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Woolf and Adaptation
Woolf and Adaptation
of her time. She was a descendant of Englands most impressive literary family, so
talent obviously ran through her blood. She was one of the most successful and
prolific authors of her time, with strong connections to the famous post impressionist
Bloomsbury group. To the lighthouse is one of her most successful novels that
established her as a leading feminist and modernist writer and is famed for its
experimental stream of consciousness writing. To the lighthouse is divided into three
powerful sections, The window, Time passes and The lighthouse. Many were
interested to see how such a novel could be adapted into a film, as many techniques
that Woolf uses (such as acceleration and compression of time, and free indirect
discourse) had only been used within writing and could not possibly have the same
effect on the audience on the screen. Adaptations have always had mixed reviews
as it is argued that many films do not do justice to their novel counterparts. According
to Hutcheon, (p.8) Many professional reviewers and audience members alike resort
to the elusive notion of the spirit of a work or an artist that has to be captured and
conveyed in the adaptation for it to be a success. However, some writers thought
that not only were adaptations all too easy to produce, the resulting products were
an inferior form of art that deserved nothing but scorn (Cartmell, p.54). Adaptation
has various definitions, but can be described as An acknowledged transposition of a
recognizable other work or works, A creative and an interpretive act of
appropriation/salvaging or An extended intertextual engagement with the adapted
work (Hutcheon, p.8). Either way one views an adaptation, it is clear that it is a
derivation that is not derivative, it is a work that is second without being secondary
(Hutcheon , p.9).
During the 19th century, realism revolted against the exaggerated emotions of
romanticism, in favour of more typical real life situations, and it often reflected
changes brought on by the industrial revolution. Therefore, the writing in this era
was more focussed of social and political problems. The early 20 th century brought a
new movement in, one that reflected the new culture of its time. At this time there
were new scientific discoveries, such as the discovery of the atom, Einsteins theory
of relativity, Freuds theory of the unconscious and Bergsons duration (time as a
flow). New theories on colour and perception had artists experimenting with light,
lines dots and colour, linking their works to the structure of the atom. It is no wonder
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intellectuals began questioning time and order, and this is evident in To the
lighthouse as it uses relative time rather than the historical time of realism. Woolf
had rejected the techniques of realism in favour of what we now know as
modernism. It has been said that modernism is a breaking away from the established
rules, tradition and conventions, and is an artists freedom from realism, materialism,
traditional genre and form. More precisely, each account defines the Modern as
taking an active role against tradition. Whether it is abandoned, broken from, freed
from, revolted against or rejected, it is clear that there is no place for tradition in
Modern culture (Cartmell, p.53). The main characteristic of modernist writing is
stream of consciousness and playing with stretches of time, such as devoting a long
section of the text in a short period of the story, we see this example in When time
passes in To the lighthouse.
According to Hawthorne, Modernism typically focuses far greater attention onto the
states and processes inside the consciousness of the main characters than onto
public events in the outside world... Modernism has a profound effect on the
novelists conception of character. (Hawthorn p.60) Along with James Joyce and
Joseph Conrad, Woolf was one of the first revolutionary modernist writers of her
time, using stream of consciousness techniques such as interior monologue and free
indirect discourse within her writing. Modernist writers were more interested in the
form of writing rather than the content or plot, and the use of motifs, symbols and
landscape to represent emotions are apparent throughout. Unity and space is
unimportant to the modernist writer. The study of modernist concepts, especially
stream of consciousness in To the lighthouse is so interesting because it deals with
the characters most personal and private thoughts, ideas and feelings, meaning the
focus is more on the inner self than the outer self, which helps the reader connect
more personally with the various characters, especially Mrs Ramsey. Each
characters inner thoughts and feelings can change at any moment, and with multiple
viewpoints of individual consciousnesses, it is difficult to imagine how this could be
adapted into film. The flow of thoughts is easily written on paper, though not so easy
to convey on the screen. So How does the film depict the consciousness of
characters and stretches of time in to the lighthouse? Firstly I will examine the
opening scene of the film in comparison to the novel, how Gregg conveys free
indirect speech within the dinner scene (chapter 17), I will then look at the
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complicating factor of incorporating post impressionist techniques into the film, and I
will also look at how Lilly Briscoes characterisation in regards of gender is built in the
film in comparison to the novel, and Woolfs own ideas on cinematic adaptations.
