Virginia Woolf, one of the most innovative and important writers of her time, emphasizes modernist ideals and the importance of the individual in his work. In Virginia Woolf's novels To the Lighthouse and The Waves, Woolf advocates the idea that gender roles can be oppressive, often confining men to being harsh and almost emotionless while characterizing women as hysterical, expected to respond to the needs of men's egos. Additionally, Woolf comments on the temporary nature of life, its fragility, and the idea that one can romanticize objects, events, or people from one's past in order to give extraordinary meaning to one's existence. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Much of To the Lighthouse and The Waves comment on societal expectations of men and women, particularly that society expects men to be consistently unemotional while expectations of women suggest that their emotions guide them, often leading them to make hasty or hysterical decisions; Woolf also comments on how society also places women in a position where their only real responsibility is to care for men. In The Waves, Woolf portrays the headmaster of the boarding school that Neville, Luis and Bernard attend as an impassive and harsh man. When he climbs into the pulpit to preach from the Bible, he does so with a severity and seriousness that Louis appreciates; Louis’ “heart expands in its mass, in its authority… There [was] no rawness [there]. No sudden kisses,” illustrating a man’s inherent desire to be stern rather than gentle (Woolf 35). Luis prefers the authority of Dr. Crane and his crucifix to the crudeness of the emotions attached to a sudden kiss, although the emotions are generally more tender. that they are rude while authority is often more rude than comforting. However, authority appeals to Luis because he is trying to suppress the more vulnerable emotions that the unexpected kiss caused him, as he views vulnerability as feminine and weak, while the authority that Dr. Crane exudes is masculine and powerful. On the other hand, still in The Waves, Woolf notes that it is possible to be powerful and feminine, because Mrs. Lambert makes everything become “bright” and “everywhere [Mrs. Lambert] leaves, everything changes before his eyes,” emphasizing the idea that power does not always have to be dark and intense to be effective (45). Ms. Lambert is a strong and authoritative figure, but she does not appear intimidating or overbearing, demonstrating that it is possible to be feminine and powerful. When Mrs. Lambert walks past her, she gets the women to stand a little straighter, illustrating her effect on women and their perceptions of themselves; Standing tall coincides with self-confidence, and the more confident you are, the more powerful you become. Lambert is essentially asking students to embrace their power while being a source of light rather than an aggressive force. Ms. Lambert's power illustrates the idea that women can adapt to their gender role and change that role to suit them in a way that can make them powerful rather than weak. This idea goes against the notion presented in Chloe Taylor's "Kristevan Themes in Virgina Woolf's Novels" that women are locked into gender roles that will ultimately lead to depression and resentment; Mrs. Lambert owns her feminine power in a way that makes her strong and unresentful (Taylor 6). However, in To the Lighthouse, LilyBriscoe completely breaks from her gender role when she fails to respond to Mr. Ramsay's shattered ego after her calm demeanor fades, as she says she is "not a woman, but a sullen spinster , bad-tempered and withered,” illuminating the idea that a woman is essentially useless if she does not address men (Woolf 151). ). However, Woolf challenges this idea by making Briscoe herself a creative and strong figure. Although she does not obtain her power through force, her creativity and self-certainty make her strong, illustrating the idea that a woman can be powerful, while remaining true to who she is. Additionally, the power that each of Woolf's characters possess is manifested through their personality, although each character's power is diverse, particularly between the two genders. In The Waves, Woolf describes Percival as intense, giving her his power. Luis notes that Percival has remarkable command over others when he remarks that he and his friends "rush after him, his faithful servants, to be slaughtered like sheep, for he will certainly attempt a desperate enterprise and die in battle." My heart becomes hard; it abrades my side like a file with two edges: one, that I adore its magnificence; the other, I despise his slovenly accents…and I am jealous” (Woolf 37). Percival's power is intense; if he has weaknesses, these weaknesses do not eclipse his severity. Other characters are drawn to him because he has such a strong presence, but his strength establishes a boundary between him and the others. While his intensity earns him respect, it also brings out the other characters' feelings of inferiority, essentially placing Percival on a pedestal, but isolating him from his friends. While Percival's duty as an authoritative figure is to protect his friends in The Waves, Mrs. Ramsay believes that her duty is to protect the men in To the Lighthouse, as she felt that: She had all of the other sex under his protection; for reasons she could not explain, for their chivalry and valor, for the fact that they negotiated treaties, governed India, controlled finance; finally for an attitude towards herself that no woman could fail to feel or find pleasant, something confident, childish, respectful; that an old woman could take from a young man without loss of dignity, and woe to the young girl who did not feel its value, and all that it implied, down to the marrow of her bones! This quote illustrates the mindset that it is a woman's duty to take care of men