Virginia Woolf's Novel To The Lighthouse as a Feminist Text

When looking at To The Lighthouse we see the conventional usage of feminism's challenged. Woolf uses many different styles and techniques, and although the term feminist is never used within the novel, it clearly is a feminist text. Woolf's work challenges representation and treatment of women; and the social relationship etween men and women, this is shown most poignantly within the novel To The Lighthouse. ! intend to investigate the usage of feminist writing within this text. To The Lighthouse is a novel that is fascinated y women, as the perspectives of "rs. #amsay and Lily are the most fully developed narratives within the text. Woolf's To The Lighthouse asks the question of the sexuality of women, and questions the women's role within the family. Lily does represent Woolf's 'ideal women' and "rs. #amsay in direct contrast is portrayed as the 'angel of the house.' Woolf's essay '$rofessions %or Women' attacks &ictorian institutions, she writes a out 'killing the angel of the house', which she successfully manages through "rs. #amsay's death in To The Lighthouse. 'Whether there are sexes in the mind corresponding to the two sexes in the ody, and whether they also require to e united in order to get complete satisfaction and happiness'. !n each of us two powers reside, one male and female'!t is fatal to e a man or woman pure and simple, one must e women. "anly or man womanly. ()*. + #oom ,f ,ne's ,wn.Woolf attempts to show these differences through her portrayal of Lily and "rs. #amsay, and again through "r. +nd "rs. #amsay. Woolf elieved that patriarchy always tried to silence and repress women and women's experiences, this is why she re.ects the series of feminine characteristics set y patriarchy; sweetness, modesty, humility and su servience..., and shows these qualities in direct contrast to "r. #amsay, and his masculine rationality that has reason, order and lucidity. !n keeping with Woolf's '+ngel ,f the /ouse' figure, "rs. #amsay is pro.ected more as a sym ol as the 'earth mother' than as and individual, as she is never called y her first name, she represents an era of &ictorian values and Lily 0riscoe represents the feminist figure as she re.ects irrationality, chaos and fragmentation, which has come to represent feminity.

This is shown more clearly in 1harles Tansley's treatment of Lily and her painting; as an artist Lily is sensitive a out the role of women and feels constantly pressuri2ed y "rs. #amsay into olstering the male ego. This draining effect Lily feels when she is expected to oost Tansley's ego is connected with the sensation she has when he is around, that he is constantly deprecating her work3 'Women can't write, Women can't paint' (4*5. To The Lighthouse.- Through creating Lily, Woolf is representing a different

kind of women; she is investigating the variety of experiences accessi le to women, the constraints and the possi ilities.

"rs. #amsay's character at times does seem confused, on one hand she is trying to marry people off and maintain all the attri utes that we have come to expect from 'the angel of the house', ut there are times when we are ale to experience her inner thoughts through her stream of consciousness. When "rs. #amsay sits everyone down, we have first her thoughts, then her words and actions. !n her thoughts she feels weary, as if her life has produced nothing, while her words to others are quite directing3 '0ut what have ! done with my life6 Thought "rs. #amsay, taking her place at the head of the ta le, and looking at all the plates making white circles on it..only this 77 an infinitely long ta le and plates and knives'' (489. To The Lighthouse./er female experiences translate into seeing the endless ta le with plates and cutlery 77 a very solid, concrete, domestic example. /er moods, responses and the slant she puts on the interactions etween them all, move around and differ. !n particular, how "rs. #amsay views others is with a polari2ed gender expectation, particularly with William 0ankes and Lily 0riscoe3 ':miling, for it was an admira le idea, that had flashed upon her this very second 77 William and Lily should marry.' (;8. To The Lighthouse.+s her defined role of wife and mother to everyone, "rs. #amsay elieves she is there to care for others, harmoni2e everyone, marry people off and e protected y men. :he also elieves that women are there to protect the men, to nurture their egos, and to smooth over any awkward moments. Lily's character however reaks many conventional gender roles, she is an independent, educated women who has a talent to paint, and is not confined to the home domestically. +t times "rs. #amsay appears to want to curtail Lily's independence, through attempting to marry her off to William. "rs. #amsay appears to feel persecuted when people do not conform to marriage and escape their gender roles.

Woolf does highlight the a sence of women from higher education through oppressive protocol within To The Lighthouse; this does enforce the difference of gender roles. The male figures within the novel are educated, are studying for degrees and admire each other for their academic achievements. :cience within the novel is seen o .ectively, and is portrayed as a masculine image3 '/er hus and, however, is one of the clever people, a distinguished philosopher with an acute intellect that was incapa le of untruth; never tampered with a fact.' (4*. To The Lighthouse.-

"rs. #amsay's gender roles are shown in soft response to "r. #amsay, "r. #amsay emerges as a heroic tyrant and appears to represent the 'typical male'. /e is compared to sharp instruments, knives, axe, poker with which his son wants to hit him3 '/ad there een an axe handy, or a poker, any weapon that would have killed him, there and then <ames would have sei2ed it.' (45. To The Lighthouse.- The language the surrounds "r. #amsay is assertive, opinionated, slightly patroni2ing and shows his philosophical prowess. /e has reached the level of 'ordinary experience'; as Lily calls it3 he feels simply; 'that's a chair, that's a ta le', however in "r. #amsay's term he has managed to reach =, ut not #. The use of the alpha et shows the male mind; logical, chronological and linear ut also child like3 ':till, if he could reach # it would e something. /ere at least was =. /e dug his heels in at =. = he was sure of. = he could demonstrate' Then #. /e raced himself. /e clenched himself.' (9;. To The Lighthouse.# to "r. #amsay is a failure, as it represents knowledge, achievement and aspirations. #achel 0owl y (%eminist >estinations 4)??- illustrates how "r. #amsay's world view is logical and linear ut it is limiting, rigid, despairing, she continues stating3 'The step from one logical step to the next is compared to letters of the alpha et, and contrasts with women's outsider position. /owever, women are seen as offering a kind of tour through life, through thought patterns, which are more flexi le and fluid, various and a le to hold opposition in harmony.' ( 4*8.-

