Life and Death in Virginia Woolfs Mrs.

Dalloway and To the Lighthouse

Sarah Benefiel

Prof. Michael Raposa Rel 188 12 December 2003

I meant to write about death, only life came breaking in as usual (Diary, 17 February 1922).1

I. Introduction As human beings, we are unique in our awareness of death. We know that we will die, and that knowledge invades our consciousnessit will not let us rest until we have found ways, through rituals and stories, theologies and philosophies, either to make sense of death, or, failing that, to make sense of ourselves in the face of death.2 Attaching significance to life events is a human reaction to the sense of meaninglessness in the world. Fearing our ultimate annihilation, we form belief systems to reassure us in the face of death. Religion provides us with elaborate rituals at times of death and faith assists believers in mourning and coping with the loss of loved ones. So without a religious foundation, where does one find solace in the face of so much pain? This is the struggle for Virginia Woolf, a self-proclaimed atheist whose life was shadowed by death from an early age. In the years between 1895 3 (when she was thirteen) and 1904 she lost her mother, her sister, and her father. Less than a decade later, Europe was consumed by war, and public mourning became a part of her life. Grieving started very early in

Quoted in Lee, Hermoine, Virginia Woolf (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997). Zaleski, Carol, Otherworld Journeys (New York: Oxford UP, 1987), 12.

Woolf was thirteen when her mother passed away.

3 Virginias life, which might be one reason why her writing offers us such a forceful riposte that it should, or could, be brought to an end.4 Sigmund Freuds psychoanalytic theories profoundly changed the way we think about the mind and its subconscious workings. His work greatly influenced the way people understood mental illness and other social deviations. This is especially true during the time that Virginia Woolf was writing these novels, when his books were widely read. In Civilization and Its Discontents, Freud presents the struggle between Eros (the drive for erotic love) and Thanatos (the appetite for death) as the forces that dominate human decision-making and action.5 He feared that without healthy outlets for our own sexual appetites, humanity would fall to war and violence, as Thanatos wins the battle. Virginia Woolf is a perfect example of how this struggle exists in the human psyche. Her early sexual invasions damaged her sexual drive later in life. She was often cold towards her husband, unable to feel any passion for him. Her desire for death, then, may have been stronger, which would explain her preoccupation with it. Attempting suicide twice, and finally succeeding in 1941, Woolf was acutely aware of the shadow in her life. She, like Septimus the poet in Mrs. Dalloway, condemned herself to death. Responses to death are an important theme in Woolfs literature. Mourning is a natural and necessary reaction to loss. In our minds, we must put the dead to rest, even if they still exist in our memories. Freud had much to say about this subject in Mourning

Rose, Jacqueline, Virginia Woolf and the Death of ModernismRaritan 18, no. 2 (1998 Fall):8.

Freud, Sigmund, Civilization and its Discontents. Trans and edit Strachey, James (New York: WW Norton & Company, Inc., 1961).

4 and Melancholia.6 He wrote that it might be a response to losing a loved one, as experienced by the characters in these novels. It may also be a response to a threatened ideal (country, freedom, family) that may be experienced in time of war. We must, therefore, take into account that Woolf, at the time of writing these two novels, had lived through one World War. After World War I there was much sorrow in Europe. Public mourning, as mentioned, is done on a larger scale, and includes despair, overall uncertainty, and confusion. The Great War had shaken the world, leaving the survivors confused and uncertain as to how to heal the wounds and mourn for so many losses. Writing in the 1920s, Woolf was keenly aware of the mood in Europe, time for public mourning had now passed, and life continued, though radically and forever altered. The war had great impact on her writing, and on her vision of the world. The war had taught him [Smith]. It was sublime. He had gone through the whole show, friendship, European War, death7 Death was an ever present shadow in Woolfs life, but insight could illuminate aspects of life that would have otherwise been overlooked. Without religious security, the author (like the rest of us) struggled to deal with loss. How does one continue life in the face of death? My analysis of two novels, Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse, will focus on this preoccupation with death and mourning, in addition to the ways Woolf and her characters found/created meaning in life.

6 7

See Rose, for connections between Freud and Woolf.. Mrs. Dalloway,, 86.

