With her emotional, poetical frame of
mind, Mrs. Ramsay represents the female principle, while Mr. Ramsay, a self-centered
philosopher, expresses the male principle in his rational point of view. Both
are flawed by their limited perspectives. Lily Briscoe is Woolf’s vision of the
androgynous artist who personifies the ideal blending of male and female
qualities. Her successful completion of a painting that she has been working on
since the beginning of the novel is symbolic of this unification.
1)
Mr.
Ramsay
Mrs. Ramsay’s husband, and a prominent
metaphysical philosopher. Mr. Ramsay loves his family but often acts like
something of a tyrant. He tends to be selfish and harsh due to his persistent
personal and professional anxieties. He fears, more than anything, that his
work is insignificant in the grand scheme of things and that he will not be
remembered by future generations. Well aware of how blessed he is to have such
a wonderful family, he nevertheless tends to punish his wife, children, and
guests by demanding their constant sympathy, attention, and support.
2)
Mrs.
Ramsay
Mr. Ramsay’s wife. A beautiful and
loving woman, Mrs. Ramsay is a wonderful hostess who takes pride in making
memorable experiences for the guests at the family’s summer home on the Isle of
Skye. Affirming traditional gender roles wholeheartedly, she lavishes particular
attention on her male guests, who she believes have delicate egos and need
constant support and sympathy. She is a dutiful and loving wife but often
struggles with her husband’s difficult moods and selfishness. Without fail,
however, she triumphs through these difficult times and demonstrates an ability
to make something significant and lasting from the most ephemeral of
circumstances, such as a dinner party.
3)
James
Ramsay
The Ramsays’ youngest son. James
loves his mother deeply and feels a murderous antipathy toward his father, with
whom he must compete for Mrs. Ramsay’s love and affection. At the beginning of
the novel, Mr. Ramsay refuses the six-year-old James’s request to go to the
lighthouse, saying that the weather will be foul and not permit it; ten years
later, James finally makes the journey with his father and his sister Cam. By
this time, he has grown into a willful and moody young man who has much in
common with his father, whom he detests.
4)
Lily
Briscoe
A young, single painter who befriends
the Ramsays on the Isle of Skye. Like Mr. Ramsay, Lily is plagued by fears that
her work lacks worth. She begins a portrait of Mrs. Ramsay at the beginning of
the novel but has trouble finishing it. The opinions of men like Charles
Tansley, who insists that women cannot paint or write, threaten to undermine
her confidence.
5)
Minta
Doyle
A flighty young woman who visits the
Ramsays on the Isle of Skye. Minta marries Paul Rayley at Mrs. Ramsay’s wishes.
6)
Paul
Rayley
A young friend of the Ramsays who
visits them on the Isle of Skye. Paul is a kind, impressionable young man who
follows Mrs. Ramsay’s wishes in marrying Minta Doyle.
7)
Charles
Tansley
A young philosopher and pupil of Mr.
Ramsay who stays with the Ramsays on the Isle of Skye. Tansley is a prickly and
unpleasant man who harbors deep insecurities regarding his humble background.
He often insults other people, particularly women such as Lily, whose talent
and accomplishments he constantly calls into question. His bad behavior, like
Mr. Ramsay’s, is motivated by his need for reassurance.
8)
William
Bankes
A botanist and old friend of the Ramsays who
stays on the Isle of Skye. Bankes is a kind and mellow man whom Mrs. Ramsay
hopes will marry Lily Briscoe. Although he never marries her, Bankes and Lily
remain close friends.
9)
Augustus
Carmichael
An opium-using poet who visits the
Ramsays on the Isle of Skye. Carmichael languishes in literary obscurity until
his verse becomes popular during the war.
10)
Andrew
Ramsay
The oldest of the Ramsays’ sons.
Andrew is a competent, independent young man, and he looks forward to a career
as a mathematician.
11)
Jasper
Ramsay -
One of the Ramsays’ sons. Jasper, to
his mother’s chagrin, enjoys shooting birds.
