New Woman's Triumph Over Ideal Woman-Study Of Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse

As one of the most prominent writers at the beginning of the twentieth century, Virginia Woolf distinguished herself with her advanced ideas presented in her writings. She made her contributions to the world mainly in two aspects. Firstly, her experimentation with the form of novel brought a breath of fresh air to the literary world at the turn of the century. She explored the possibility of the form of novel and brought new perspectives to writers of the future. Secondly, her extended attention to the life and mentality of women resulted in many insightful writings, in which she investigated into the social problem of gender issues and brought forward her attempts in the amelioration of women's living conditions.This thesis is an attempt to analyze Woolf's views on women expressed in one of her famous novels, To the Lighthouse. It is largely agreed that this novel bears the most distinctive autobiographical elements among Woolf's other works. The Ramsays are the reproduction in art of Woolf's parents, and Lily the writer herself. In part it is Woolf's efforts to make peace with her memories of her parents and her past. Therefore, an investigation into the ideas presented in this novel becomes more significant to understand the development of thoughts of the writer.This thesis argues that Mrs. Ramsay represents the Victorian ideal woman, whose life revolves around the domestic sphere of the home and family as the wife, mother and household manager. She is what Woolf calls the angel in the house, who must be killed. By contrast, Lily Briscoe is the New Woman who struggles to liberate herself from the male domination and pursue her own happiness and self-realization. From the different destinies of the two heroines, it can be inferred that the author believes the New Woman triumphs over the ideal woman in the Victorian age. Thus by writing this novel Virginia Woolf successfully brings forth her concerns about women's lives and expresses her standpoints upon how should a woman live.Chapter One is a general introduction to the life influences on Virginia Woolf, including the influences of her family and the famous intellectual group of Bloomsbury, both of which had great impact on her perspective of life and art. Chapter Two introduces two types of lives of women at the turn of the century, one of the ideal woman of the Victorian era, the other the New Woman emerged in the new century, thus laying the foundation of the arguments in the next chapter. Chapter Three is a detailed text analysis of the two characters of Mrs. Ramsay and Lily in order to support the theme of the thesis that Lily, as the New Woman, triumphs over Mrs. Ramsay, the Victorian ideal woman, in her pursuit of art.