I briefly discussed Virginia Woolf in my ‘Literary references in ‘folklore’ by Taylor Swift’ article a few weeks ago. In To the Lighthouse, the sea is a natural continuation that exists alongside the characters regardless of any personal conflicts they are undergoing. Woolf’s characters are able to observe the sea and its intensity without being thwarted, unlike characters such as Captain Ahab in Moby-Dick. Mrs. Ramsay observes the ‘monotonous fall of the waves on the beach, which for the most part beat a measured and soothing tattoo for her thoughts and seemed consolingly to repeat over and over again’. Woolf tedious description of the ocean suggests the nature is calm and comforting. She continues her soothing imagery, also personifying the waves, likening their sounds to ‘the words of some old cradle song, murmured by nature, “I am guiding you – I am your support”’. At this moment in time, Mrs. Ramsay is sitting with her children. The comforting sound of the waves mirrors the character’s inner peace in that moment. The sea does not directly affect the consciousness of Mrs. Ramsay - she is instead an observer.
Mr. Ramsay too undergoes an insightful experience next to the sea, in which the oceanside does not thwart his consciousness in anyway but reminds him of his immortality. The sea leads him to stand ‘like a desolate sea-bird, alone’, Woolf’s simile likening him to a melancholic sea creature, emphasising his solidarity. He stands on ‘a spit of land which the sea is slowly eating away’, Woolf’s personification of the sea implies that it is a relentless form of nature set out to destroy. Her sibilant use of the adverb ‘slowly’ conveys an image of the sea eroding the land leisurely whilst Mr. Ramsay is forced to turn away from ‘the sight of the sea eating the ground we stand on, which, had he been able to contemplate it fixedly might have led to something’.. His inability to understand the sea’s apathy for human nature and its reminder of his morality is demonstrated in his need to find ‘consolation in trifles’. The sea continues to ‘eat away the ground’ whilst he thinks of his wife and children, demonstrating its lack of impact on his consciousness for he is unable to fathom its symbolism as it proceeds despite his contemplation.
Lily’s ability to begin painting later in the novel is demonstrative of the sea working alongside the characters. In Virginia Woolf and the Fictions of Psychoanalysis, Elizabeth Abel regards Lily’s art, stating that ‘the material strokes of paint not only encode separation but also impose a confrontation with their visual antithesis.’ Abel’s criticism insinuates that Lily’s art allows a detachment from the character and the sea. Her views are supported, for Woolf writes of Lily being ‘curiously divided, as if one part of her were drawn out there’ when James and Mr. Ramsay visit the lighthouse. She does not paint the sea despite its presence, emphasising this disconnection, and when she attempts to paint, Lily realises ‘all that in idea seemed simple became in practice immediately complex’. This is the conflict Abel writes of; Lily struggles to put her ideas to the canvas which ‘floated up’ beside her, Woolf’s coastal imagery suggesting that whilst Lily is not engrossed by the sea, it works alongside her. This partnership entails Lily to carry out her ‘first quick decisive stroke’ as she discovers ‘a dancing rhythmical movement’ (p.146) to attain whilst identifying a similarity between her brush stroke and the waves. She paints alongside a ‘rhythm strong enough to bear her along its current,’ Woolf’s imagery illustrating the sea assisting her with her art, which occurs after it appears ‘some juice necessary for the lubrication of her faculties was spontaneously squired.’ Painting alongside the sea allows for more artistic expression for Lily, she is able to put her ideas to the canvas. The sea fails to negatively impact her consciousness and instead mirrors her actions, for she is able to synchronise her painting with the sound of the waves. As Abel writes, Lily ‘works through a moment of origin, with the knowledge of separation,’ that being finding a relationship with the sea without it affecting her psyche.
The sea exists alongside the characters regardless of any personal conflicts they are undergoing; Woolf’s characters are able to observe the sea and its intensity without being thwarted. In fact, the sea’s incessant eating away of the land symbolises the shortness and fragility of the life the characters live.
Hope you've had a great week. I can't believe June is already round the corner!
Lots of love,
Karisma
xx