5 II. Mrs. Dalloway Virginia Woolfs fiction is a wonderful example of modernist literature, and her works sit next to Proust, Joyce, and T.S. Eliot in compilations of important 20th century classics. She experimented with the English language and poetic imagery in beautiful and novel ways. While writing Mrs. Dalloway, Woolf described her discovery in writing style as digging out beautiful caves behind her characters.8 This form gives us a closer, candid look into the personalities and idiosyncrasies of each person. Her stream-of-consciousness narrative allowed Woolf to recreate the flow of thoughts as they grow, layer upon layer, creating rich, full, poetry-like prose. As an established writer, Woolf published her novel Mrs. Dalloway in 1925. It was a time of relative mental stability for Woolf, who had previously been wrecked with fits of madness that no amount of prescribed rest could cure. These bouts would usually come after she experienced a traumatic event. Her early experiences with incest and parental deaths likely provoked depression.9 I have come to believe that writing was Woolfs only escape from personal pain and loss. Mrs. Dalloway was a crowning achievement for the author, as she began to find her own voice and work through her past by creating new life on paper. Originally entitled The Hours, the novel takes a Ulysses-like look at a single day under a microscope. Devoid of much action, the narrative focuses on the inner thoughts of the characters as they flow from one idea to another. Using powerful prose, Woolf describes the characters as they experience illuminating epiphanies into the

Webb, Ruth, Virginia Woolf (New York: Oxford UP, 2000), 69. DeSalvo, Louise, Virginia Woolf: The Impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Her Life and Work (Boston: Beacon Press 1989).
9

6 meaning of life and death. The personal insight comes only when they are forced to deal with death, be it their own, or someone elses. Clarissa Dalloway, a socialite who is hosting a party of great importance on this particular day, is going through what might be described as a mid-life crisis. Horrified of death, but in some inner sense, seeking it, she hopes that something fundamental will remain of her, something that will live on forever. From the first line, the reader is plunged into the murky waters of Mrs. Dalloways thoughts. Concerned about her own aging, she wrestles with the meaning of life and death. Did it matter that she must inevitably cease completely; all this must go on without her: did she resent it; or did it not become consoling to believe that death ended absolutely? (9) Secretly, Mrs. Dalloway wants to live on forever, and fears that when she passes away, no one will know how much she truly loved life. The desire for death is strong in Septimus Warren Smith, the madman and the artist of this story.10 His delusional episodes mirror those that Virginia herself experienced; he often speaks to no one, rambling on about his visions. This poet is not satisfied with his life, which appears to be meaningless. He searches for significance, asking the doctor, Why live? only to receive the inadequate answer that, life was good (101). This novel forces the reader to think about the realities of death, and how people must deal with this knowledge on their own. Having fought in World War I, Septimus Smiths mental illness is invariably a result of the casualties he witnessed and the death

10

This is not a coincidence.

7 which he narrowly escaped. Unable to deal with these powerful and painful memories, he eventually defies life by ending it, jumping out a window hours before the party. 11 So there was no excuse; nothing whatever the matter, except the sin for which human nature had condemned him to death; that he did not feel. He had not cared when Evans was killed; that was the worst; but all the other crimes raised their heads and shook their fingersThe verdict of human nature on such a wreck was death (91, italics mine). Smiths inability (or refusal) to mourn the loss of his beloved friend resembles Woolfs own reactions to her mothers death. In her memoirs, she recollected that she laughed at the grieving of others, and recoiled at her mothers coldness, it was like kissing cold iron. 12 This quarrel with grieving 13 is prominent in her writing. Septimus Smith is plagued by hallucinations (like the author) of his dead friend returning from the battlefield. He cannot bear the presence of death, even if it is imagined. In the end, it is this struggle and his unwillingness to mourn that leads him to suicide. He feels the pain too intensely; death is too real. Unable to share his inner torment with others in a coherent fashion, Smith sees no other way out. Clarissa Dalloway also illustrates Woolfs inner desire for death. At the party, everything seems to be going as planned, until the unwelcome news of Smiths suicide arrives. Mrs. Dalloway is furious that anyone would dare bring such bad tidings to her gathering. As the night goes on and the hours pass, she continues to think of this man and feels a strange connection to him. She felt somehow very like himthe young man who had killed himself. She felt glad that he had done it; thrown it away, (186) and then the clock strikes, reminding her of the moment. [B]ut she did not pity him; with the
11

As Virginia Woolf attempted in 1904. For more, see Hermoine Lees biography. Webb, 14.

