Hello Readers
Welcome to my blog. This is my academic blog on Virginia Woolf 's " To the lighthouse ". There are several questions given below that are given by Dr.Dilip Barad sir. So the task is to answer the questions. Here i would like to mention quotation form To the lighthouse:
" And all the lives we ever lived and all the lives to be are full of trees
and changing leaves."
🌟 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 the Stream of Consciousness technique which helps Woolf to put in an effective manner what she experienced in abstractions.)
Maybe that is the best way to tell a story about herself. Because she used a stream of consciousness in which we find that the perception towards particular characters. That shows a thinking pattern of mind about a particular person. The complexity of human relationship, the everyday battles that people are in their relationship with near and dear ones, the struggle of a female artist against the values of middle/upper class society, these are all the things Virginia Woolf mentioned in her novel because she wanted to show human nature in a variety of situations. She also very strongly makes a point that how women are suffering throughout life ( Mrs. Ramsay ). And also if anyone breaks the rules set by society like Lily Briscoe, then that is not accepted by many characters.
🌟 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 - Karyeshu dasi, Karaneshu mantri; Bhojeshu mata, Shayaneshu rambha; Kshama Yeshu dharitri, Roopeshu lakshmi; Satkarma yukta, Kula Dharma patni. )
Particularly in this question we can not say that this is this only but both perspectives are the possible answers. Because " the novel is both the tribute and critique of Mrs. Ramsay" .
At one point the novel is a tribute to Mrs. Ramsay. Because in the first part of 'The window' we can see that she was like a bridge between several characters, like children and father. She was always present to work for others. She was caring and pampered the male ego of the guests at any situation. She doesn't live a single moment living or thinking for herself. So she worked for others then also she suffered from her husband. She always asks her husband for any financial activity. Even he was angry with her. In the second part she died. So how can we say that the whole novel is a tribute to Mrs. Ramsay. But in the third part we can say that there isn't absence of Mrs. Ramsay. Because all the characters mind we find that the strongest effect of Mrs Ramsy. So we can say that the novel gives us sympathy for her. We connect with her character strongly.
The second point is the critique of Mrs Ramsay. Because of that we can see her behaviour towards Lily Briscoe. Lily Briscoe unfolds, she is revealed as a negative force in the lighthouse. Here we can say that Mrs Ramsay became a barrier between father and children. Mrs Ramsay insists that her domesticity triumph over Me. Ramsay's intellect. This finally Mrs Ramsay and Mr. Ramsay are both alone, in spite of her unconscious desire for union with her husband , because consciously her domestic triumph, her matriarchy, her selfhood is more important to her than the integrity of the family.
In a way she was not a bad Character but she was the product of patriarchal society. She shaped her daughters in exactly the way she was. So we can say that she was the tribute and critique.
We can connect Mrs.Ramsay with the typical indian women. The given below sloka described.
- Karyeshu Dasi : work like a servant.
- Karaneshu Mantri : advise like a minister
- Bhojeshu Mara : feeds like a mother
-Shayaneshu Ramba : Pleases 8n bed like the heavenly Beauty Rambha.
- Roopeshu Lakshmi : Beautiful like Lakshmi.
- Kshmayeshh Dharitri : Having patience like earth.
- Shat Dharma yuktah : women who have these six virtues.
- Kula Dharma patni : good housewife .
🌟 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 the stoicism of Lighthouse. Read the 'lighthouse' symbol from the presentation slide with this insight to connect the lighthouse with the narrator. Give your concluding remarks in the comment below in this blog )
Yes in one way we can say that Mrs. Ramsay who was the guidelines for all the characters. She was talking with everyone and give a suggestions and guidance. She was trying to enter woven with everyone else. I think she was the super spreader of patriarchy maybe unknowingly.
And several points are there that the narrator or writer can't fully absent from the novel. Because the narrator always guides us on a path. As we know that lighthouse is the symbol of inner strength. Because whatever situations happened in the sea but very bravely lighthouse stands for it's ambition to give path to sailors. So it can be a symbol of the stoicism of Lily to paint and thus prove that she can paint. She didn't give up whatever turmoils came ( society, Charles Tansley)
🌟 In the article by Joseph Blotner, two myths are patterned together. Name the myths? How are they 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 article 'Mythic Patterns in To The Lighthouse ' by Joseph blotner. In which we find that the two myths that is
- the Myth of Kore , Persephone
- the Myth of Oedipus
In which we find that the Oedipus myth is consonant with Persephone myth in it's application to the lighthouse and both reflect fundamental patterns of human experience. In the novel the symbol of ' Window ' is Female and the symbol of ' the Lighthouse' is male. That exalting
🌟 What do you understand by the German term 'Künstlerroman'? How can you justify that 'To The Lighthouse' is a 'Künstlerroman' novel? (Key: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/325047/Kunstlerroman)
The word " Künstlerroman " is the German word. That is the literary genre and the words mean artist novel. is a narrative about an artist's growth to maturity. It could be classified as a sub-category of Bildungsroman. So the meaning of Bildungsroman is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood (coming of age), in which character change is important.
