Nimesh Dave: To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

it is a beauty of great literary texts that it remains open for various interpretations .the work can be praise for a point, at the same time can be criticize for that also.it is so complex that it is difficult to derive any conclusion from such literary texts.one fine example of this in the novel is character of Mrs. Ramsay."The novel is both the tribute and critique of Mrs. Ramsay".

since the publication of the novel, till many years Mrs. Ramsay was considered as a heroine of the novel. She is a dutiful and loving wife of Mr. Ramsay. Mrs. Ramsay is a wonderful hostess who takes pride in making memorable experiences for the guests at the family. Affirming traditional gender roles wholeheartedly, she lavishes particular attention on her male guests, who she believes have delicate egos and need constant support and sympathy.
on the contrary, there is character of Lily Briscoe, who is completely different than Mrs. Ramsay.she is a single, individual person with beautiful gift of painting.Mrs.Ramsay and Lily Briscoe are women with different ideology.

Mrs.Ramsay thinks that women should take care of family, husband, children and kitchen. And she insist others comparing it with Shakespeare's " Taming of shrew”. She is conditioning other women to live under patriarchal structure, rather than becoming a radical, individual thinker this is the biggest objection feminist critics are having against Mrs.Ramsay.

she is constantly satisfying ego of Mr.Ramsay.she works whole day-wakes up early, sleeps late at night, manages every household things.so in sense she is setting wrong model for women. That women has to sacrifice her own self for the sake of other.

Mrs. Ramsay is the idea of Ideal Indian Woman.(reference to article)Thearticle is saying a kula dharma patni (perfect house wife) should possess the qualities like loyalty, intelligence, unconditional love, cheers for good causes, dedication, humility and boundless compassion.

★Symbolism:-
Representation of a concept through symbols or underlying meanings of objects or qualities.
To The Lighthouse is full of various symbols. The Lighthouse itself is the biggest symbol, suggesting many things.
Lighthouse guides to those who are travelling in the sea. it is used for Mrs.Ramsay in the novel. She stands alone like lighthouse and keeps united to family. She is strong like lighthouse in between emotionally shattered family members. Lighthouse is also symbol of spiritual strength and emotional guidance. When there is no hope or direction in sea, it is lighthouse which helps there. The same important place is of Mrs.Ramsay holds in the novel.
Charles Tansley tells Lily Briscoe that Women can’t paint or write. But at the end of the novel she completes her painting, which shows her stoicism like lighthouse. And this can be connect with writer herself that it is a women's determination to succeed in male oriented society.so whatever Lily is experiencing same thing might have experience by Woolf herself. But she stood like Lighthouse and guide other women that you can do whatever you want. Completion of painting suggests victory of woman. so that other can inspire from them.

"... the wages of obedience is death, and the daughter that reproduces mothering to
perfection, including child-bearing, already has on her cheeks the pallor of death. One reminded here of various texts by Lucy Irigaray, in which she attacks mothers for being, however unwillingly, accomplices in the patriarchal system of oppression."

This is about Prue Ramsay, who died because of illness related to child birth. Lily Briscoe thinks that Mrs.Ramsay always busy in match making and insist her also to get married. But what is the use of it? Mrs.Ramsay's her own daughter followed that and died. So Mrs.Ramsay was wrong. I AM MORE HAPPIER, Lily thinks.it is not that one has to get married to be happy in life.one can be more happy by remaining single.

in the beginning of the novel James cutting picture of Refrigerator from the 'Army and
Navy' catalogue. on surface level it looks trivial and normal playing of a child but New reading gave new vision to understand this deep symbolism.
Refrigerator is preserver, which preserves the thing for a longer period of time. at the same time it is unnatural also- not allow to.change.it means that Mrs.Ramsay anyhow tries to keep family united. She preserves the relation. It also signifies War and Consumerism - the two evils which walk hand in hand. And act against larger interest of Human Beings. And one more thing is that HE is allowed to cut not SHE.BOY'S PRIVILEDGED POSITION IN FAMILY

Mrs.Ramsay is reading story of Fisherman’s Wife in the novel.it has significance in the story. Mrs.Ramsay can be compared with Fisherman's Wife. Fisherman’s wife is greedy, always forced her husband to demand more from Fish.
Both Mrs.Ramsay and Fisherman's wife makes unreasonable demands upon their husbands. The way man was right in story, similarly Mr.Ramsay was right in treatment of the children. He tells truth directly to James, that whether won’t be fine, where Mrs.Ramsay treats her emotionally.Mr.Ramsay says children should grow rational, because life is difficult.Mrs.Ramsay says make them happy today.

■ why did she weave such a misogynist tale into the fabric of a book which so eloquently challenges received patriarchal notions about the roles and capabilities of women?

→Because if women can’t accept the truth and always goes with emotion, then it is also dangerous in relation.( for example domestic violence in present time)
and to understand this we have to subvert the fairy tale of Fisherman.-here woman Mrs.is acting with empathy.But there is a difference between emotional level of truth V/S rational level of truth (thinking).
☆How do you interpret the last line of the novel
(It was done; it was finished.

Yes, she thought, laying down her brush in extreme fatigue, I have had my vision .) with reference to the ending of the film (After the final stroke on the canvass with finishing touch, Lily walks inside the house. As she goes ante- chamber, the light and dark shade makes his face play hide-and-seek. She climbs stairs, putsher brush aside, walks through the dark and light to enter her room. Gently closes the door - speaks: "Closed doors, open windows" - lies on the bed and with some sort of satisfactionutters: "Dearest Briscoe, you are a fool".)

The novel is open ended, so there is possibility of much interpretation.
one interpretation can be like this that she realize that way of living life of Mrs.Ramsay was perfect. IN MOVIE, they have presented in better way that Lily remembers Mrs.Ramsay, and also moves sensuously her hand over her body, goes into bedroom etc. symbolizes that may be she is ready to accept the role of Mrs.Ramsay.

On the other hand we can say that she can never be as enduring as Mrs.Ramsay. No Doors, no windows, her painting is the best. She loves 'a room of her own', her loneliness,
her art. Thus, it is critique of the. Sacrificial nature of Mrs. Ramsay.

Nimesh Dave