To The lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

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To The lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

        

       

 

To the Lighthouse, which Virginia Woolf published in 1927, was her fifth novel. In her two previous works, Jacob’s Room (1922) and Mrs Dalloway (1925), she had already tested readers’ expectations about the nature of fiction. In them, as in To the Lighthouse, the centre of consciousness shifts from one character to another, and from their perceptions of the external world at any given moment to their inner life, their associations and memories. As Woolf wrote in her 1921 essay ‘Modern Fiction’, she wanted to show how ‘an ordinary mind on an ordinary day’ receives and organises ‘a myriad impressions’.

    

    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?

        Virginia Woolf try to portray women relationship and conditions in the society. 

 In the novel Virginia Woolf has used the streams of consciousness is a very well. We can see that lower calss and upper class peoples different behaviour.

Treat women very badhy in upper class that is all depends our mentality. 

     

2. Do you agree: "The novel is both the tribute and critique of Mrs. Ramsay"?

 Can we read Mrs. Ramsay in context of the idea of Ideal Indian Woman - Karyeshu dasi, Karaneshu manthri; Bhojeshu mata, Shayaneshu rambha; Kshamayeshu dharithri, Roopeshu lakshmi; Satkarma yukta, Kuladharma pathni.)

         Yes , I'm agree that  novel is both the tribute and critique of mr. Ramsay . In the novel we can see that it is for criticizing the stereotype of is and apposite personality lily

   The shloka which is given here can be translated as "Who works as maid, advice as minister, feeds like mother, pleases in bed like heavenly beauty Rambha, beautiful as goddess Lakshmi, forgive as earth, these six virtues who has is a ideal wife."

      

           

3. Considering symbolically, does the Lighthouse stand for Mrs. Ramsay or the narrator (Virginia Woolf herself who is categorically represented by Lily)?

       In the novel considering symbolically are mrs. Ramsay and Lily Briscoe also .

Virgin Woolf is representing we can see in the novel alot . She was a women artist a Victorian age .she has to suffer a lot and Alone ect..

It's suggest that Lighthouse is symbolically stand for lily Briscoe 

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. . . )

     In the artical by Joseph Blother of two  myths are  Rhea and Demeter , Oedipus .

In the fisrt myth which shows here mrs . Ramsay is compere with Rhea her husband is killing all her child but he saves the zeus in the other side .

We cas see same thing mrs. Ramsay is also save james from mr. Ramsay saving from his angreness and another like stroy of Fisherman and his wife . If read by changing the gender we can see it's mr. Ramsay who is more demanding of sympathy then mrs. Ramsay. Mr. Ramsay is there to give everyone.

  Second myth is Oedipus, in the myth who kill his father and Mary with his mother .

In the same thing another side like jamse and Ramsay ralationship. He always think to kill his father becouse he want his mother care for only him live with her.

In the at last part " The windows " is symbolically female and the lighthouse is symbolically male 

In the another things Virginia Woolf suggest that female as live and life given while on the other hand .she has showe male has hatred violence and fatal.

5. What do you understand by the German term 'Künstlerroman'? How can you justify that 'To The Lighthouse' is 'Künstlerroman' novel?

       

 Künstlerroman, (German: “artist's novel”), class of Bildungsroman, or apprenticeship novel, that deals with the youth and development of an individual who becomes—or is on the threshold of becoming—a painter, musician, or poet.

Lily Briscoe; a painter and Augustus Carmichael as a poet.The journey of both artists begins with a struggle and at the end they succeeded in what they want to do. Ultimately their struggle for one thought or feeling lead them towards the new creation. Both the artists find their own vision and creation in art.Augustus Carmichael has his own collection of poems.While at the end of novel, Lily Briscoe finds her vision in painting. This growth of maturity can be observed very well through the character of Lily Briscoe. At the begining of the novel she is not able to give a final touch of her painting in which she was portraying Mrs.Ramsay and her son James. But at the end her maturity allows her to give that final touch to the painting.

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 Irigaray, 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'.

 Throughout the novel, Lily strongly oppose to patriarchal power, she believe in feminism and freedom. She wants to be free without any kind of male company but at the end of the novel we come to know that she also wants be a like Mrs. Ramsay a married life have family and children to be enjoy thelife. Ramsay. So, Lily was very confuse to follow pure femininity or man company and also somewhere he attracted towards Mr. Bank.