The opening sentence of the novel is Mrs Ramsey replying to James, her son about
going to the lighthouse. Yes of course, if its fine tomorrow said Mrs Ramsey, but
youll have to be up with the lark (p.7) It takes straight into the middle of a
conversation between two characters. This technique is Woolfs way of questioning
order and structure, and presenting characters through their discourse. Then enters
Mr Ramsey and dashes James dream of visiting the lighthouse. It then goes onto
building some lengthy characterisations of Mr Ramsey... What he said was true, it
was always true. He was incapable of untruth; never tampered with a fact, never
altered a disagreeable word to suit the pleasure or convenience of any mortal being,
least of all his own children, who, sprang from his loins, should be aware from
childhood that life is difficult; facts uncompromising; and the passage to that fabled
land where our brightest hopes are extinguished, our frail barks founder in darkness,
(here Mr Ramsey would straighten his back and narrow his little blue eyes upon the
horizon), one that needs, above all, courage, truth, and the power to endure( Woolf,
p.8-9.) This is one long, flowing sentence in third person narration gives the reader a
clear indication of the masculine character that is Mr Ramsey. It gives the stark
contrast of gender and power between Mr and Mrs Ramsey, which would be difficult
to catch on screen. This is the first instance we see that Mrs Ramsey is more of an
emotional, mothering type towards James, whilst Mr Ramsey is more of a stern,
disciplinary yet truthful character. It would be difficult to transfer the beginning of this
text on the screen and this is apparent because the beginning is entirely different.
The opening scene begins with a shot of James looking towards the lighthouse,
paired with emotive music. The words Cornwall, 1912 appear at the bottom of the
screen. We can then understand that the plots setting has been changed from the
novel, where it is set off the coast of Scotland. Though relatively insignificant, this
change of location makes the film more autobiographical than the novel, since Woolf
spent her childhood summers in Cornwall (Lothe, p.205).The viewer then witnesses
James already upset and crying, with Mrs Ramsey comforting him, assuring him that
he can visit the lighthouse another time. It does not include James asking the
question Can we go to the lighthouse tomorrow? and it does not give us Mrs
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and flow of thoughts is happening around the dinner table in the various characters
minds.
As Lily struggles to compose her painting, her concerns and methods mirror those
of Woolfs composition of the novel. Woolf uses the techniques used by Post
impressionist artists to try and convey her characters and produce a plot. Woolf
attempts to depict the characters this way has proven very difficult to be captured on
the big screen by Gregg. There are always these blurred lines between art and
literature in her novels that we can only assume are created with her close
connection to the Bloomsbury group. This small group of philosophers, artists,
writers included intellects such as John Maynard Keynes, E.M Forster, Vanessa Bell
and Roger Fry. They got their name because they used to study together near
Bloomsbury, London. They studied literature, aesthetics and criticism, as well as
having modern attitudes towards sexuality and feminism.(The literature network,
2000). Woolfs painterly techniques are intertexualised in To the lighthouse through
Lilly, who is attempting a post impressionist painting throughout the novel and in the
film. This painting could be a symbol of the abstract flow of thoughts we see in
Woolfs work, and tt is a parallel to Woolfs own struggle with the novel in general.
This idea is backed up by literary critic Goldman, who also says it serves as a
symbol of Lillys struggle for independence and her right to femininity. Lily Briscoe,
hemmed in by patriarchal contempt for womens artistic abilities, and by Mrs
Ramsays forceful marital ideology, attempts a painting, which serves as selfreflexive reference point for the novel itself. Indeed, it closes with an account of her
final visionary brushstroke in an elegiac moment of lyric consolation. Lilys rejection
of Mr Ramsays amorous approaches, combined with his childrens defiance,
suggests an unsettling, if not an overcoming, of (his) patriarchy. (Goldman, p1) The
idea that Woolf incorporates art into her work has further evidence from the woman
herself. When questioned on her writing, Woolf describes her novel as an
impression not an argument The use of poetic prose gives her work a rhythm, and
this is backed up when as she claims I always think of my books as music before I
write them (Woolf, Letters, 6)
Woolf has never been fond of adaptation, and she expressed the concern in her
essay, The Cinema, in which she laments how Anna Karenina translated to screen
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References
Cartmell, D (2012) A companion to literature, film and adaptation. Chichester:
Blackwell publishing,
Lothe, Jakob (2005) Narrative in fiction and film: an introduction, Oxford: Oxford
university press.
To the lighthouse (1983) Directed by Colin Gregg. 114 minutes. IMDb [video]
The literature network, (2000) The Bloomsbury group Jalic Inc [Online.] Available
from:
http://www.online-literature.com/periods/bloomsbury.php [accessed 14th May 2015]
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