12)
Roger
Ramsay -
One of the Ramsays’ sons. Roger is
wild and adventurous, like his sister Nancy.
13)
Prue
Ramsay -
The oldest Ramsay girl, a beautiful
young woman. Mrs. Ramsay delights in contemplating Prue’s marriage, which she
believes will be blissful.
14)
Rose
Ramsay –
One of the Ramsays’ daughters. Rose has a
talent for making things beautiful. She arranges the fruit for her mother’s
dinner party and picks out her mother’s jewelry.
15)
Nancy
Ramsay -
One of the Ramsays’ daughters. Nancy
accompanies Paul Rayley and Minta Doyle on their trip to the beach. Like her
brother Roger, she is a wild adventurer.
16)
Cam
Ramsay -
One of the Ramsays’ daughters. As a
young girl, Cam is mischievous. She sails with James and Mr. Ramsay to the
lighthouse in the novel’s final section.
17)
Mrs.
McNab –
An elderly woman who takes care of the
Ramsays’ house on the Isle of Skye, restoring it after ten years of abandonment
during and after World War I.
18)
Macalister -
The fisherman who accompanies the
Ramsays to the lighthouse. Macalister relates stories of shipwreck and maritime
adventure to Mr. Ramsay and compliments James on his handling of the boat while
James lands it at the lighthouse.
19)
Macalister’s
Boy –
The fisherman’s boy. He rows James, Cam, and
Mr. Ramsay to the lighthouse.
Mrs. Ramsay, Mr. Ramsay (a
philosopher), their eight children, and several guests are staying at the
family's summer home in the Hebrides, on the Isle of Skye, just before the
start of World War I. Just across the bay is a lighthouse, which becomes a
prominent presence in the family's life. James Ramsay, the youngest child,
wants to go to the Lighthouse the next day, but Mr. Ramsay crushes his hopes,
saying that the weather will not be pleasant enough for the trip. James resents
his father for his insensitivity as well as for his emotional demands on Mrs.
Ramsay, and this resentment persists throughout the novel.
The houseguests include Lily Briscoe,
an unmarried painter who begins a portrait of Mrs. Ramsay; Charles Tansley, who
is not very well liked; William Bankes, whom Mrs. Ramsay wants Lily to marry,
but Lily never does; and Paul Rayley and Minta Doyle, who become engaged during
their visit.
Mrs. Ramsay spends the afternoon
reading to James as Lily watches her from the lawn, attempting to paint her
portrait. Mr. Ramsay also watches her as he walks and worries about his
intellectual shortcomings, afraid that he will never achieve greatness. Andrew
Ramsay, Nancy Ramsay, Paul Rayley, and Minta Doyle take a walk on the beach,
where Paul proposes to Minta.
For the evening, Mrs. Ramsay has
planned a dinner for fifteen guests including Augustus Carmichael, a friend and
poet. The dinner gets off to a shaky start as Mr. Ramsay becomes angry with Mr.
Carmichael for requesting more soup and no one seems to be enjoying the
conversation. However, at a certain magical moment, everyone in the room seems
to connect, and Mrs. Ramsay hopes that something permanent will result from
this connection. Following dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay sit together in the
parlor, and Mrs. Ramsay finds that she unable to tell her husband that she
loves him. Nevertheless, though their unspoken communication she is sure that
he knows. The Ramsays and their guests go to sleep.
In the second section of the novel,
"Time Passes," the house is abandoned for ten years, suffering the
ravages of time, neglect, and decay. Mrs. Ramsay unexpectedly dies one night,
as does Prue in an illness related to childbirth. Andrew is the third Ramsay to
die when he is killed instantaneously in battle. Mrs. McNab goes to the house
occasionally to tidy it up and restore it, but it is not until she hears word
that the remaining Ramsays will be returning for the summer that she gets
everything in order.
In The Lighthouse, Ramsays, as
well as other guests (including Lily Briscoe), return to the summer home. Mr.
