To The Lighthouse: To Realize The Self

English writer Virginia Woolf, one of the most influential literary figures of the twentieth century, has made great contributions to the creation of novels, critical essays and other forms of writings. The publication of the famous stream-of-consciousness and feminist novel — To the Lighthouse in 1927 established her as a major novelist. Up to now the novel's profound meaning is still waiting for its readers to discover and its rich emotion to experience.As far as Woolf's depersonalization, feminist tendency and interest in human psyche are concerned, this thesis adopts the Jungian theory of the self to explore the feminist idea of the novel. Through the psychoanalytical study of the novel's three female characters — Mrs. Ramsay, Cam and Lily, the thesis argues that the novel presents the realization of the self. It takes Mrs. Ramsay, a psychologically unbalanced person, who identifies with the Angel role repressing her animus in the unconscious as an example of the failure of self realization. As a contrast, Cam and Lily making great efforts to go through different individuating processes to realize their selves become the successful demonstration. Cam protects her own opinions and way of behaving which are her animus. Different from her, Lily via hard process releases her feminine part and unites it with her animus showing her sympathy that she cannot show to others before and painting the vision that she longs to capture on the canvas. As a strong support of the characterization, the main images and structure of the novel attract the thesis' attention as well. The thesis points out that,...