Mrs Dalloway And To The Lighhouse By Virginia Woolf In her writings, Virginia Woolf wanted to capture the realness of life, as one would live it. In turn, Woolfs shared the significant elements of her life in her poetic prose novels, Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse, as a relative self-portrayal. In these books Woolf captured the life as she had lived it, performing this task in three different layers of depth.
For a general sense, by allowing the characters to live in a similar society as her own, Woolf depicted her society in her writing.In a deeper sense, many of Woolfs family members, relationships, and characteristics were symbolically illustrated through the minor literary characters on a more personal level. Moreover, Woolf displayed her views, beliefs, and personal events through the conscience of the main characters. Commonly, people believe that Woolf had an ideal family. Born into an aristocratic family, her father, Sir Leslie Stephen, was an eminent editor, journalist, and a biographer; her husband, Leonard Woolf, also was an aristocrat writer, who had a membership in an intellectual circle, Bloomsbury Group, along with Virginia Woolf. Similarly, Woolf planned both
com/the-women-in-mrs-dalloway-49353">Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse to be the stories of two aristocratic families.Virginia Woolf lived from the late Victorian Era until the beginning of King George VIs reign, through both the climax of Britains prosperity and political supremacy and the decline of such political power which was due to the First World War. Yet, in these transitions of Britains political status, new ideologies, such as feminism, were developing.
From the late Victorian Era to the end of First World War marked a period in which the people attempted to accomplish the new beliefs and ideologies, usually resulting in effective movements. Most of these ideas were an antithesis of prewar traditions that were led by Modernist, the questioners of tradition, in literary movements. Feminism was one of the popular new ideologies, which generally began through writers, artists, and women of the aristocracy, for they were the ones who were politically aware of what was going on in Britain and on Continent. Furthermore, people, especially the middle and the upper classes, enjoyed enormous prosperity that was brought in by imperialism and the Industrial Revolution.
Prosperity drew people to capitalism and investments in foreign countries, for people loved money and were very avaricious.In her writing, Woolf addressed these Victorian political characteristics through the meeting of Richard Dalloway, Hugh Whitbread, and Lady Bruton in Mrs. Dalloway, where Lady Bruton proposes "a project for emigrating young people of both sexes born of respectable parents and setting them up with a fair prospect of doing well in Canada." Lady Brutons strong independence as a leader shows the movement towards tolerance of women being in power. This scene also portrays peoples cupidity, since this project was designed to bring in a substantial amount of profit.
In addition, the Victorian Era was an age of doubt, question, and skepticism towards God, mostly due to Darwinism. Friction was created between morality and newly developing ideologies and beliefs. Although a majority of people still attended church, many writers and artists, especially Modernists, tended to be more agnostic. Likewise Woolf showed the opposing sides, believers and idealists, through the repulsion of Mrs.
Dalloway against Miss Kilman, as Mrs. Dalloway has noted, "Had she [Miss Kilman] even tried to convert any one herself? Did she not wish everybody merely to be themselves? Let her.. if she wanted to; let her stop; then let her.
.There was something solemn in itbut love and religion would destroy that, whatever it was, the privacy of the soul. The odious Kilman would destroy it." Britain faced a phase of decline due to the First World War which brought many changes to peoples lives, although the aristocrats were not as affected by the war. Some post war effects were loneliness, mental and emotional disorders, and disintegration usually suffered by middle and lower classes.In Mrs.
Dalloway, the Dalloway family is planning a party while Septimus Smith, a middle class veteran, is suffering from mental and emotional disorders. Mrs. Dalloway is suffering from loneliness. However, in To the Lighthouse, the Ramsay family, also aristocrats, are suffering from the war due to the death of their veteran son, Anthony Ramsay.
Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse are filled with symbols, notably those that represent or suggest vital people in Woolfs life. For example, from her childhood, her father had great influence in Woolfs life, for it was because of him that Woolf began to write. Woolf exemplified her father through Mr. Ramsay in To the Lighthouse.
Like Leslie Stephen, Mr. Ramsay was portrayed as an aristocratic intellectual. Furthermore, Woolf went to the extreme of details to share the possessions of her father that were significant to her such as her fathers library, the place where she received education, and his summerhouse on the Hebrides Islands, the place where her family had fellowship. Likewise, Mr. Ramsay possessed an excellent library, a place that symbolically has a different atmosphere from rest of his summerhouse on the Isle of Skye. If there was one other person who made difference in Woolf life, then Leonard Woolf cannot be excluded.
He was part of the left wing in the Parliament and known for his male chauvinistic characteristics; however, with no doubt, he was noted as a husband who loved his wife very much to take care of her, even through her mental breakdowns. Woolf portrayed her husbands role in her life through both Mr.Richard Dalloway and Mr. Ramsay. Mr.
Dalloway represents the political aspect of Leonard, considering that he was part of the left wing in the Parliament. In the other aspect, Mr. Ramsay portrays the side of Leonard that was very dominating and male chauvinistic. Nonetheless, both Mr.
Dalloway and Mr. Ramsay play the role of husbands who love their wife yet have much difficulty expressing that love. As for Richard Dalloway, he feels that"the time comes when it cant be said; ones too shy to say it, he thought..to say straight out in so many words (whatever she might think of him), holding out his flowers, I love you.
Why not?..Here he was walking..to say to Clarissa in so many words that he loved her.
" Bloomsbury Group was not only an intellectual circle, but also a second family for Woolf because it was composed of some of her family members and close friends. Many of the her Bloosmbury Group colleagues are illustrated through the minor literary characters with the exception of Vanessa Bell, her sister, her best friend, and an artist.Her charact ...
