The story of the novel is quite simple, and can be told briefly. The lighthouse that shines out at night surrounded by sea and distance from the island of Skye. Where the Ramsay’s summer House stand. But the way events portrait by
Woolf is considerable her style of writing and narrative makes novel modern novel.
Here, I’m going to discuss some
particular ideas of novel To the light house. Which is asked in
Thinking Activity as part of our (
Dept. Of Eng. MKBU) self learning module.
1)How can you explain that 'what' Virginia Woolf wanted to say (for example, the complexity of human relationship, the everyday battles that people are at in their relationship with near and dear ones, the struggle of a female artist against the values of middle/upper class society etc.) can only be said in the way she has said? (Key: The 'How' of the narrative technique is to be discussed along with features of Stream of Consciousness technique which helps Woolf to put in effective manner what she experienced in abstractions.)
There is no murder, blood shed, violence, mystery, no long lost heirs and not lustrous events in novel. As a matter of fact ‘To the light house’ is not conventional novel. It break with the 19th century tradition of the English novel. It is
“Stream of consciousness” novel. Virginia Woolf has freely exploited the interior monologues of the different characters.
However, To the light house differs from the other “stream of consciousness” novels in the fact that a central intelligence- the novelist, as narrator is always at work shifting, selecting and organizing. As David Daiches points out , “ there is a careful weaving together of characters’ consciousness, author’s comments, and one character’s view of another. Thus, To the light house is series of events and narrated by multiple angel and Woolf in order to capture the inner reality, truth about life, she has tried to represent the moving current of life and individual’s consciousness. outside and inside happening things makes novel curious novel.
She has used stream of consciousness technique, but she has not used it consistently throughout. The interior monologues of the different characters are given, but the central intelligence is also constantly busy, organizing illuminating it by frequent comments.
2)Do you agree: "The novel is both the tribute and critique of Mrs. Ramsay"? (Key: Take some clues from the painting of Mrs. Ramsay drawn by Lily Briscoe and the article by Andre Viola and Glenn Pedersen. Can we read Mrs. R in context of the idea of Ideal Indian Woman –
The characters are carefully arranged in their relation to each other, so that a definite symbolic pattern emerges. Mrs. Ramsay pervades the whole book. And no I’m not agree that Novel is both the tribute and critique of Mrs. Ramsay. By only praising Mrs. Ramsay in novel Woolf critique Mrs. Ramsay. She is portrait as human being of great appeal. She is an extremely beautiful woman of fifty, an inveterate matchmaker, and the mother of eight children; she is very near sighted and exaggerates everything; she is a practical nurse and much concerned with the improvement of social conditions. By possessing all the virtue Woolf made Ramsay’s character like an ideal women like Goddess who exist only in myths not in reality.
3)Considering symbolically, does the Lighthouse stand for Mrs. Ramsay or the narrator (Virginia Woolf herself who is categorically represented by Lily)? (Key: Take help from the presentation on Symbolism to connect Mrs. Caroline Ramsay with Lighthouse. Secondly, the narrator / author cannot fully disappear from the novel and thus the stoicism of Lily to paint and thus prove that she can paint, is symbolically presented in stoicism of Lighthouse.
In the novel the writer suggests much more than she directly describes or asserts. The basic conflict of life, like the conflict between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate, social contact and individual freedom etc., are all suggested through imagery symbol. Same way it is also creates conflict that lighthouse symbolically stand for Mrs. Ramsay or Narrator(or lily).
Lighthouse is quest for the values the lighthouse suggests, it is deeply one can see in both the character directly through Lily and indirectly by Mrs. Ramsay.
Books open with sentence in mouth of Mrs. Ramsay –“ yes, of course, if it is fine tomorrow.” Here If points the uncertainty of life and tomorrow is hope for fulfillment of quest from lighthouse . And the final sentence by lily in book is “I have had my vision .” However, beginning to end lighthouse symbolically stand for both the character.
4)In the article by Joseph Blotner, two myths are patterned together. Name the myths?
How they are zeroed down to the symbols of 'Window' and 'Lighthouse'?
How does the male phallic symbol represent feminine Mrs. Ramsay? (Key: The strokes of light-beams. . . )
1.The first myth which is patterned here is of Rhea and Demeter.
First Mrs. Ramsay is compared with Rhea. Rhea is Greek goddess, and her husband is killing all her child but he saves the Zeus. Readers can find same with Mrs. Ramsay as she is also saving James from Mr. Ramsay. Saving in the sense of anger. Treatment of parenting are quite different in both of them.
Secondly Mrs. Ramsay is compared with Demeter. Demeter is a daughter of Rhea and goddess of corn and fertility. It is said that when she is in sorrow whole earth becomes barren. Demeter is more worshiped by men than women, same as men are in more need of Mrs. Ramsay than women. Every men in summer house are need the help of Mrs. Ramsay in one or the other way. More importantly Mr. Ramsay and James. Further more the story of "
Fisherman and his Wife" if read by changing the gender we can see it is Mr. Ramsay who is more demanding of sympathy then Mrs. Ramsay. Mrs. Ramsay is here to give everyone.
2. The second myth which is described is of
Oedipus, who kills his father and marry his mother. 2. The second myth which is described is of Oedipus, who kills his father and marry his mother. In Neo-Freudian psychology, the Electra complex, as proposed by Carl Jung, is a girl’s psychosexual competition with her mother for possession of her father. In the course of her psychosexual development, the complex is the girl's phallic stage; a boy's analogous experience is the Oedipus complex. (
Wikipedia) In To The light House, Mrs. Ramsay and James stand for Oedipus Complex. James has strong love for his mother and strong hatred for his father. Behind it different in parenting of Mr. & Mrs. Ramsay is reason. Mr. Ramsay’s true but bitter nature make James’s nature negative toward his father.
