The Importance of Consciousness in Woolf's Art

Daiches, David. "Virginia Woolf." The Novel and the Modern World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970. 187-217. Print.

Within David Daiches article entitled “Virginia Woolf,” he discusses the style of Woolf’s writing and how it has influenced novels, specifically during the modern era. Daiches’ point of view is very supportive of Woolf’s writing style and the type of techniques that she used in order to stray from what was conventional in order to experiment, and have freedom within her style. The focus of this article is set upon Woolf’s subjectivity in the sense that she viewed “the mutations of one person’s consciousness into the differing recollections of that person” as significant; she even considered this thought more significant than the “change from life to death.” Daiches’ basic argument is that Woolf was an advocate for recording the consciousness of characters as opposed to making the “material environment” her sole focus (188). Woolf’s practice when writing was to record and represent the consciousness and subjectivity of characters, rather than focusing on actions within an external environment.

This article would be able to contribute greatly in answering the given research question due to the fact its main focus is describing Woolf’s style and her techniques in writing. Daiches states that Woolf’s “novels are most carefully organized to present real patterns of meaning,” which can be traced back to the character of Lily Briscoe and her art. When painting, Lily is attempting to present “real patterns of meaning” in order to establish some sort of “symbolic significance.” Daiches provides information concerning Woolf’s writing style and what she tries to get across, which can be attributed to Lily’s artistic process and what she also attempts to get across. This source speaks about Woolf’s wanting to be an artist, but to stray from being conventional; she strove to have artistic freedom. This is exactly what Lily Briscoe does when painting; she is not trying to be conventional, she is creating art and trying to represent something that applies to consciousness, not the “material environment” (188). By understanding that Lily Briscoe’s artistic process is her way of expressing what she believes to be important (even if the product is not a realistic representation), Daiches article will contribute in showing how Woolf’s narrative correlates with Lily’s process.

Writing and Identity

Koutsantoni, Katerina. "In all writing, it's the Person's Own Edge that Counts." Virginia Woolf's Common Reader. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2009. 123-146. Print.

Koutsantoni’s article discusses interesting factor’s concerning the works of Virginia Woolf. Her focus is on the beliefs and values that Woolf had which are evident throughout her essays and novels. The specific point of view of Koutsantoni’s article is the subjectivity of Woolf, as well as the relation between that subjectivity and her work. The talent that Woolf possessed in communicating her beliefs and values was through “engaging in an open dialogue with the reader” (130). The point of view that Koutsantoni continually reiterates is that the dialogical way that Woolf expresses opinions gives a clear view of what is being said; Woolf attempts to speak openly about her subjectivity as opposed to concealing aspects of her values and beliefs. In turn, this lead to a correlation between both public art and subjectivity, which allowed writing to become a complex art of personal and external.

Koutsantoni’s article possesses information which would be able to aid in answering the research question. This particular source contains information on Woolf’s writing; it continually states how her inner mind was communicated specifically through dialogue. Throughout the novel of To the Lighthouse, the narration is a consistent dialogue between characters and their inner thoughts. Due to the fact that Koutsantoni reiterates the importance of Woolf recording her own subjectivity, the narration of To the Lighthouse becomes clearer when reading the thought processes of the characters. Lily and her internal, artistic process become more understandable in particular, for Lily attempts to put on a public canvas what she finds so personal. Koutsantoni says that Woolf’s goal was to create “intersubjectivity and, by extension, dialogism;” this contributes to the understanding of Woolf’s narration and her desire for it to reflect what is personal and genuine (146).