12

8 clock striking the hour, one, two, three, she did not pity him, with all this going on (186). Time, like death, rears its head again. Although Mrs. Dalloway does not feel any remorse for this man she never met (why should she?), she cannot get him out of her mind because of her own preoccupation with mortality. According to Clarissa Dalloway, Death was defiance. Death was an attempt to communicate; people feeling the impossibility of reaching the centre which, mystically, evaded them. There was an embrace in death.14 Mrs. Dalloways own suicidal thoughts reveal a deep longing to defy life. Unable to grasp the meaning of existence (which always slips away right before we understand), in death one may refuse to play the game anymore. For Virginia Woolf, death created meaning in life, and without death there would be nothing to cherish and nothing to live for. The author had intended for Mrs. Dalloway to commit suicide at her own party, but later decided that the main characters double (Smith) would be sacrificed instead. In Michael Cunninghams movie The Hours, Leonard Woolf questions Virginia as to why she insists that someone must die in her upcoming novel (Mrs. Dalloway), to which she replies, Someone has to die in order for the rest of us to value life more. 15 This relationship between life and death is a central theme in her writing. It is important to note that Smith, while delusional, has extraordinary insights into the world, universal love, and the nature of God. The poet must die because he/she sees too clearly. Life is so illuminated and intense that at times it becomes unbearable.
Spilka Mrs. Dalloway, 184. 15 The Hours. Dir. Stephen Daldry. Perf. Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and Meryl Streep. VHS. Paramount Home Video, 2003.
14 13

9 Only in someone elses death can Mrs. Dalloway catch a glimpse at the beauty and wonder that surround her. He made her feel the beauty; made her feel the fun. Finally, Mrs. Dalloway realizes the preciousness of her own life. Hopefully it is not too late for her; she can acknowledge the death impulse, but appreciate life at the same time. Perhaps it is because of the shadow of death that the illumination is necessary. In Mrs. Dalloway, Woolf turns death into something secretly desired, which allowed her to accept her own morbid feelings. Without the consolation of religion, she, like her characters, struggled with the need to find significance and beauty in life and death.

II. To the Lighthouse To the Lighthouse, the next novel Woolf published, is a long meditation on time, death, and the work of mourning. The relationship between the three is clear; in dealing with death, time must pass and mourning must be done. Life comes breaking in like a wave, for even in death there are sudden flashes of understanding and clarity. This novel was a part of Woolfs own process of understanding her own preoccupation with death and trouble with mourning. Whereas Mrs. Dalloway avoids real grieving and is often stuck in the past, To the Lighthouse depicts mourning as a process to be worked through, which Woolf had experienced herself. As fictionalized representations of Woolfs own family, the characters act out this process. While working on the novel, Woolf wrote in her diary that it would have fathers character done complete in it; and mothers; and St. Ives; and

10 childhood; and all the usual things I try to put inlife, death, etc.16 Like the Stephens,17 the Ramsays are a family of ten (two parents, eight children), which hints at Woolfs need to dig out the skeletons of the past and therapeutically release them, mourning years after the fact. Drawing inspiration for Mrs. Ramsay from her mother, and Mr. Ramsay from her father, Woolf set out to work through her own pain by transferring it to the characters, and subsequently allowing them to mourn in her place. This novel is, in many ways, an elegy 18 for her parents. Once again employing the stream-of-consciousness style, Woolf digs into the minds and emotions of the characters, the moments of great raptures and painful grievances. The whole progression in To the Lighthouse is a more and more explicit statement of a way of looking at life, achieving its greatest glories and its best insights 19. We witness the epiphanies of Mrs. Ramsay, and then the lonely darkness as time passes, and finally the process of mourning as the characters struggle to come to grips with their losses. Life continues as the characters grieve and finally detach themselves from the lost loved ones.20 This is the life-in-death that Woolf herself experienced, and wrote about nearly all of her life. The characters in To the Lighthouse struggle to find significance in life and counsel in death. Part One, entitled The Window, may be accurately described as a deep cave dug behind Mrs. Ramsays personality and inner workings. She is a

Quoted in Corsa, Helen Storm, To the Lighthouse: Death, Mourning, and Transfiguration, Literature & Psychology 21 (1971): 115, emphasis mine.
17

16

Virginias maiden name was Stephen. Her father and mother both had children from previous marriages.

