Female, Artistic and Successful

Koutsantoni, Katerina. "We must remain Readers." Virginia Woolf's Common Reader. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2009. 101-122.

Koutsantoni exposes the fact that Virginia Woolf did not like to be “led by the nose… by authority” (75). When Woolf created her literary works she went against what the society of her time dictated. As a writer Woolf referred to the authoritative figure as the “aristocrats” and their mannerisms. Much of the dissatisfaction that Woolf experienced from this circle of people came from the way that they became oppressive and imposed themselves over the rest of society. In her rebellion, Woolf crafted her writings to demonstrate that she was opposed to their way of thinking. She used her writing as a way to expose and transmit the feelings that the public had. As a woman, Woolf was expected to surrender judgment and “defer to superior knowledge” (81). Because she was a woman that had power and authority over her life and her decisions, but was constantly under the oppression of men in power, she found that the best and only way to allow her anger and frustration toward the system that she lived under was to write and allow her characters to experience the same feelings she possessed. Because of the dominance that men had over the world that she lived in, she still experienced limited access to the academic institutions that were geared toward professional writers. In her creative mind Woolf allowed the female characters to be authoritative. Mrs. Ramsay was one example of authoritativeness. She was a dominating person, when she spoke whatever she said was done, and as Koutsantoni notes, even the figure of her and James on the window projects her as a woman with authority.

Reading this passage allows the reader to become more aware of the nature and point of view that Virginia Woolf had about her society. Understanding the oppression that she felt from people around her can help us better relate to Lily Briscoe’s character. Because of Woolf’s gender there were limitations in many of the things she could and would choose to do, like writing in an era where women were expected to be mothers and wives as opposed to artists. As she did these things she was criticized, with this in mind we are able to grasp the reason behind the thoughtful process and constant evaluation that Lily goes through in the novel when painting. Lily thinks about her ability to create art and her need for finishing her painting before marrying someone; the rest of the male and female figures presented in the novel do not dominate her. In the same manner Woolf allows herself to be in charge of her own life without letting the influence of others affect her decisions. When creating her painting Lily is criticized and oppressed by almost everyone, including Mrs. Ramsay. Lily looked up to Mrs. Ramsay and hoped to be able to someday become like her, but after realizing what that would automatically require, leaving her painting to tend to a husband and raise children, she opts for continuing in her path to self fulfillment. Through Lily’s artistic process, by proving to herself that she can accomplish her painting, the reader can view Woolf’s determination and stream of thought allowing him, the reader, to experience the narrative style she used in a more personal manner.

Freedom to Write and to Paint.

Diment, Gayla. The Autobiographical Novel of Co-Consciousness: Goncharov, Woolf and Joyce. Gainesville University Press of Florida, 1994.

Diment states that through Woolf’s ability to detach herself from the story allowed her to become the “omniscient narrator” that To the Lighthouse needed in order to successfully allow Woolf’s true artistic self be reflected through Lily’s painting. The commentary states that Woolf integrates the same trend of thinking into Lily in the last section of the novel through the use of “poetic tropes” (105). Lily’s experience, when pondering what the mania for marriage that Mrs. Ramsay had, through the monologue created by Woolf, was one that reflected the thought trend that Woolf herself went through when developing her novels. According to Diment, Woolf doubted her ability to write throughout her career. In the development of To the Lighthouse Woolf constantly questioned if her novel had been too open for sentimentality; she felt this doubt because she knew that Mr. Ramsay’s character had been crafted to be almost identical to that of her father. She based the characters on people she knew and was involved with. One of the interesting marks that Diment makes is that which explains that Woolf crafted her characteristics to be split into two of the characters in the novel, Lily Briscoe, representing her more mature and analytical self and Cam as the child she in a way wished that she would have been. This connection is made because of the relationship that Mrs. Ramsay had with Cam, which was one that Woolf longed for with her own mother and didn’t have.

This commentary creates in the reader the understanding needed for reflection that is needed to captivate the essence that To the Lighthouse is capable of emiting. The essence is that of a woman whose mind is constantly traveling from the past, to the present, and to the future. It can be a hard concept to grasp simply by looking at the pattern that Lily uses when painting, but it becomes evident as Woolf allows more of herself to be known. The narrator tried to convey things in a manner that allowed the reader to think ethically through the manner in which Woolf integrates the art of words and rhythm into Lily’s mental activity as she ponders on things like Mrs. Ramsay and her views in marriage. The reading becomes more enjoyable and is able to infiltrate the desperation that Lily felt. The narrative goes beyond Lily’s mind and allows the reader to access more of Woolf’s desperation to break free from the oppression of a world that dictated to her who she should be and what she should do. In both, Lily and Woolf we can find that there is a need for freedom that restricts them from being accepted, but they remain true to themselves and pursue that which they need to accomplish in order to become satisfied and accomplished women. Freedom is concept that goes beyond physical captivity, one can be a prisoner of others and of our own minds. In To the Lighthouse freedom is accomplished for both, author and character. This type of freedom is hard to achieve, but Woolf accomplishes this through an artist that was once captive of the thoughts imposed on her, but has through her painting, as is Woolf's writing, become free.