7. You have compared the 'beginning' and the 'ending' 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?

In novel Lily put her brush in extreme fatigue but she stays with her art, that tiredness is of giving birth to something and she is enjoying her creation by staying there. While in movie she runs in to the house, which is discomforting to me. She behaves in the movie like she doesn't care about her painting and her vision, which is totally different from novel. I am agree that while making movie one has to add changes because the language of novel and camera differs but here in this case novel is more poignant than movie.

 

8. How do you interpret the last line of the novel (It was done; it was finished.

         

It was done; it was finished.

      Yes, she thought, laying down her brush in extreme fatigue,

      I have had my vision.

It was done; it was finished.

      In one of The Lighthouse's most memorable scenes, Ephraim beats a seagull to death. Therefore, the final moment can be interpreted as the spirits punishing the young lighthouse keeper for disrespecting them. That's one way to read it, but there's more to this ending than meets the eye.

It significant that Lily briscoe in her subconscious mind she thinking about Mrs Ramsay but now finally after 10 years her painting is complete so the interpretation come that the Mrs Ramsay is bridge for family but at one time she is also barricade for family after her death the family goes to visit lighthouse and Augustine carmichael poem are also sale so in that way finally Lily briscoe get her vision and the novel will end.

Lily walks inside the house. As she goes ante-chamber, the light and dark shade makes his face play hide-and-seek. She climbs stairs, puts her brush aside, walks through the dark and light to enter her room. Gently closes the door - speaks: "Closed doors, open windows" - lies on the bed and with some sort of satisfaction utters: "Dearest Briscoe, you are a fool".

  

 

9. What does the catalogue named as 'Army and Navy' signify? What does cutting of 'Refrigerator' signify?

Here I found the reference of Word War-1 in some scene of the novel. If I am not wrong So Ramsay's elder son died during first world war time. So here name given to list of record " Army and Navy "which officially spoke on war and social and economic order. Its delayed through character of Mrs.Ramsay.

It interprets with two aspects with two aspects. first one as literal meaning of the words now painting is completed and finished means work is done by her successfully. And metaphorically, it suggests that she completed the painting of Mrs.Ramsay who is alive in her painting for womanhood and her qualities.

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?

Here Virginia Woolf had extraordinary skill of satire through the storytelling method. She used tale of ' The Fisherman's wife ' in the novel. In this story women character was presented strong rather than Mrs. Ramsay. The fisherman's wife demanded more and more. This female character opposite of Mrs. Ramsa. But Virginia Woolf also compared & contrast among Mr.Ramsay, Lily Briscoe and Transey. In the novel I can find that after death of Mrs.Ramsay, Mr. Ramsay and his family had difficult to handle everything.

    11. How is India represented in 'To The Lighthouse'? (Read this blog for passing reference)

The people from west have different lenses to look towards the India. In "To The Lighthouse" also there are many reference of India but all are different. At some place India to west world is like a land which is unknown to them and far away from them, so they don't have any direct connection with India.The jewels of India is own by western people with proud of possessing it. It also shows the patriarchy in India as it also refers that it is ruled by men folk. 

THE IMPULSES and convictions which gave birth to Three Guineas and A Room of One's Oun carried over into Virginia Woolf's fiction.Their most powerful expression is found in To the Lighthouse. But something, probably her strict and demanding artistic conscience, prevented their appearance in the form of the intellectual and argumentative feminism found in the first two books. In this novel Virginia Woolf's con-cept of woman's role in life is crystallized in the character of Mrs. Ram-say, whose attributes are those of major female ígures in pagan myth.The most useful myth for interpreting the novel is that of the Primordial Goddess, who "is threefold in relation to Zeus: mother (Rhea), wife(Demeter), and daughter (Persephone)." One of the major sources of the myth is the Homeric "Hymn to Demeter," n which the poet compares Rhea with her daughter Demeter, and makes it clear that Demeter andher daughter Persephone ""are to be thought of as a double fgure, onehalf of which is the ideal complement of the other." This double figureis that of the Kore, the primordial maiden, who is also a mother. Also useful in interpreting the novel is the Oedipus myth.In using myth as an approach to a work of literature, the critic can make one of two assertions: the artist knowingly used myth as a basis for his creation; or, all unaware, he used it as it welled up out of the subconscious layers of his psyche where it resided as forgotten material,as an archetypal pattern or a fragment of the collective or racial uncon-scious. But one of these assertions leads to a dilemma when it is applied to To the Lighthouse, and the other is fundamentally unsound for either fruitful criticism or sound scholarship. First, Virginia Woolf's diary