Woolf suggested calling the work an elegy rather than a novel because of its theme. See Rose or Corsa. 19 Derbyshire, S.H., An Analysis of Mrs. Woolfs To the Lighthouse, College English 3, no. 4 (1942 Jan): 353-360 20 Corsa, 116.

18

11 beautiful, strong, woman, whose hovering presence (much like Mrs. Dalloways) fills a moment and dominates the scene. Her personality is many-faceted; as Lily explains, fifty pairs of eyes were not enough to get around that one woman. 21 Reserved, pensive, and astonishingly beautiful, Mrs. Ramsay goes off into another world, contemplating life, her purpose, and her relationship with the family. Although she seems to be a positive character, her inner thoughts point to a more melancholy outlook on life. How could any Lord have made this world? she askedthere is no reason, order, justice: but suffering, death, the poor[n]o happiness lasted(98). Conflicts between the characters mirror Woolfs own family quarrels. James, the youngest and most sensitive child, is jealous of his mother, wanting her only for himself, and intolerant of the demands the rest of the family places on her. His profound connection to Mrs. Ramsay dominates the beginning narrative, as his inner thoughts come out in moments of deep attraction for his mother and hatred for his father. The young boy wishes his father were dead. Had there been an axe handy, or a poker, any weapon that would have gashed a hole in his fathers breast and killed him, there and then, James would have seized it (10). Later in the novel, we see this conflict work itself out, as death forces the family to deal with their troubled relationships. Time Passes, the second part of the novel, is a literary experiment of Woolfs conception that takes us through ten dark years. This section is a metaphor for those things in life that are not affected by death, that continue unrelenting and sometimes comforting. The family departs for the summer and certain circumstances prevent them from returning. Their house is left to the forces of time; darkness envelopes the house and temporarily seals in the fond memories and ghosts of the past. Dust settles, books
21

Woolf, Virginia, To the Lighthouse (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. 1927), 294.

12 yellow, and silence ascends, filling the rooms with emptiness. The stillness is only occasionally interrupted by tinkling glass, or a gust of wind. While the house remains dormant, the light never falters, shining its beam across the forgotten odds and ends. The light is all that remains. During this respite Mrs. Ramsay passes away (the cause is unknown), as do Prue Ramsay (in childbirth) and Andrew Ramsay (blown away in the war). In a similar method, Woolf tells of their deaths in parentheses22 (much like I have done), as though these losses may not be spoken of. In her diary Woolf described this interesting passage as the flight of time and the consequent break of unity in my design.23 Helen Storm Corsa observes that the deserted house embodies the typical phenomena of mourning, despondency, depression, detachment from the world, withdraw of interest from reality. 24 The empty, silent house is a symbol for what is happening to the characters during this time. Although we are not directly given the information, it can be ascertained that they are experiencing the same despondency and depression. Part III, The Lighthouse, begins with the line, What does it mean then, what can it all mean? (217) as Lily Briscoe sits up in bed and asks herself how she should react to the passing of Mrs. Dalloway. What did she feel? Nothing, nothing nothing that she could express at all. Returning to a place that holds so many memories (good and bad), she is overwhelmed by her own feelings of sorrow and confusion. Her

Perhaps suggesting that Woolf had not fully come to grips with death, and could only mention it as a side note. See DeSalvo.
23

22

Spilka, 76. Corsa, 119.

24

13 inner monologue describes the turmoil she experiences in attempting to lay Mrs. Ramsay to rest in her own mind. Much of this final section is devoted to Lilys difficult acceptance of the death and her subsequent mourning for a woman whom she admired and loved. In some of the most profound passages in the novel, Lily reveals this deep love. She cries out Mrs. Ramsay! in agony, not capable of sorting out her grievous sentiments. [O]h, the dead! she murmured, one pitied them, one brushed them aside, one had even a little contempt for them. They are at our mercy (260). Before the survivors of death may continue living, they must first mourn and distance themselves from the events. People often grieve together, providing support in times of suffering, but no one in the house openly discusses the deaths, as if they had never occurred. Each character must learn to deal with death alone, but Lily, painting in the yard, cannot simply forget. She searches for a way to put upon the canvas the shape which is blurry in her mind. Directly related to her own blocked emotions, she experiences an artists block and is unable to complete the painting until her feelings are worked through. Her story is a search for a way of finding form to contain and embody her deeply felt devotion to Mrs. Ramsay.25 Once again, a character struggles with the reality of death, and this time learns to accept it (through art) without religious console. Lilys recollections begin to fade as the grieving process works to put those memories in the past. James Ramsay reacts to his mothers passing with aggression towards his father, Mr. Ramsay. This oedipal antagonism remains even after Mrs. Ramsay dies, an event which should have brought the family together. He, like his father, is lonely and

25

Corsa, 122.

