Lily’s Painting: The Unity of the Novel

Levenson, Michael. "From the Epic To the Lighthouse." Modernism and the Fate of Individuality.. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1991. 202-216. Print.

In this section of his essay, Levenson argues the resemblance of Ulysses and To the Lighthouse. He shows that there is a common ground between the two novels in the way they were written even though Woolf did not like Joyce or his writing in Ulysses, she took up a few of his characteristics in her writing. Levenson express his thoughts that this novel, “raises doubts about novelistic form from the standpoint of the sonnet – what are we to make of this?” (204-205) In having this mindset of the novel, he is able to decipher the novel into a complex arrangement of artistic processes such as the thoughts of the major female characters showing the common theme of women and time. Explaining that in the era that To the Lighthouse was written, many philosophers felt that there was a direct relationship between time and women, and Levenson is able to show that he feels Woolf showed this in her novel as well. In this connect of time and women, there was also a sense of unity or disunity that the novel offered. Giving an example of when Mrs. Ramsay was sitting at the table and observing that there was not any unity present, that everyone was separate, he is able to show the concern for unity. In his arguments Levenson seems to be knowledgeable about the subject, and supports his view that Woolf took a few ideas from Joyce’s novel Ulysses, even if she used the ideas to counteract Joyce’s beliefs.

Levenson shows that, through the female characters in the novel, Woolf is able to display her rejection of the male led, patriarchal society. Specifically, the use of Lily stands out against the use of the other key female characters, such as Mrs. Ramsay and Mrs. McNab. Using Lily’s painting as a guiding tool to look at how Woolf represent her rejection of how she did not approve of the way that society looked at females, Levenson gave insight into why Lily seems to be exalted more so than the other female characters in the novel. He showed that throughout the novel Lily’s painting is referred to in many different ways that promote Woolf’s view of mankind such as when she is talking of how her painting will one day be destroyed. At the end of the novel, when Lily completes her painting and draws the final line, Levenson says that it “…when in the book’s final motion, the drawing of a line, To the Lighthouse transforms its linear progress into one perceptible shape, and a soliloquy in solitude becomes the collective voice of the novel.” (216) Clearly, Levenson feels that Lily brings the novel together and creates the unity that the narration needs to the work of art that Woolf made it to be, and that it is not necessarily that Woolf changed her style completely when narrating Lily’s consciousness, but that Lily’s thoughts are more complex and more similar to those of Woolf.

Lily Briscoe’s Artistic Creation Establishes Harmony

Bassoff, Bruce. "Tables in Trees: Realsim in To The Lighthouse." Studies in the Novel 16.4 (1984): 424. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 4 Dec. 2010.

“Tables in Trees: Realism in To the Lighthouse,” reflects upon the significance of realism in To the Lighthouse. The author of the article, Bruce Bassoff, describes the writing style of Virginia Woolf and provides an in-depth analysis of the characters in the novel. The significance of Lily Briscoe, and her artistic process are analyzed in the article and provide true meaning to the development Lily Briscoe as a character in the novel. The character of Mrs. Ramsay is analyzed and shown as the mother of the home. The different approaches to harmony and unity are identified in the article; Bassoff demonstrates the differences between Mrs. Ramsay and Lily Briscoe. In the article, Bassoff explains the significance of the distant Lighthouse and it’s effects on the character’s in the novel. The author of the article explores the ideas of space and distance being a problem represented in the novel, especially in the presence of Lily Briscoe. Bassoff also explains the symbolic importance of “the tree,” contemplated by Lily during dinner. The idea that time is destructive is represented in the article; Bassoff suggests that only the creative process will heal the destructive force of time, and art is the only thing that lasts.

In the article, the author says that “Lily aims at harmony rather than point-by-point likeness; the author suggests that Lily “aims to see things in relation to the whole.” Lily does not view life the way the Ramsay’s or the rest of society does. Mrs. Ramsay is commited to unifiying her family. As a person, Lily Briscoe is distinguished from Mrs. Ramsay through her “commitment to her work”; Woolf's narration of Lily establsihes that she views life through artistic terms. Bassoff points out that Lily views Mr. Bankes as “a shade.” Lily’s entire purpose throughout the novel is to unify and harmonize her painting. The author describes Lily’s intent to unify her painting with a tree; the tree is symbolic of “stability,” and Mrs. Ramsay is even compared to a tree. Lily Briscoe will only complete her painting when “the beauty rolls itself up” and “empty flourishes will form into shape.” Through Lily’s painting, the author of the article shows that Lily will at last be able to “accept her need for transcendence” and understand “humanity.” Throughout the novel, Lily is constantly in search of a vision and Bassoff writes in order for Lily to do so “she must relinquish the idealized Mrs. Ramsay.” Lily realizes the significance of distance and space in the novel. She does experience a connection with Mrs. Ramsay, but Woolf's narration of Lily demonstrates Lily's intent to remain distant. Bassoff reinforces the idea that Lily must distance herself from grief and the mourning process in order to effectively complete the painting. Lily finally completes her painting and in the end, she is the one who harmonizes and unites the Ramsay family, not Mrs. Ramsay.

