In this blog post, we’ll explore the inner lives of the characters in Virginia Woolf’s ‘To the Lighthouse’, the insights into their lives, and the beauty of living a life filled with love.
Virginia Woolf’s Life and Literary World
Virginia Woolf was a feminist and modernist, as well as a great novelist and essayist, recognized in literary history as one of the major writers of the 20th century. Born in 1882 as the daughter of editor and critic Leslie Stephen, she suffered a severe emotional shock after her mother’s death in 1895. Following the death of her half-sister in 1897, she suffered a nervous breakdown and lived the rest of her life in anguish. In 1904, her father passed away, and two years later, her beloved younger brother Toby died suddenly of typhoid fever. Through a circle that would later become known as the “Bloomsbury Group,” she began to form friendships with writers and painters such as Roger Fry and Wright Stretch. She met Leonard Woolf, one of them, and married him in 1912. In 1917, the couple founded Hogarth Press together, publishing works by T. S. Eliot, E. M. Forster, and Katherine Mansfield, as well as early translations of Freud’s writings. Wolfe led a passionate life, shuttling between London and the Sussex Downs as she wrote and edited her works. Fearing a relapse of her mental illness, she took her own life in 1941.
She published her first novel, ‘The Voyage Out’, in 1915, followed by ‘Night and Day’ in 1919. These two works follow traditional novelistic techniques. ‘Jacob’s Room’, published in 1922, is an experimental work based on observations and impressions of individuals rather than clear facts or specific knowledge. Thereafter, through extraordinary and diverse forms of experimentation, she depicted in her works the relationship between the forces of society and history and the life of the individual. In particular, she frequently addressed issues concerning women’s experiences not only in her novels but also in her essays; among these, ‘A Room of One’s Own’ (published in 1929) and ‘Three Guineas’ (published in 1938) are works that have been at the center of feminist discourse. Prior to this, in 1925, she published ‘Mrs. Dalloway’.
Published in 1927, ‘To the Lighthouse’ employed the innovative technique of “stream of consciousness” to explore the deepest recesses of the human psyche and presented new concepts of time and truth. ‘Orlando’, published in 1928, is a work that concretely embodies the stream-of-consciousness technique. ‘The Waves’, published in 1931, is a work closer to poetry than to a novel, revealing her ultimate ideas and limitations. ‘The Years’, published in 1937, returned to traditional novelistic techniques to present her fictional world but did not achieve significant success. Before taking her own life by jumping into the River Ouse, she published ‘Between the Acts’, a work regarded as a fairly satisfactory blend of traditional novelistic techniques and the modern techniques she had pioneered. In addition, she left behind many other works and achieved remarkable success as a critic.
What kind of work is ‘To the Lighthouse’?
‘To the Lighthouse’ consists of three parts.
Part 1 is set in late 19th-century Victorian England, a transitional period marked by the emergence of shifts in the social class structure as the country moved toward modern society. The Ramsey family, who live in London, spends time with invited guests at their vacation home on an island in the Hebrides, located off the west coast of Scotland. Mr. Ramsey, the head of the household, is a philosophy professor in his sixties who, thanks to his sharp intellect and uniquely sophisticated ideas, had already gained worldwide fame and authority with a single book in his late twenties. His wife, Mrs. Ramsey, is a housewife in her fifties, praised by many for her striking beauty and her role as the ideal homemaker. They have eight children. On the surface, the Ramsey family appears stable and happy. However, a closer look reveals that this is not entirely the case.
First, unlike before his marriage, Mr. Ramsey has failed to produce any significant scholarly achievements since getting married. As he grows older, he becomes increasingly sensitive about the books he has written and others’ evaluations of him, trapping himself in his own world. He continues to display his eccentric personality without any consideration for others. Dissatisfied with a reality that does not conform to his will, he constantly gazes into the distance, lost in lofty contemplation and daydreams. That is why the author describes his eyes as “primitive.” Because of his myopia—his constant search for something in the distance—he fails to recognize his wife as the person closest to the final stage, “Z,” which he himself describes as the ultimate destination of human thought, ranging from the initial “A” to the final “Z.” Trapped in a patriarchal mindset, he cannot see his wife as a human being equal to a man, and as a result, he never realizes her true value. So one day, when his wife—in her fifties—is sitting by the living room window, she seems more beautiful and charming to him than ever before, yet he does not know why. Even so, whenever his research becomes exhausting, he unconsciously seeks her out to draw new strength from her.
Mrs. Ramsey, too, lives a life of dissatisfaction with reality. However, she does not express this outwardly. No—in her efforts not to show it, she has unconsciously developed a habit of lying and exaggerating. Having married young, she—in her own words—has experienced everything the world has to offer throughout her life, and by the age of fifty, she has reached a state of spiritual harmony where all things fall into place. In Mr. Ramsey’s terms, she has reached Stage Z. Perhaps that is why a radiant light always surrounds her. People who sense that light unconsciously pour out their own hardships and struggles to her, finding comfort and strength in the process. Because some believe Mr. Ramsey is more valuable and has reached a higher level of spiritual insight than she has, she is reluctant to reveal her true self even in front of her husband.