14 grieving, but cannot verbalize these feelings, so father and son continue to fight a wordless battle. On the much anticipated journey to the Lighthouse,26 James eventually sorts out his feelings. As their final destination, the Lighthouse may be a representation of Mrs. Ramsay27 as many scholars have suggested. James, the devoted son, finally reaches the Lighthouse, symbolizing his attainment of his mother.28 Reaffirming his own life and his relationship to his father, James, like Lily, may now move on and continue living. Just as the Lighthouse has been interpreted as a symbol for Mrs. Ramsay, in her strength, stability, and steadfastness, it is also a larger metaphor for those things that endure in the face of death. The light never falters, shining as a constant reminder of time passing. Through time, the family is able to mourn their losses. The Lighthouse remains, cold, impersonal, pitiless and remorseful,29 unmoved by the events on shore, the pain lived through. It is a consolation; never disappearing, the lighthouse is there through the good times and the bad, just as religion is a beacon of light for believers.

James desire to go to the Lighthouse begins the novel, and his fathers decision not to go angered him greatly at the time (as a small child). [S]he (Mrs. Ramsay) looked out to meet that stroke of the Lighthouse, the long steady stroke, the last of three, which was her strokeoften she found herself sitting and looking, sitting and looking, with her work in her hands until she became the thing she looked atthat light for example (97).
28 29 27

26

Corsa, 118. As described by Mrs. Ramsay, p. 98.

15 III. Connecting Life and Death- Conclusions She felt rather inclined just for a moment to stand still after all that chatter, and pick out one particular thing; the thing that mattered; to detach it; separate it off; clean it of all its emotions and odds and ends of things. And so hold it before her, and bring it to the tribunal where, ranged about in conclave, sat the judges she had set up to decide these things. Is it good, is it bad, is it right or wrong? Where are we all going to? 30

Life and death. The beginning and the end. Death is a part of life, a scary but strangely comforting reality. In Mrs. Dalloway, Big Ben tolls without feeling, reminding Clarissa that she is one hour closer to the party, and ultimately one hour closer to death. We are always aware of our own temporal existence. It is this relentless reminder that shakes her in the midst of life, and brings her back to the present. Similarly, the lighthouse has the same uninterrupted nature, shining its light in the face of life, death, and everything in between. It is a remorseless beacon of continuity. In death and darkness the light never wavers, and like religion, consoles us in times of desperation. Putting herself into her characters, Woolf dealt with death through art. Writing became another consolation. In To the Lighthouse, Lily Briscoe, the artist, has similar moments of clarity when she sees things through a different light, as though a prism had skewed her view. Her painting reflects this change in perspective. With a sudden intensity, as if she saw it clear for a second, she drew a line there, in the centre. It was done; it was finished. Yes, she thoughtI have had my vision (310, italics mine). Dealing with death in her own life, Lily has an enlightening epiphany that allows her to complete the work of mourning, and physically complete the painting. Woolf, in her poetic metaphors, illuminates moments of time, expanding them until we can see clearly the preciousness of life. This is one way she worked through the

16 fact of death, focusing on a particular moment and its beauty. What is the meaning of life? That was alla simple question; one that tended to close in on one with years. The great revelation had never come. The great revelation perhaps never did come. Instead there were little daily miracles, illuminations, matches struck unexpectedly in the dark(240). We may spend our entire lives looking for the meaning, only to realize that the real meaning was in the details, the daily miracles that are easily overlooked. These two novels suggest that the only time humans truly appreciate life is in the face of death. Death presents a future of uncertainty. Face to face with the unknown, we search for purpose and meaning in life. Religion is based on explaining life and death and embedding them with significance. Without a specific faith, Virginia Woolf managed to make some sense out of life through writing. She never took for granted her right to exist, understanding the transparency and fragility of existence. Mental illness and personal tragedy ultimately led her to give up on life, but however strong her death impulses may have been, we can sense her ecstasy in life through her characters. We, the readers, can take away a sense of hope; even in total darkness, a light always shines through.

30

To the Lighthouse, 169.