because she sees them as the rulers of the world; she also believes that they need protection by learning about the way they perceive and treat women (Woolf 11). Mrs. Ramsay caters to her husband's every whim because she believes she must as a wife and, in turn, Mr. Ramsay makes her feel like he needs her. Ms. Ramsay embodies the idea that one can derive power from one's gender role, even though it is a role that can be restrictive. In Kristina Groover's essay, "Body and Soul: Virgina Woolf's To the Lighthouse," Groover addresses the idea that Mrs. Ramsay's beauty is a source of comfort for Mr. Ramsay, as well as an asset that Mrs. Ramsay can derive power (3).Because Mrs. Ramsay is so beautiful and is essentially the "perfect" housewife, Mr. Ramsay gains a source of stability, which not only gives him a certain sense of vulnerability, because it proves that he needs someone to lean on and confide in. but also empowers Mrs. Ramsay. However, Mrs. Ramsay's comforting presence presents itself as a source of conflict for Mr. Ramsay. THEMr. and Mrs. Ramsay's children want to go to the lighthouse, although it seems rather impossible to Mr. Ramsay to get there, and in Mrs. Ramsay's attempt to console her children, Mr. Ramsay experiences a fit of anger and intense pessimism: “She defied the facts, made her children hope for what was absolutely out of the question, and actually lied. He stamped his foot on the stone step. “Shit,” he said. But what had she said? Just that everything will be fine tomorrow. It’s possible” (Woolf 31).Mr. Ramsay suffers severe bouts of anger and depression throughout the novel and often states that his wife's optimism is essentially just wishful thinking, based on nothing, giving false hope and setting the children up for disappointment total. Although Mr. Ramsay finds comfort when Mrs. Ramsay reassures him of his masculinity, he regards her attempts at optimism for the sake of the children as foolish. He believes her head is in the clouds, when only he can maintain reality. Mr. Ramsay's struggle with himself and his outward refusal of his wife's attempts to appropriate her power to make life more bearable for her and their children illustrate the idea that men can desire to be dominant, even if their dominance is born from pessimism, because they may feel that women act solely based on their emotions rather than reality. Additionally, a person's power is not the only factor determining their importance, as their effect on another individual provides an incredible sense of humanity. In To the Lighthouse, Lily Briscoe sees herself more as an independent and free young woman, who is not tied to a man. She rejected "the respect that covered all women" and "felt praised", illustrating that even though she does not fit the typical, submissive gender role that seeks validation from men, she still validates her state of being. being in choosing a path for one's life. , rather than defining one's life based on a man (Woolf 35). Her independence affects her relationship with Mrs. Ramsay because, although Mrs. Ramsay is satisfied with her life, Lily Briscoe embodies the free spirit that resides in Mrs. Ramsay who I never had the chance to break free. Briscoe essentially embodies the idea that one person's relationship with another person depends on how one perceives and carries oneself; Mrs. Ramsay sometimes resents her for being entirely her own person, while William Bankes reveres her for it. Additionally, in The Waves, Louis foreshadows that each character's story will eventually become one, as each person's story becomes intertwined with that of those with whom they have already interacted: "The moment is approaching where these soliloquies will be shared. We don't always make a sound like a beaten gong when one sensation hits and then another. As children, our lives were like ringing gongs; clamor and boasting; cries of despair; blows on the back of the neck in the gardens” (Woolf 43). Through Woolf's writing style, she weaves together the influences of the six characters and the thoughts are interwoven into each character's story. The characters' relationships with each other prove that each person has a profound impact on another person's life – that even their small idiosyncrasies leave an imprint on each person. What makes each character who they are also influences how other characters develop. For example, they all admire. Percival's severity, but no one wants to have a heart as heavy as him. The essay “Virginia Woolf” comments on the idea that all of Woolf's characters glorify the people in their lives, leaving Percival's death to haunt the characters in The Waves (10). ).When Percival dies in the war, the charactersget together and talk about their past, with a strong focus on the other, even though it may not be true. The reader can deduce that the characters attach extraordinary significance to one of them. the influence of another because they mourn Percival's death and never had the opportunity to thank him for his influence on their lives. Furthermore, Bernard recognizes that it is his friends who can "take him out of [his] darkness", proving that each of the characters had a certain duty to understand his friends, that they had the capacity to save each other. of oneself (Woolf 120). Bernard's introverted personality ostracizes him from his friends, even though they have always managed to reach him to a certain extent. Although Bernard has always been a private and somewhat isolated person, his relationship with his friends helps him tell his stories and combine each of their lives into one complex and fascinating story. His bond with his friends illustrates the idea that friends often pave the way to a life of peace with oneself. Additionally, the relationship one has with another person can affect the way they perceive themselves. In Woolf's To the Lighthouse, Mr. Ramsay