Although she appears cheerful and energetic in front of others, when she is alone, she returns to her true self, reflecting deeply on life and sometimes wearing a sad expression. Having realized the transience of the world and gained the insight that “I” and “others” are not two but one—that all things in the universe are one, and even the light from the lighthouse is one with herself—she seeks to transform herself into a social activist who, rather than denying the reality of a fleeting life, actively works to change an uneven reality for the better. Having gazed upon the farthest horizons, she turned her gaze toward what was closest to her. This is why the author describes Mrs. Ramsey as nearsighted. She has acquired the wisdom to find true happiness even in the fleeting moment of serving soup to her guests seated at the dining table. Born into a family of noble lineage, she turned her attention to tasks that those of her class typically shunned, secretly seeking out the poor and oppressed to help and comfort them. The opening of Part 1 also begins with her compassion for the lighthouse keeper—who lives in isolation, cut off from others—and his son, who suffers from hip arthritis.
Charles Tansley, a poor yet extraordinary young man who idolizes Mr. Ramsey, is also dissatisfied with his reality. Though gifted, Tansley—who is poor and of low social standing—dreams of rising in status to a position where he is recognized and loved by the world, despite his difficult circumstances. He becomes lost in fantasies of achieving his dream through Mrs. Ramsey, who treats him warmly even though he is ignored by everyone else.
Lily, an unmarried painter plagued by feelings of inferiority due to her poverty and plain appearance, is also dissatisfied with her reality. She wants to enrich her life through painting, but she has little talent for it. Lily loves Mrs. Ramsey, who treats her warmly; she longs to be like her and comes to love everything about the villa where Mrs. Ramsey lives. Watching Mrs. Ramsey—who, for example, creates an atmosphere that brings together the guests at a dinner party who are sitting at the table but do not mix well and are keeping to themselves, ultimately steering everything according to her will—Lily is the only one who senses that there is something special about Mrs. Ramsey.
Through Time and Loss, Toward the Lighthouse
Part 2 depicts World War I and the resulting decade of social change through beautiful, poetic prose. During this period, Mrs. Ramsey dies suddenly in the middle of the night; her married daughter, Pru, dies in childbirth; and her son Andrew, who was expected to become a great mathematician, also dies.
In Part 3, the living return to the villa, breaking a nearly ten-year hiatus. Lily longs for the late Mrs. Ramsey and cannot shake off her ghost. Tansley has become a university professor, successfully climbing the social ladder. Among the children, Cam and James set out for the lighthouse with Mr. Ramsey in the morning. Having lived in the shadow of their father, cowed and subdued, the children head toward the lighthouse reluctantly, while inwardly harboring hatred for him. Cam, dissatisfied with reality, fantasizes about the boat sinking and drowning even as they sail toward the lighthouse, while James thinks only of running away as soon as they set foot on land. Even on the boat, Mr. Ramsey remains immersed in books and daydreams, striving to reach the level of thought he desires. However, as they approach the lighthouse, a change begins to take hold in everyone’s hearts. On the journey to the lighthouse, which began simply as a tribute to his wife, Mr. Ramsey finally comes to terms with reality and opens his heart, realizing that even if he himself does not reach “Z,” someone else surely will. He then looks upon the people in the real world with warm affection and experiences true happiness. As the children draw closer to the lighthouse, they come to see their father’s true nature—that he loves them—and, in doing so, cast aside their prejudices toward him. They turn their eyes from the world of daydreams back to reality and open their hearts. At the same time, they feel gratitude for true freedom and the gift of life, and come to realize what true happiness is. Lily, too, finally completes the painting she has been working on for ten years; at the same time, she breaks free from the shadow of Mrs. Ramsey, finds her true self, and builds a world of her own.
What is the meaning of life portrayed in ‘To the Lighthouse’?
It would not be an exaggeration to say that this book, in a nutshell, embodies the spirit of “benefiting both oneself and others.”
Rather than becoming consumed by dissatisfaction with reality and escaping into escapist daydreams or living a negative life, the book humbly teaches us to face reality—knowing that we will be rewarded, directly or indirectly, by helping those less fortunate than ourselves, whether spiritually or materially—as well as the joy of life, gratitude for simply being alive, and the beauty of living in harmony with others.
Is it too much of a stretch on my part that, after reading this book, I was suddenly reminded of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Jesus, and Siddhartha Gautama?
After finishing it, I realized once again that a classic is truly a classic. Though it seemed bland at first, with little plot to speak of, the more I reflect on it, the more I realize there is so much to learn from this novel.
The invisible spiritual power of Mrs. Ramsey—which, just as it did in life, remains in the hearts of the living even after her death, guiding them in a positive direction—is particularly beautiful. In this world where people have no choice but to live in close proximity to one another, this beautiful work depicts—in subtle, silk-like hues—that the most precious things are love: love for oneself and love for others. It may be difficult to understand for those who do not comprehend or deny the invisible world, but I hope it serves as an opportunity for even them to reflect on that world at least once.
