To the Lighthouse

To the Lighthouse, first published in 1927, counts among Virginia Woolf’s most experimental works. As Woolf’s writing addresses issues which were relevant to her era, the aesthetic of her writing in To The Lighthouse needs to be understood in its relation to the time in which she lived.

The novel is divided into three sections, The Window, Time Passes and The Lighthouse. It draws a picture of the members of the Ramsay family and their friends. The first section opens before the World War. The Ramsay family hosts a couple of guests at their summer house. The section presents many perspectives through the character of Mrs. Ramsay. In the second part the war breaks out; the section marks the death of many of the characters including Mrs. Ramsay. In the third and final section, post world war, the remaining family members find together and voyage to the lighthouse.

To the Lighthouse is labeled a modernist work as it refers to the social and historical phenomena taking place at the Modernist time such as the war, new scientific developments, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution undermining the unquestioned faith in God and Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis introducing the idea of an unconscious mind. In close connection to these developments, Woolf makes use of the technique of stream of consciousness in the novel depicting the reflective stream of thoughts flowing through the characters’ minds providing a more accurate and in-depth character development than had existed in the traditional approach. Almost all of the events take place in the characters’ minds. The mental processes of the characters establish the content of the narrative and allow the author to concentrate on the things that exist beneath the surface of speech and action. Through these insights into each character’s mind, Woolf explores the different ways in which individuals search for and create meaning in their own experience. She expresses how individuals order their perceptions into a coherent understanding of life. Her effort is important in a world which no longer has any substantial meaning. Darwin’s theory of evolution had a great impact on society changing the belief that human life was divinely inspired.

Modernism in Virginia Woolf’s To The Lighthouse is therefore conceived in dialogue with modernity as it experiments in form and style but also in refers to the events taking place in the outside world. Woolf’s stream of consciousness reflects the nature of human psyche as thoughts jump from one subject to another. At the same time she captures the essence of modern life in its form and content.