Ramsay decides that he, James, and Cam Ramsay will finally take the trip to the
Lighthouse, but the children are resentful of his domineering manner. He is
angry about delays on the morning of the trip, and he approaches Lily for
sympathy, but she is unable to feel any sympathy for him until he has already
set off on the journey, when it is too late. Just as Mr. Ramsay decides to finally
take this journey, Lily Briscoe decides to finally finish the painting that she
started ten years ago.
On the boat, the children continue to
resent their father's self-pity, yet as the ship approaches the Lighthouse,
they find a new tenderness for and connection to him. As the boat reaches its
destination, Lily paints the final stroke on her canvas and finally achieves
her vision.
“The Window” opens just before the
start of World War I. Mr. Ramsay and Mrs. Ramsay bring their eight children to
their summer home in the Hebrides (a group of islands west of Scotland). Across
the bay from their house stands a large lighthouse. Six-year-old James Ramsay
wants desperately to go to the lighthouse, and Mrs. Ramsay tells him that they
will go the next day if the weather permits. James reacts gleefully, but Mr.
Ramsay tells him coldly that the weather looks to be foul. James resents his
father and believes that he enjoys being cruel to James and his siblings.
The Ramsays host a number of guests,
including the dour Charles Tansley, who admires Mr. Ramsay’s work as a
metaphysical philosopher. Also at the house is Lily Briscoe, a young painter
who begins a portrait of Mrs. Ramsay. Mrs. Ramsay wants Lily to marry William
Bankes, an old friend of the Ramsays, but Lily resolves to remain single. Mrs.
Ramsay does manage to arrange another marriage, however, between Paul Rayley
and Minta Doyle, two of their acquaintances.
Paul proposes to Minta, Lily begins
her painting, Mrs. Ramsay soothes the resentful James, and Mr. Ramsay frets
over his shortcomings as a philosopher, periodically turning to Mrs. Ramsay for
comfort. That evening, the Ramsays host a seemingly ill-fated dinner party.
Paul and Minta are late returning from their walk on the beach with two of the
Ramsays’ children. Lily bristles at outspoken comments made by Charles Tansley,
who suggests that women can neither paint nor write. Mr. Ramsay reacts rudely
when Augustus Carmichael, a poet, asks for a second plate of soup.
The joy, however, like the party
itself, cannot last, and as Mrs. Ramsay leaves her guests in the dining room,
she reflects that the event has already slipped into the past. Later, she joins
her husband in the parlor. The couple sits quietly together, until Mr. Ramsay’s
characteristic insecurities interrupt their peace. He wants his wife to tell
him that she loves him. Mrs. Ramsay is not one to make such pronouncements, but
she concedes to his point made earlier in the day that the weather will be too
rough for a trip to the lighthouse the next day. Mr. Ramsay thus knows that
Mrs. Ramsay loves him. Night falls, and one night quickly becomes another.
Time passes more quickly as the novel
enters the “Time Passes” segment. War breaks out across Europe. Mrs. Ramsay dies
suddenly one night. Andrew Ramsay, her oldest son, is killed in battle, and his
sister Prue dies from an illness related to childbirth. The family no longer
vacations at its summerhouse, which falls into a state of disrepair: weeds take
over the garden and spiders nest in the house. Ten years pass before the family
returns. Mrs. McNab, the housekeeper, employs a few other women to help set the
house in order. They rescue the house from oblivion and decay, and everything
is in order when Lily Briscoe returns.
In “The Lighthouse” section, time
returns to the slow detail of shifting points of view, similar in style to “The
Window.” Mr. Ramsay declares that he and James and Cam, one of his daughters,
will journey to the lighthouse. On the morning of the voyage, delays throw him
into a fit of temper. He appeals to Lily for sympathy, but, unlike Mrs. Ramsay,
she is unable to provide him with what he needs. The Ramsays set off, and Lily
takes her place on the lawn, determined to complete a painting she started but
abandoned on her last visit. James and Cam bristle at their father’s blustery
behavior and are embarrassed by his constant self-pity. Still, as the boat
reaches its destination, the children feel a fondness for him. Even James,
whose skill as a sailor Mr. Ramsay praises, experiences a moment of connection
with his father, though James so willfully resents him. Across the bay, Lily
puts the finishing touch on her painting. She makes a definitive stroke on the
canvas and puts her brush down, finally having achieved her vision.