So in the novel we find that the character of Lily Briscoe is growing throughout the novel. It is a novel in which a character is growing in 5he novel.
🌟 Movie Screening: Worksheet
🌟 You have compared the 'beginning' and the 'ending' of the novel and the film adaptation of the novel directed by Colin Gregg (you can see it again in the embedded video below this). 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?
There are differences between the movie and the novel in the beginning. In the movie we can see the interesting beginning. Very beautiful and symbolic frame used by Colin Gregg at the beginning. In the novel we have the incident that is James who wants to go to the lighthouse and the father who was refusing.
Ending of the movie and the novel that is quite similar. That Lily Briscoe had her vision of Life. Always to watch a movie that was an amazing experience. Looking at Camera work and the frame, facial expressions it was a great experience.
But to read a novel is a different kind of experience. Because we can say that while reading the novel we create our own movie. We look at the things with the author's vision and are thinking. In the movie we can see the things in the eyes of the film maker. The novel gives us the feeling that this is my own.
So the written words have a powerful force. The novel is more poignant than the movie. But the visual and screen are not less than that.
🌟 How do you interpret the last line of the novel (It was done; it was finished.
Yes, she thought, laying down her brush in extreme fatigue, I have had my vision.) with reference to the ending of the film (After the final stroke on the canvass with finishing touch, 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".)
It is an unpredictable question because in this question we can not find any particular and exact answer. Because there is a possibility of various viewpoints.
If we look at Traditional way of reading then the protagonist is Mrs Ramsay and she was the heart of the lighthouse. But maybe Virginia Woolf is trying to say something different from the traditional reading.
Lily embodies the 'vision' of the novel. Lily has long been regarded as a secondary character, since, for decades, most critics seemed to limit their reading to part I of the novel and to Mrs. Ramsay's belittling comments. In the novel as a whole, however, if one considers the sheer bulk of text allotted to each character, Lily is statistically more present than Mrs. Ramsay. Gender-oriented criticism has recently restored the balance in her favor, but often with diverging conclusions, so that it now seems appropriate to assess the new perspectives, taking as their main theoretical support analyses by Melanie Klein and by Julia Kristeva. At the same time, as To the Lighthouse is a kind of Kunstlerroman, it is fairly easy to follow Lily's progression and setbacks.
🌟 What does the catalogue named as 'Army and Navy' signify? What does cutting of 'Refrigerator' signify?
Virginia writing in 1926 a refrigerator would have been a symbol of modernity and of immense cultural change. That is the advancement of science but it is anti - nature. It is against the natural process. If we connect the refrigerator with Mrs. Ramsay then we can say that she doesn't allow children's natural flow of behaviour but she is trying to shape his or her mind.
There is also a question why Mrs Ramsay drowned attention to cut a refrigerator instead of another object. Any particular reason behind that or not let see. Yes there is a reason, James is guided in his choice by Mrs. Ramsay to cut the refrigerator, too, was presumably her choice, and it should therefore be associated with her, and with her role as a preserver and shaper of culture.
It is also connected with consumerism and war.
🌟 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?
When we compare Fisherman's wife and Mrs. Ramsay then both are similar in their behaviour, because both want to ask her husband to fulfill her desire. But at that point we can say why she was asking her husband to fulfill her desire ? The prominent question is this. Because the society and husband isn't allowed to go out and work. We can add this concern also.
Mrs. Ramsay tells such a misogynistic tale Virginia is also indicting Mrs. Ramsay. By showing Mrs. Ramsay as transmitting and perpetuating harmful myths about female will and desire, Virginia is criticizing and attacking the way in which women are complicit in limiting their ability to fully realize themselves. By choosing to tell the tale of the “Fisherman’s Wife, “ Mrs Ramsay becomes an instrument for perpetuating the sexism and misogyny which lies behind it. In making Mrs. Ramsay the teller of this tale, Virginia calls attention to the ways in which Mrs. Ramsay, even if unwittingly, nourishes and supports patriarchal society. In telling her tale, Mrs. Ramsay is harming herself and her society.
It is also possible reading that the last lines suggested that Briscoe realized that Mrs. Ramsay was not totally wrong. Close the doors but open the windows. Now she understood the points of Mrs. Ramsay. In the film before making the final stroke she sees Mrs. Ramsay and James wander happily in the garden. She also might want to live that life. So, that can be her vision going inside the room, leaving brush somewhere, and on bed saying Briscoe, you are a fool suggesting that Mrs. Ramsay was right. Now she has her vision.
The words like " you are fool "then that is the contradictory statement also because when she was occurring before she was thinking about Mrs. Ramsay and she believed that she was right. But at the time she realized that she was wrong and that's why she said that you are a fool. It might be a possible reason.
🌟 How is India represented in 'To The Lighthouse'? (Read this blog for passing reference)
Click here to reach my answer :
https://ravinaparmaar.blogspot.com/2020/10/to-lighthouse-references-of-india.html
