Virginia Woolf's Beautiful Symmetry
An Analysis of the Structure of To the Lighthouse
Woolf supports her masterful stream-of-consciousness technique by carefully constructing her narrative in three discrete sections, each dominated by a central symbol. Although the sections are chronological, the distribution of time varies. The first and last chapters each take place over the course of one day, ten years apart. The fluid, dream-like center chapter bridges the intervening years.
Mrs. Ramsay in the Window
The first section, "The Window," takes place during one day of the Ramsay family's annual visit to the Hebrides in the years preceding WWI. Longing to sail to the lighthouse, six-year-old James is crushed by his father's announcement that the weather will prevent it. As they sit in the drawing room window, Mrs. Ramsay tries to buoy James' spirits.
Whether she is comforting one of her eight children, encouraging a romance between two house guests or inspiring amateur artist Lily Briscoe, Mrs. Ramsay is the central force in their lives. Woolf makes Mrs. Ramsay sitting in the window with James the principal image of the section.
Mrs. Ramsay spends much of the day in the window, a beacon to those around her. Her vision sweeps out to her husband pacing the terrace reciting poetry; Lily Briscoe at her easel; and Augustus Carmichael basking on the lawn. Her radiance draws their attention in return. Mr. Ramsay looks up at her from his reverie. Lily attempts to capture Mrs. Ramsay and James in her painting. Widower William Bankes watches Mrs. Ramsay in rapture.
The section ends with Mrs. Ramsay again at the window, looking at the ocean. She acknowledges to Mr. Ramsay they will be unable to go to the lighthouse.
A Unique Expression of Time
The second section, "Time Passes," powerfully evokes the progression of time. That night, Mr. Carmichael puts out his candle at midnight. One night becomes many, summer turns to autumn and months into years as time passes inexorably.
Woolf's flowing description of the "stray airs" wearing at the empty house is punctuated by references to a series of events: Mrs. Ramsay's sudden death; Prue's marriage and death in childbirth; Andrew's death in the war; and Augustus Carmichael's publication of a book of poems.
The primary image of the section is the decaying house. Mrs. Ramsay's shawl hangs on the wall, swaying, its folds loosened by the persistent breezes. After a 10-year hiatus, Lily Briscoe and Augustus Carmichael are again spending the night at the Ramsay's house. Mr. Carmichael reads by candlelight.
The Voyage to the Lighthouse
The final section, "The Lighthouse," opens with Lily wondering whether life has meaning. Mr. Ramsay, Cam and James prepare to go to the lighthouse. Grieving for Mrs. Ramsay, Lily remembers her unfinished picture, sets her easel in the same spot as before and begins painting. From her vantage point on the lawn, Lily sees the sailing party set off, tiny in the distance.
The point of view shifts to the sailboat. Mr. Ramsay stirs from reading poetry and gestures back toward the shore. They have sailed so far out that Cam can no longer tell which of the small houses is theirs.
The central symbol of the section is the lighthouse, viewed from changing perspectives. Having always seen the lighthouse from across the bay, James notes its details now that he is close to it. He becomes aware of the different ways of perceiving it, recognizing that "nothing was simply one thing."
When Lily realizes the sailboat has reached the lighthouse, she turns to her painting and finishes it with one final bold stroke, finding meaning in her "vision."
As the Ramsays conclude their voyage, the symmetry of the entire book is completed.
Virginia Woolf by George Charles Beresford
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