3. Symbolically the lighthouse is similar to the star and the hermit of the deck. However, as the star serves as guidance for all those who look to the heavens. Here, if we take Lighthouse or Star as male phallic symbol it suggest that female as hermit (no question) should follow light beams of patriarchy it will reach them to heaven. This is very problematic reading for feminine.
5) What do you understand by the German term 'Künstlerroman'? How can you justify that 'To The Lighthouse' is 'Künstlerroman' novel?
The
künstlerroman is an artist novel detailing the artist’s growth to materiality. Mainly as painter, writer or musician etc., its origins to the Germanic Romantic tradition of the eighteenth century.
when a generation of writers began to rebel against what they believed to be the confining rationalist structures borne of the Era of Enlightenment.
In To the light house, character like Painter lily and poet Augustus Carmichael both struggled for their artistic growth till the end and finally they achieved best in their field at the end of novel.
6)"... the wages of obedience is death, and the daughter that reproduces mothering to perfection, including child-bearing, already has on her cheeks the pallor of death. One reminded here of various texts by Lucy Irizarry, in which she attacks mothers for being, however unwillingly, accomplices in the patriarchal system of oppression." (Viola). In light of this remark, explain briefly Lily's dilemma in 'To The Lighthouse'
Many of the women in novel ‘To the light house’ either overtly or silently, subvert conventional female gender roles. Lily Briscoe, for example, has no desire to marry, but rather wants only to delicate herself to her work. She is independent and self sufficient. She is able to disregard Mr. Tansley’s chauvinistic comments about women being unable to paint.
In the kind of society outlined in the book, the odds are against a potentially infidel daughter such as Lily. Het fight against patriarchy. In the original text there is line makes clear that.. Lily’s cry at a moment when she experience aggression by a hostile figure; Mrs. Ramsay! She cried, feeling the old horror comeback _ to want and want and not to have. (pg.219)
7)You have compared the 'beginning' and the ‘ end’ of the novel and the film adaptation of the novel directed by Colin Gregg. Do you think that the novel is more poignant than the movie? If yes, do you ascribe the fact that the power of words is much greater than that of the screen / visuals?
Opening scene of Novel comes in film almost after an hour. It means film maker has to changes in adoption film and this is require too. Especially when novels like ‘To the light house’ because novel have not as many outdoor scene in compare of film. Moreover, novel have not as much dialogue as well as interesting story plot but to make it interesting one must have to made some changes. Overall tone of novel is not bright but in grey shade and darkness so it hard to capture all this things in camera. So I think that novel is more poignant than the movie.
8)How do you interpret the last line of the novel with reference to the ending of the film.
Plays are written for performance and live performance gives freedom to audience where they want to see, camera have limitations of it. Novel is much deeper than movie, video resources have their limitations and film is tip of ice burg.
The ending of the novel is connected with the title of the novel, finally all characters
reached to the light house. In the novel Lily Briscoe said: " she looked at her canvas; it was blurred. With a sudden intensity, as if she saw it clear for a second, she drew a line there, in the center. It was done; it was finished. Yes, she thought, laying down her brush in extreme fatigue, I have had my vision"
In the novel Lily saw the painting of Mrs. Ramsay, she saw an ideal housewife and mother and her confusion of being ideal woman has solved, her blurred vision (Mrs. Ramsay as an ideal woman) is clear now.
"Closed doors, open windows" - lies on the bed and with some sort of satisfaction utters: "Dearest Briscoe, you are a fool" This is the last line in film. Here, in film Briscoe utters the same feeling in different form of word. By remembering words of Mrs. Ramsay ‘Closed doors, open windows’ find herself fool. It means she finds her vision that…”Nobody is superior. Nobody is inferior but nobody is equal either, people are simply unique. Incomparable.”
And, If we connect both the dialogue, we can understand it more clearly:
"Dearest Briscoe, you are a fool, I have had my vision"
9)What does the catalogue named as 'Army and Navy' signify?
What does cutting of 'Refrigerator' signify?
The catalogue named "Army and Navy" signifies by its name that war and consumerism, both are connected. Virginia Woolf here may tries to criticize capitalism during her time. And Refrigerator is symbol of change, Technology which changes with time. Refrigerator preserve thing it is but it’s also stop changes means it’s not allow to natural process. Dual paradox. Same way Mrs. Ramsay is preserver and shaper of culture.
10)Why did Virginia give such prominence to the tale of the “Fisherman’s Wife”? In particular, why did she weave such a misogynist tale into the fabric of a book which so eloquently challenges received patriarchal notions about the roles and capabilities of women?
Fisherman’s wife the tale can read in double layer. And it’s clear the all above question in reader’s mind. One is that, fisherman’s wife as Demanding wife same story going parallel to Mrs. Ramsay. Female Will is Danger for society is one reading of tale. Rather than the males self assertion is much danger.
Second, is in subverted way not use for women but for men, unreasonable demand made by male, if it is compare with Mr.Ramsay, story changes the meaning.
11)How is India represented in 'To The Lighthouse'?
Autobiography of Virginia Woolf tells that she is from educated family and her knowledge and various reading help her in her writing. Greek mythology to Indian, she aware about it. In the novel there is reference of India, presents through Carmichael. It shows that Woolf consider India in more spiritual power rather than economic wealth.