The Unity of the Ramsay Family through Lily Briscoe’s Artistic Creation

Handley, William R. "The housemaid and the kitchen table: Incorporating the frame in To the Lighthouse." Twentieth Century Literature 40.1 (1994): 15. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 4 Dec. 2010.

Written by William Handley, the article “The Housemaid and the Kitchen Table: Incorporating the frame in To the Lighthouse,” explores the philosophical ideas represented in To the Lighthouse. The author of the article demonstrates the ideas of philosophy and art, but primarily focuses upon the philosophical ideas in To the Lighthouse. Lily Briscoe and Mr. Ramsay are both important elements in the idea of realism represented in the novel. In the article, Lily Briscoe’s artistic mind coincides and enforces the philosophy of the novel but at times her creative process rejects the ideas of Mr. Ramsay’s philosophy. The idea of a frame within the novel is also discussed and represented in the article. The author of the article demonstrates the idea that the frame is not a true frame, but a broken and ineffective.The element of distance in space is discussed by Handley as well in To the Lighthouse.In the article, the idea that Woolf and Lily want to “know or represent the whole truth of things” is also explored.

Lily Briscoe is an intelligent woman and challenges the beliefs of Mr. Ramsay because she is “aware of the constraints of her own eyes.” Lily is constantly trying to approach the “problem” or as Handley refers to it as “the thing.” Handley represents the idea of the Victorian society to be a frame; Lily, through her artistic process, is able to see past the “frame” of society; she is not limmited by the beliefs of society or the patriarchal society. The author reflects that Lily is able to see “her own relation to the frame and its arbitrariness.” Handley describes Lily’s final artistic creation as a “stretching of the body and mind to the utmost.” The author of the article demonstrates Woolf’s narration of Lily’s final painting as “She drew a line there in the centre. It was done; it was finished. Yes, she thought, laying down her brush in extreme fatigue, it was finished.” Handley discusses the purpose of Lily drawing a single line in the center of the canvas. She does not draw an elaborate object or word. Lily Briscoe is the only character in the novel with which Virginia Woolf bestows a vision that must be accomplished. Through Lily Briscoes artistic creation, she paints “a missing person” and through her painting, mourns. According to Handley, Mrs. Ramsay is “a line that holds the painting together,” establishing the significance of Mrs. Ramsay’s unifying significance through Lily Briscoe's artistic creation. Lily Briscoe unifies the Ramsay family not through the ideas of Mr. Ramsay’s philosophy, but with her creation of Mrs. Ramsay. Hadley sugests Lily Briscoe's line represents Mrs. Ramsay and ultimately both Lily's creation and the presence of Mrs. Ramsay unify the Ramsay family.

Woolf: The Other Einstein

Brown, Paul. "Realativity, Quantum Physics, and Consciousness in Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse." Journals of Modern Literature 32.3 (2009): 39-64. Print.

“For Woolf, a unifying pattern exists behind the arbitrary divisions associated with subjects and objects, which suggests some form of unification in the whole.” (14) Throughout his essay, Brown argues that Virginia Woolf was a highly intellectual being, on a literary level versus the scientific level of Einstein. He wrote that there was only one difference between Woolf’s views and those of her father and Einstein could be seen “through the contrast between the table as an object of permeability and connectivity versus the table as an object of independence and separation.” (8) Brown makes multiple references to scientific thought, and how it correlates with the writing style of Virginia Woolf, displaying a logical argument that the majority of To the Lighthouse is showing Woolf’s interest in the thought of relativity. Supporting his argument that she is interested in relativity, Brown discusses the different philosophical views of the table that are brought up multiple times throughout the novel through Mr. Ramsay, Mrs. Ramsay, and Lilly Briscoe. Brown’s view of Woolf’s writing style in To the Lighthouse is very scientific and is supported using a vast amount of research and reasoning that Einstein used around the same time period that Woolf was writing this novel.

In his argument, Brown brings up many points of what Woolf’s purpose is for Lily Briscoe and why the narration changes while the focus is on her rather than another character. Brown expresses his feelings that Lilly is used to show an abstract representation of Mrs. Ramsay as well as relativity. Using the example of how Lilly placed the kitchen table in the tree as she was envisioning her painting, Brown explains that Lilly is used to show Woolf’s views of relativity by writing that she needed to be able to separate the wood from the tree to from the wood of the table. In his explanations, Brown expresses that Lilly is used indirectly to show Woolf’s view of relativity because without taking into consideration the other philosophical reasoning that other characters have, he cannot fully support his argument of Woolf writing in sense of relativity. Brown writes as if Lilly is used to show relativity on a broad spectrum, such as the relation between Lilly and the Ramsay’s, but also on more specific level, such as the thought processes that Lilly goes as she is painting. The view that Brown has for why Woolf’s narration changes from character to character is that Lilly is indirectly how Woolf was able to express her view of relativity.