To The Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf

...wasn't particularly straightforward. I chose to read To the Lighthouse simply because I have recently been to the Isle of Skye and the story described in this book is based on Skye. However, if I hadn't read this on the back cover, I would not have known where the book was set - apart from the fact that it was set on an island. I was certainly not expecting the writing style that I was faced with and was tempted to put it down after just a few pages. ...
...focuses on a potential trip to a nearby lighthouse to which her young son James is looking forward. He is deeply upset that his father and Charles Tansley insist that the trip will be impossible because of the weather. Despite this, other members of the party are having a marvellous holiday.

The second part of the book sees the return of the Ramsays to Skye after a period of ten years, during which the First World War took place and ... more

I had really very few expectations when I began this book. I read Mrs Dalloway some time ago, but couldn't really remember what her writing style was like, except that it wasn't particularly straightforward. I chose to read To the Lighthouse simply because I have recently been to the Isle of Skye and the story described in this book is based on Skye. However, if I hadn't read this on the back cover, I would not have known where the book was set - apart from the fact that it was set on an island. I was certainly not expecting the writing style that I was faced with and was tempted to put it down after just a few pages. However, I persevered and I am glad that I did so. I have some misgivings about this book, but on the whole, it is gently and sympathetically written and kept my interest until the end.

The story
This probably sounds very mundane, but the book is simply about a family and their close friends and the interaction between them all. The Ramsays holiday on Skye every year, along with a collection of close friends, including Lily Briscoe, William Bankes, Mr Carmichael, Charles Tansley, Paul Rayley and Minta. The first part of the book is told mainly through Mrs Ramsay's eyes and focuses on a potential trip to a nearby lighthouse to which her young son James is looking forward. He is deeply upset that his father and Charles Tansley insist that the trip will be impossible because of the weather. Despite this, other members of the party are having a marvellous holiday.

The second part of the book sees the return of the Ramsays to Skye after a period of ten years, during which the First World War took place and certain members of the family were lost along the way. This part of the book is told mainly through the eyes of Lily Briscoe, as she thinks about Mrs Ramsay's unifying effect on the family.

The characters
Although the story is told via the thought processes of different characters, it is Mrs Ramsay and Lily Briscoe that stand out the most. Mrs Ramsay, a matriarchal figure, has eight children and a scholar for a husband, to all of whom she is deeply attached. She is a beautiful woman, and with it, has a certain sense of superiority that puts some people off, particularly Lily Briscoe and William Bankes. Her aspirations in life are to see her children and friends happily married off and to keep her husband happy. Although her thoughts centre around a very old-fashioned family life of nearly 100 years ago, yet there is much in common with modern day women; for example, wanting to see her children lead happy and successful lives while wanting them to stay the same age. I found it hard to decide whether I liked her or not; she is certainly an interesting character, with much to recommend her, but somehow, although wanting to see everyone happy, she expresses herself in a rather patronising way, which I found annoying. This is perhaps because of her obvious view that men lead the world; without them nothing would happen, whereas a woman's role is to care for and protect the men.

Interestingly, this book is supposed to be the most autobiographical book that Virginia Woolf wrote, but I am not sure which character, if any, is based on her own life. There is no mention of depression or mental illness, from which she suffered badly during her lifetime, but even taking this into consideration, I don't somehow think that she has transferred her experience of life onto Mrs Ramsay. If anyone, I think it is more likely to be Lily Briscoe. Alternatively, it may be that the autobiographical part comes from the descriptions of holidays that she herself took as a child and her relationship with other family members. No doubt many of you have studied this book at some point, so any explanations would be welcome.

Lily Briscoe is a young woman in her early thirties at the beginning of the book. She is unattractive; too thin and with slanted eyes that remind her friends of Chinese eyes. She is deeply sensitive to the feelings of those around her and their reaction to her; as an artist, she is upset by Charles Tansley's suggestion that women cannot paint (or in fact do much at all). As a single woman, if she cannot paint, then she is left with no purpose in life - her art is to her what Mr Ramsay's scholarly work is to him. She admires Mrs Ramsay for her powers at keeping everyone together, but at the same time finds her somewhat overbearing. As for the somewhat short-tempered Mr Ramsay, she finds it hard to tell what he is thinking. For me, she was the character in the book to whom I felt I could most relate. Her reactions to the others seemed very natural to me and I really wanted her to end up content - not necessarily married, but happy with her lot.

Conclusion
I have never read a book like this before. There is some speech; but the two main parts of the book are written completely via people's thought processes - what Mrs Ramsay's and Lily Briscoe's views of her surroundings and relationships are make up the bulk of the prose, with other characters, mainly Mr Ramsay, filling in bits and pieces. This makes for a very interesting read, because obviously not everyone's views are the same and we are seeing the same situation through different eyes.

The very short middle section of the book freaked me out a little to begin with, because it is describing the passing of time, with the house falling into disrepair without its visitors. This section is full of description and metaphors, and is very heavy-going. However, there is a reason for it - to describe what has happened to the family in the ten years between their visit to Skye. This took me very much by surprise and the way that the story is told (sudden inserts into the text), I found it very disturbing to find out what had happened.

I liked the fact that the final part of the book is seen mainly through Lily Briscoe's eyes, rather than through a member of the family, although Cam, James and Mr Ramsay do play a part in this.

There are so many motifs and themes in this book that I couldn't possibly explain them all (even if I understood all of them!). For me, the main theme that stood out was the exploration of the relationship between the different sexes and the struggle of women like Lily to make their mark in a world that still did not accept women as people in their own right. The sea is an important symbol, with its constant movement and potential danger, presumably meaning that life goes on, but not always in the way that we would like it. Lily Briscoe's picture of Mrs Ramsay seems to be another important symbol, perhaps pointing to the fact that life can be encapsulated in a work of art, but that again, life goes on, and the chances are that the picture will be relegated to an attic - or that the memories of certain people will eventually be put to the back of one's mind.

This is a book that I am sure I will read again, simply because it is so full of meaning and it is not possible to cover everything in one read. I would very much like to read more about the book to help gain a deeper understanding.

My one criticism is that, at times, the prose is overly complicated and I cannot help but feel that it was aimed at a certain group of intellects, rather than people as a whole. I certainly struggled with it in parts and had to keep re-reading bits to work out what was going on. This smacks of elitism to me - I don't like the use of complicated language for the sake of it - and I would much rather that the book was aimed at a wider audience. Then again, it wouldn't stand out as much as it did if the language used was more straightforward.

I am recommending this book. It is very short, so although not an easy read, it doesn't take too long to get though and as a piece of literature, it is certainly original. I've read surprisingly few of Virginia Woolf's books, but I will certainly be looking out for more.

The book is available from Amazon for the bargain price of £1.99. Published by Wordsworth Classics, it has 176 pages. ISBN: 1853260916
 

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