my thoughts on Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse
one of my recent adventures in "reading for value, not for fun"
Virginia Woolf needs no introduction, but, just in case, here’s the little blurb about her on the back of my book: “Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) was internationally acclaimed as a novelist, critic, and stylist and ‘pushed the light of English language a little further against darkness.’” I felt the need to read something of her work, so I grabbed one of her stories, To The Lighthouse, when I discovered it at a used bookstore. It’s taken me longer than it should have to read her work, but I was dedicated to understanding it.
Right away, I noticed how respectfully she describes each character. Those who do and don’t fall into female stereotypes of what a woman “should” be, men who make sexist comments all the time, and children that are just trying to figure out growing up. I loved how she showed the good and bad and the relationships between all these different people. We also, as the reader, were able to see into the minds of many characters within the same scene, adding to the depth of the plot. This made mundane scenes still be eventful. We see how Lily is just as valid in her dreams and desires as Mrs. Ramsay; conformity and counter-hegemony are just as valid as the other. Despite being a fictional story, it’s also an objective study of the dynamics between different types of people.
I have to admit, in the beginning I sometimes relied on SparkNotes to explain things to me. So much was going on and there’s so many names to remember. I am not good with names. I’m glad I wasn’t too proud to read the chapter analysis though, because I gained a deeper appreciation of her mind. Her interest in psychology was really vivid once I read about her interest in Freud. I also started being able to decipher the plot on my own and realize the significance of certain events. With a little practice, it’s easy to notice the brilliance of her writing. For example: “The urgency of the moment always missed its mark. Words fluttered sideways and struck the object inches too low. Then one gave up”(The Lighthouse, Ch. V). The words paint such beautiful, vivid scenes in describing even the most basic human experiences. Supplemental content, like SparkNotes and Crash Course, made sure I didn’t miss anything significant. Instead of viewing this as a lack of intelligence on my part, I thought of these materials as something similar to what I would get from learning about the book in a class rather than learning about it completely on my own.
The story is broken up into 3 parts: “The Window,” “Time Passes,” and “The Lighthouse.” Both “The Window” and “The Lighthouse” show the details of specific days and can spend an entire chapter discussing one interaction between characters. “Time Passes” takes a different form by spending just a few chapters to talk about years worth of plot. I think it’s a good way to connect the first and last parts, giving us a description of the house being neglected with short remarks about what characters married and had children and died. We have enough context to understand “The Lighthouse,” but we also feel like we’re just picking up right where we left off at the end of “The Window.” I think this can be a way to show that some relationships are like that, they just pick up right where they left off. The older you get, the more you notice it. We also see how some relationships are not like that. The young James that wanted desperately to go to the lighthouse has an unenthusiastic and even apprehensive reaction to finally going with his father. However, by seeing everyone’s perspective, it’s hard to villainize one single character because the curtain has been pulled back to reveal a view of everyone’s mind.
The novel wasn’t the easiest to read at times, but I think its value lies more in the way it makes you think. If I reread this anytime in the future, which I probably will, there’s going to be something new that I’ll find in the book. It feels like the kind of book where you’ll uncover more with each read. Sometimes it’s necessary to read something like that. I think the challenge of older literature can be a fun hurdle to overcome, and it leaves you with a sense of satisfaction at the end. I read the book in short spurts in between reading more contemporary books, such as Valley of the Dolls, My Year of Rest and Relaxation, and so on. I think it would be worthwhile to continue my study and read some of her essays at a later date. I recently ordered a book containing some of her short stories and essays, so I’m excited for that to come in the mail. For now, I’ll just be glad that I made it to the end of To The Lighthouse and had some practice in literary analysis (with the help of some online tools).
If you’ve read Virginia Woolf, what should I read from her next?