is a man of superb intelligence, and yet he considers himself so humble, which makes his personal worth "depend...on the praise of others", illustrating that Mr. Ramsay, too intelligent and masculine as he is supposed to be, needs constant reassurance (Woolf 22). Throughout the novel, Woolf portrays Mr. Ramsay as somewhat delicate. Although he can maintain his household, he breaks down internally and constantly turns to Mrs. Ramsay to cheer him up, even though he views the female spirit as inferior. His view on a woman's way of thinking interferes with his own mental state, as he views vulnerability as weak, although he is probably the most unstable and emotionally vulnerable character in the entire novel, proving as well as a man might prefer to reject his emotions to prove his dominance, even to the detriment of his own sanity. Additionally, in The Waves, Woolf addresses the idea that one's perception of oneself is a result of who he or she surrounds himself or herself with. As Bernard reflects on the lives of his friends, he notes that they are “a many-faceted substance carved out of this darkness; a flower with many facets. Let us stop for a moment; let's see what we did. Let it blaze against the yews. A life. There. It's over. Out", highlighting the idea that he and his friends may have taken different paths in their own lives, but in the end, they ultimately lived one life (Woolf 85). He and his friends become one Even when Percival dies and Rhoda commits suicide, it's as if they've all lost a part of themselves. Characters define themselves based on how others see them. Nonetheless, Bernard notes that they "were all different—the virginal wax that covers the spine melted in different parts for each of us," emphasizing that the narrators saw things that made them what they were. are (Woolf Waves 102). were all becoming separate bodies” (Woolf 102). Woolf's novels focus heavily on what makes a person who they are through struggle; Woolf's characters also prove that it is possible to emerge stronger from traumatic experiences, even if it may leave a scar. Although an individual can have a profound impact on someoneon the other hand, Woolf's novels also demonstrate that life is ultimately fragile and that everything, essentially, is temporary; therefore, the characters in Woolf's novels place great importance on their surroundings to add extraordinary meaning to something that should not mean much. The essay “Virginia Woolf” states that Woolf's focus on the childhood of Mrs. Ramsay's children reinforces the idea that innocence fades quickly with time (11). Because of the transience of youth, Mrs. Ramsay looks at her children and declares that "she would have liked to keep forever as they were, demons of wickedness, angels of delight, never to see them become monsters of long legs.” ” because she does not wish to see the effect that time and struggle will have on her children (Woolf Lighthouse 101). Although Mrs. Ramsay's children might have been loud and rambunctious, she would have preferred them to remain stuck in one phase of life. where nothing corrupting could reach them; where they were essentially immune to all the evil in the world. However, she knows that it is impossible to protect them from the reality of horror that exists in the world and that they will inevitably grow up and become just as corrupt as their surroundings. Also, in Towards the Lighthouse, Mme. Ramsay notes that her incredible evening is already in the past as she leaves the kitchen: “Now we had to push everything further. With her foot on the threshold, she waited a moment longer in a scene that disappeared before her eyes, and then, as she moved, took Minta's arm and left the room, it changed, it took shape differently; it had become, she knew, as she cast one last glance over her shoulder, already a thing of the past” (Woolf 50). The night had consisted of a delicious meal, and she had felt like the perfect housewife to host such a wonderful dinner. , but at the end of the meal, she realizes that it was only going to last a brief second. Once the meal was over, her “perfect” evening was a thing of the past and nothing, she knows, will be as wonderful as that perfect night. Additionally, in The Waves, Bernard notes that he and his friends are just “shells and bones and silence,” emphasizing that every person is the same after death (Woolf 55). What you're going through doesn't matter when you're six feet under, nor does it matter what makes you unique. Time ultimately erases everything we may have attributed to ourselves; Bernard recognizes this temporary nature and it scares him. He knows that he and his friends have woven together this fantastical story that will ultimately mean nothing after they pass away and he is desperate to share the story while he has the chance. The story is the only chance he and his friends have at achieving immortality, because that's essentially what writing does: it documents everyone's journey so that others can understand what it was like. than being someone else. In Bernard's case, immortalizing his friends' stories in writing helps the reader understand what it was like to be a group of six people who suffered incredible loss. With the passage of time come the years of harshness and disappointment that each of the characters endures. . Neville is afraid to express his “violent passion” for fear that Bernard will make a fuss about it, thereby stripping it of its sincerity (Woolf Waves 25). Neville recognizes that some of his feelings are absurdly deep, so much so that putting them into words diminishes their impact. He ends up letting these unexpressed feelings tear him apart internally, as expressing such horrible thoughts or experiences would be detrimental to both the listener and himself. Additionally, Susan notes that she "loves...and hates" intensely, sometimes simultaneously,