1.
Lily’s Painting
Lily’s painting represents a struggle against
gender convention, represented by Charles Tansley’s statement that women can’t
paint or write. Lily’s desire to express Mrs. Ramsay’s essence as a wife and
mother in the painting mimics the impulse among modern women to know and
understand intimately the gendered experiences of the women who came before
them. Lily’s composition attempts to discover and comprehend Mrs. Ramsay’s
beauty just as Woolf’s construction of Mrs. Ramsay’s character reflects her
attempts to access and portray her own mother.
2.
The Lighthouse
Lying across the bay and meaning something
different and intimately personal to each character, the lighthouse is at once
inaccessible, illuminating, and infinitely interpretable. As the destination
from which the novel takes its title, the lighthouse suggests that the
destinations that seem surest are most unobtainable. Just as Mr. Ramsay is
certain of his wife’s love for him and aims to hear her speak words to that end
in “The Window,” Mrs. Ramsay finds these words impossible to say. These failed
attempts to arrive at some sort of solid ground, like Lily’s first try at
painting Mrs. Ramsay or Mrs. Ramsay’s attempt to see Paul and Minta married,
result only in more attempts, further excursions rather than rest. The
lighthouse stands as a potent symbol of this lack of attainability. James
arrives only to realize that it is not at all the mist-shrouded destination of
his childhood. Instead, he is made to reconcile two competing and contradictory
images of the tower—how it appeared to him when he was a boy and how it appears
to him now that he is a man. He decides that both of these images contribute to
the essence of the lighthouse—that nothing is ever only one thing—a sentiment
that echoes the novel’s determination to arrive at truth through varied and
contradictory vantage points.
The painting also represents dedication to a
feminine artistic vision, expressed through Lily’s anxiety over showing it to
William Bankes. In deciding that completing the painting regardless of what
happens to it is the most important thing, Lily makes the choice to establish
her own artistic voice. In the end, she decides that her vision depends on
balance and synthesis: how to bring together disparate things in harmony. In
this respect, her project mirrors Woolf’s writing, which synthesizes the
perceptions of her many characters to come to a balanced and truthful portrait
of the world.
3.
The Boar’s Skull
After her dinner party, Mrs. Ramsay retires
upstairs to find the children wide-awake, bothered by the boar’s skull that
hangs on the nursery wall. The presence of the skull acts as a disturbing
reminder that death is always at hand, even (or perhaps especially) during
life’s most blissful moments.
4.
The Sea
References to the sea appear throughout the novel.
Broadly, the ever-changing, ever-moving waves parallel the constant forward
movement of time and the changes it brings. Woolf describes the sea lovingly
and beautifully, but her most evocative depictions of it point to its violence.
As a force that brings destruction, has the power to decimate islands, and, as
Mr. Ramsay reflects, “eats away the ground we stand on,” the sea is a powerful
reminder of the impermanence and delicacy of human life and accomplishments.
5.
The Ramsays’ House
The Ramsays’ house is a stage where Woolf and her
characters explain their beliefs and observations. During her dinner party,
Mrs. Ramsay sees her house display her own inner notions of shabbiness and her
inability to preserve beauty. In the “Time Passes” section, the ravages of war
and destruction and the passage of time are reflected in the condition of the
house rather than in the emotional development or observable aging of the
characters. The house stands in for the collective consciousness of those who
stay in it. At times the characters long to escape it, while at other times it
serves as refuge. From the dinner party to the journey to the lighthouse, Woolf
shows the house from every angle, and its structure and contents mirror the
interior of the characters who inhabit it.
1.