/owever, Woolf show how the prioriti2ation of the domestic space has repressed women and prevented them from taking part in everyday activities 77 1ommerce, Travel, Work and @ducation. This is seen in To The Lighthouse in the pu lic and private realms; "rs. #amsay and Lily find that oppression in the pu lic realm is linked to that of the private. This illustrates how Woolf can deal with material and economic, historic conditions, which effect men and women's lives, and their ways of viewing the world, their perceptions and imaginative response's that differ. This is highlighted in To The Lighthouse with the constant comparisons etween "r. +nd "rs. #amsay, this is shown through the inner monologue of the characters and the inter su .ectivity. Woolf investigates gender and the power of men and women, she explores the way in which we are constructed as gendered eings, and how culture, and society, restricts our actions, opportunities, and speech. "rs. #amsay eases us into this3 ''%or the fact that they negotiated treaties, ruled !ndia, controlled finance, finally for an attitude towards herself which no women could fail to feel or to find agreea le'pray heaven it was none of her daughtersA' (4*. To The Lighthouse.-

+lthough at times "rs. #amsay does appear to e a ideali2ed version of a women, eing 'the angel of the house', thorough her inner monologue it is seen that inwardly she questions male and female roles and that in her inner thoughts an independent thinking women is trying to eradicate the presence of the &ictorian female ideal. +lthough as an ideali2ed perfect mother figure, she has greater aspirations for her

female daughters3 '/er daughters, $rue, Bancy, #ose 7 could sport with infidel ideas which they had rewed for themselves of a life different from hers; in $aris, perhaps; a wilder life; not always taking care of some man or other; for there was in all their minds a mute questioning of deference and chivalry, of the 0ank ,f @ngland and the !ndian @mpire, of ringed fingers and lace'.which called out the manliness in their girlish hearts.'(4;. To The Lighthouse.-

/owever Lily portrays "rs. #amsay outwardly, within a painting as "adonna with child, she displays the strength in the representation of women. Lily's painting of mother and child is painted in a stract ecause she is painting the inner thoughts; her painting is in opposition to gender and creates an oppositional act. The men in the novel cannot understand what Lily's painting stands for (potential space and freedom-, Lily is welcoming a loss of personality and is shredding her responsi ilities and her cares through retreat (social pressures and responsi ilities-. /er painting challenged convention ecause it is a stract and is painted y a woman.

$erhaps, one of the most important running themes within the novel is self7deception, &irginia Woolf does not intervene on her characters, nor does she give o .ective views, their chains of thoughts question their identity. Woolf uses the automatic expectation of conforming to gender that society demands certain institiunal ehavior. The sym olism in the novel is poignant to out entire understanding of To The Lighthouse. The Lighthouse represents sym olically "rs. #amsay as the guiding force, this sym oli2es her gender role and that the social construction of womanhood is one of protection and guidance. The waves sym oli2e women and their duties and responsi ilities, as the waves are a out constant repetition and the metaphor of the depths of women's consciousness. #outine and duties are portrayed through the ticking of the watch, this contrasts the automatic and mechanical ehavior of women. "rs. #amsay appears to panic when she is silent, as she has no pu lic role, .ust internali2ed feelings.

'the old familiar pulse egan eating, as the watch egins ticking 77 one, two, three. ,ne, two, three. +nd so on and so on, she repeated, listening to it, sheltering and fostering the still fee le pulse as one might guard a weak flame with a newspaper. (48C. To The Lighthouse.-

"rs. #amsay finds the silence terrifying, as the clock stopping seems to show her identity falling apart. "rs. #amsay's am itions can only e achieved when she is dead, and through "rs. #amsay's death, Lily achieves "rs. #amsay's unconscious desires. Det unconsciously ( in life- "rs. #amsay wants the freedom that Lily has, she re uffs it ecause she cannot have the freedom3 ':he could never marry3 one could not take her painting very seriously; she was an independent little creature, and "rs. #amsay liked her for it; so remem ering her promise, she ent her head.' (8). To The Lighthouse.The painting is the one thing that holds the novel together, and reconciles everything that has happened, through "rs. #amsay; Lily has clarity and is a le to have clear vision; ':he must escape somewhere, e alone somewhere. :uddenly she remem ered. when she had sat there last ten years ago there had een a little sprig or leaf pattern on the ta lecloth, which she had looked at in a moment of revelation' :he would paint that picture now3' (84C. To The Lighthouse.The painting orders life and unifies, it shows how everything is related to each other3 ''.+ll were related,' (8*8. To The Lighthouse.-

+s they finally reach the lighthouse, it ends on a woman achieving her vision with negotiating the pitfalls and expectations of gender. The ending of To The Lighthouse, is significant in relation to the essay title ecause Lily is una le to make the self7sacrifices that "rs. #amsay made, she is una le to provide the sympathy to "r. #amsay that he feels is the women's role to provide for a man. 0ecause she can't and won't give sympathy, she is a le to achieve clarity and e selfish in order to complete something that interests her. :he is a le to do this ecause she refuses to conform to her gender role, thus showing 'To The Lighthouse' as a feminist text, as Woolf gives rise to a feminist analysis of a women's situation of the female experience.