2010 Crystal rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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Virginia Woof wrote this novel in 1927, when her stream-of-consciousness style was still considered bold and innovative. This technique suited the type of story she explored because the characters’ inner consciousness shapes the narrative. The new psychoanalysis of Freud may have helped shape Woolf’s writing. Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey, loosely based on her mother and father, are at the beginning of the novel, in a power struggle over James’ desire to visit the lighthouse. The first introduction to Fre Virginia Woof wrote this novel in 1927, when her stream-of-consciousness style was still considered bold and innovative. This technique suited the type of story she explored because the characters’ inner consciousness shapes the narrative. The new psychoanalysis of Freud may have helped shape Woolf’s writing. Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey, loosely based on her mother and father, are at the beginning of the novel, in a power struggle over James’ desire to visit the lighthouse. The first introduction to Freudian thought occurs when James, whose hopes of visiting the lighthouse are squashed by his father, wishes to puncture a hole through his father’s breast with a poker in demonstration of his Oedipal desire. Through the character of Lily Briscoe, who is pursuing art rather than an advantageous marriage, Woolf demonstrates her feminist ideals and her justification of the artistic life. Among other themes, Woolf suggests that beauty may be able to add a bit of comfort during struggles, that an artist should pursue her artistic vision regardless of the outcome because it contributes to the redemption of self and others and that life is over often before one begins to live it fully. The middle section, “Time Passes,” seems a bit dark and troubling but most critics believe that Woolf was also using this section to depict the ravages of the Great War during that time period. The ending offers a moment of reconciliation between James and his father with the trip to the lighthouse, Lily finishes her painting and Cam realizes that we all “perish, each alone” (191). Woolf’s characters weather both the fair and stormy conditions of living while time moves on toward decay and death.
This particular style of writing was initially difficult for me so I used an audio narration to help with the timing and pace of the narrative. After the some initiation into the rhythm of the narrative, I was more comfortable with the style and found pleasure in exploring the minds of these characters. This is the first novel of Woolf’s that I have read, and after cogitating on the book, I look forward to another review in order to seek out the nuances I missed the first time through and to savor again her use of language in building exquisite images. Woolf’s depictions of humanness and the difference between a man and woman engaged family life is stereotypical for families of just about any period. There is usually a power struggle whether or not a woman chooses to admit it. Secretly, most wives want influence over their husbands in order to have their way. This goes all the way back to the Wife of Bath in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Mrs. Ramsey has her way because she withheld her vocalization of her love for Mr. Ramsey.
The validation of a woman as an artist is, for me, the best concept of this novel. Woolf allows Lily Briscoe the last word in this novel, not Mrs. Ramsey. While Lily admired Mrs. Ramsey for her beauty, decorum, and ability to manage people lovingly, Lily did not pine to be like Mrs. Ramsey but stayed loyal to her own artistic ideals that, of course, Mrs. Ramsey upheld. Lily is well aware of what time might do to her and her artistry but she pushes forward in pursuit of it despite the fact that her work might hang in the attic.
To the Lighthouse is a nearly perfect work about imperfect humanity, the depredation of time and the courage to face both while heedlessly moving forward in spite of these nagging factors. Many critics choose this work as Woolf’s best; this is likely because of her mastery of this particular style of writing and ability to show and not tell what is happening in her narrative. The layering of themes and exploration of the conscious mind make this a novel one that should be reviewed by readers who are ready for peeling back the layers of a story to find the reasons it was written. To the Lighthouse may be an easier read for those who have read other classics and experimental styles, but should, by no means, gather dust on the bookshelf.
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