The
Transience of Life and Work
Mr. Ramsay and Mrs. Ramsay take
completely different approaches to life: he relies on his intellect, while she
depends on her emotions. But they share the knowledge that the world around
them is transient—that nothing lasts forever. Mr. Ramsay reflects that even the
most enduring of reputations, such as Shakespeare’s, are doomed to eventual
oblivion. This realization accounts for the bitter aspect of his character.
Frustrated by the inevitable demise of his own body of work and envious of the
few geniuses who will outlast him, he plots to found a school of philosophy
that argues that the world is designed for the average, unadorned man, for the
“liftman in the Tube” rather than for the rare immortal writer.
Mrs. Ramsay is as keenly aware as her
husband of the passage of time and of mortality. She recoils, for instance, at
the notion of James growing into an adult, registers the world’s many dangers,
and knows that no one, not even her husband, can protect her from them. Her
reaction to this knowledge is markedly different from her husband’s. Whereas
Mr. Ramsay is bowed by the weight of his own demise, Mrs. Ramsay is fueled with
the need to make precious and memorable whatever time she has on earth. Such
crafted moments, she reflects, offer the only hope of something that endures.
2.
Art
as a Means of Preservation
In the face of an existence that is
inherently without order or meaning, Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay employ different
strategies for making their lives significant. Mr. Ramsay devotes himself to
his progression through the course of human thought, while Mrs. Ramsay
cultivates memorable experiences from social interactions. Neither of these
strategies, however, proves an adequate means of preserving one’s experience.
After all, Mr. Ramsay fails to obtain the philosophical understanding he so
desperately desires, and Mrs. -Ramsay’s life, though filled with moments that
have the shine and resilience of rubies, ends. Only Lily Briscoe finds a way to
preserve her experience, and that way is through her art. As Lily begins her
portrait of Mrs. Ramsay at the beginning of the novel, Woolf notes the scope of
the project: Lily means to order and connect elements that have no necessary
relation in the world—“hedges and houses
and mothers and children.” By the end of the novel, ten years later, Lily
finishes the painting she started, which stands as a moment of clarity wrested
from confusion. Art is, perhaps, the only hope of surety in a world destined and
determined to change: for, while mourning Mrs. Ramsay’s death and painting on
the lawn, Lily reflects that “nothing
stays, all changes; but not words, not paint.”
3.
The
Subjective Nature of Reality
Toward the end of the novel, Lily
reflects that in order to see Mrs. Ramsay clearly—to understand her character
completely—she would need at least fifty pairs of eyes; only then would she be
privy to every possible angle and nuance. The truth, according to this
assertion, rests in the accumulation of different, even opposing vantage
points. Woolf’s technique in structuring the story mirrors Lily’s assertion.
She is committed to creating a sense of the world that not only depends upon
the private perceptions of her characters but is also nothing more than the accumulation
of those perceptions. To try to reimagine the story as told from a single
character’s perspective or—in the tradition of the Victorian novelists—from the
author’s perspective is to realize the radical scope and difficulty of Woolf’s
project.
4.
The
Restorative Effects of Beauty
At the beginning of the novel, both
Mr. Ramsay and Lily Briscoe are drawn out of moments of irritation by an image
of extreme beauty. The image, in both cases, is a vision of Mrs. Ramsay, who,
as she sits reading with James, is a sight powerful enough to incite “rapture”
in William Bankes. Beauty retains this soothing effect throughout the novel:
something as trifling as a large but very beautiful arrangement of fruit can,
for a moment, assuage the discomfort of the guests at Mrs. Ramsay’s dinner
party.
Lily later complicates the notion of
beauty as restorative by suggesting that beauty has the unfortunate consequence
of simplifying the truth. Her impression of Mrs. Ramsay, she believes, is
compromised by a determination to view her as beautiful and to smooth over her
complexities and faults. Nevertheless, Lily continues on her quest to “still”
or “freeze” a moment from life and make it beautiful. Although the vision of an
isolated moment is necessarily incomplete, it is lasting and, as such,
endlessly seductive to her.
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