"To The Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf - blog task

Hello Friends,
This Blog is a part of my online blog task for Virginia Woolf’s “To The Lighthouse”.
         
Click here to see worksheet of the blog tsak 

                                        

(1) Do you agree: "The novel is both the tribute and critique of Mrs. Ramsay"? Can we read Mrs. R in context of the idea of Ideal Indian Woman

 Answer.  Yes, I agree for that the novel is tribute and critique of Mrs. Ramsay because from the very beginning of the novel we find that Mrs. Ramsay is very caring mother as well as housewife also. She always won’t to be perfect in her work like knitting as well as caring of child or guest. She is invested in the importance of marriage between a man and a woman; it clearly sees the flaws in her own marriage also. She always pamper ego of her husband Mr. Ramsay. It also reflect Indian Ideal woman who obey her husband in every situation. Lily Briscoe is totally opposite of Mrs. Ramsay.  From the perspective of her we can say that Mrs. Ramsay’s behavior is not natural and it is also image of patriarchal society. 

 “Painting her, lily makes Mrs. Ramsay and James in to a purple triangle, an equivalent to Mrs. Ramsays own sense of herself when invisible to other as a darkness wedge shaped core of darkness”.

      So we can say that her painting says her feeling about Mrs. Ramsay. Her painting also symbolized woman’s struggle in patriarchal society. We can also read Mrs. Ramsay in the context of Indian ideal woman. This Sanskrit sloka

                                                  Karyeshu dasi, Karaneshu manthri;
                                                 Bhojeshu mata, Shayaneshu rambha;
                                                 Kshamayeshu dharithri, Roopeshu lakshmi;
                                                Satkarma yukta, Kuladharma pathni.

     Is totally regarded with the character of Mrs. Ramsay.

(3)  Considering symbolically, does the Lighthouse stand for Mrs. Ramsay or the narrator (Virginia Woolf herself who is categorically represented by Lily)? (Key: Take help from the presentation on Symbolism to connect Mrs. Caroline Ramsay with Lighthouse. Secondly, the narrator / author cannot fully disappear from the novel and thus the stoicism of Lily to paint and thus prove that she can paint, is symbolically presented in stoicism of Lighthouse. Read 'lighthouse' symbol from presentation slide with this insight to connect lighthouse with the narrator. 

 The symbol lighthouse is stand for Mrs. Ramsay. Mrs. Ramsay sees the lighthouse as source of comfort and also stability even though it is in the distance.

   “Sure enough, coming regularly across the wave was the light of the lighthouse.”

 

To mrs. Ramsay, the predictability of the lighthouse is most important, implying that truth lies in the cycles that govern life lighthouse stands alone and tall in both light as well as darkness. It is symbolized strength, guidance and safe harbor; it is also spiritual hermit guiding all those who are traveling by sea. In the same manner Mrs. Ramsay is stands strong infruent of her family like lighthouse. She was represented as a caring homemaker who shows the reality of the Woolf. 

(7) You have compared the 'beginning' and the 'ending' of the novel and the film adaptation of the novel directed by Colin Gregg (you can see it again in the embedded video below this). Do you think that the novel is more poignant than the movie? If yes, do you ascribe the fact that the power of words is much greater than that of the screen / visuals?

 

  Novel start with the interesting dialogue between James and Mrs. Ramsay. It is more pleasurable than the movie. The reading novel is giving more charm than the watching film. The starting of the novel is effective like we enter in the mind of the character. In the beginning of the movie we find some introduction of character. It is not pleasurable. In the end of the novel is dialogue by Lily Briscoe

         “Yes, she thought laying down her brush in extreme fatigue, I have had my vision”.

It reflects that she has got vision what she wants. At the end of the novel we find that the confusion of Lily Briscoe. It has very well said by the word in the novel and in the end of the movie it has described by visual effect of sound and also light. It not give more charm which given by reading novel. We see dialogues of Lily Briscoe in the end of the movie is

                                       “Dearest Briscoe you are a fool”.

         This dialogues shows Lily’s vision towards Mrs. Ramsay what she want. So I think that the novel is more poignant than the movie because power of the word is much greater than that of the visual. When we read the novel it gives us some kind of the feeling but it was same kind of he feeling not give movie. 

(5)What do you understand by the German term 'Künstlerroman'? How can you justify that 'To The Lighthouse' is 'Künstlerroman' novel?

 Kunstlerroman is German term. It is an artistic novel detailing the artist’s growth to maturity. The Kunstlerroman is a type of a novel where the protagonist undergoes an education. This novel is deal with the youth and development of an individual who becomes a painter, musician or poet. This thing we justify with the character of Lily Briscoe. Kunstlerroman novel deals with ‘arrogant rejection of the commonplace life. In this novel the character of Lily Briscoe makes it Kunstlerroman novel. She is developing her skill as painting in this novel. She always find something missing in her painting but at the last of the novel she find vision in her painting. So it is Kunstlerroman novel.

(8)How do you interpret the last line of the novel with reference to the ending of the film.

The last line of the novel is "It was done; it was finished. Yes, she thought, laying down her brush in extreme fatigue, I have had my vision". it is signified vision of Lily Briscoe what she gets. At the end of the novel she found vision through her painting of Mrs. Ramsay and her son James and also we shows an ideal housewife in this painting and her dilemma about being ideal woman has also solved. Her blurred vision became very clear infruent of her.

         In the movie last line is “Dearest Briscoe, you are a fool”. In the movie we see Lily’s confusion about ideal woman. It is very clear at the end of the movie that she get her vision very clear about what she wants. When we connect both the dialogue we can understand it very clearly 

               “Dearest Briscoe, you are a fool. I have had my vision”.