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To Set the World Aflame

In Virginia Woolfs Into The Lighthouse, symbolism is used extensively. Among the
many symbols, including Lily Briscoes painting, the vast ocean, and the personalities of Mr. and
Mrs. Ramsay, the most prominent and enduring symbol is the lighthouse. The entire story is
about, or has some relevance to, the lighthouse. However, the illuminating element that gives the
lighthouse symbol its significance is the light itself. The light is not just a single beam but is
comprised of a multitude of beams, for the meaning of the lighthouse is not singular but unique
to each character the perception of the lighthouse is varies according the individual application.
Just as the sun is at the center of the solar system, the lighthouse is at the center of the
novel. The lighthouse is essential for the existence of its surroundings and brings light to
darkness. All of the characters rely, to some extent, on the lighthouse to satisfy a particular need.
To Mrs. Ramsay, it becomes a source of comfort and stability, regardless of the distance that
separates them. (TTL 132) Sure enough, coming regularly across the wavesone long steady
strokeof the Lighthouse. (TTL 51) To Lily Briscoe, it acts as an inspiration during her final
epiphany, observing Mr. Ramsays boat make way to the lighthouse. A chiasma exists: the more
unidentifiable the lighthouse becomes, the clearer her artistic vision. The Lighthouse had
become almost invisible, had melted away into a blue haze, but she saw it [her painting] clear
for a second. (TTL 175) To James Ramsay, it is an objective. Once he reaches this goal, he
reflects, The Lighthouse was then a silvery, misty-looking tower with a yellow eye, and now
the tower, stark and straightit was barred with black and white. (TTL 156) Although it may
appear different, James reasons, the other was also the Lighthouse. For nothing was simply one
thing. The other Lighthouse was true too. (TTL 156) James realizes that the lighthouse is not
just a solitary lighthouse but is a collection of lighthouses, for each character has his or her

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distinct perception of the lighthouse; the multitude of these perceptions are collectively unified in
the hoary Lighthouse, distantin the midst. (TTL 11)
The lighthouse is not only the source of light but also the very symbol of light itself as
well. In John Miltons Paradise Lost, the invocation in Book III begins with Milton asking that
he be filled with Light so that he may be able to tell his divine story without fault. Previously
in Book I, he asked the heavenly muse, What in me is dark/ Illumine. (Paradise Lost I.22-23)
Light enters Milton so that he may transcend knowledge of the earthly world and achieve
divine knowledge. Similarly, the light of the lighthouse enters Mrs. Ramsay, and she identifies
with the light. She looked out to meet that stroke of the Lighthouse, the long steady stroke, the
last of the three, which was her strokeone could not help attaching oneself to one thing
especially of the things one saw; and this thing, the long steady stroke, was her stroke. (TTL 52)
Mrs. Ramsay is filled with the light and became the light. She became the thing she looked at
that light. (TTL 53) The illumination of her inner self allows her to transcend, resulting in her
understanding to surpass that of the earthly world.
As a beacon of light, Mrs. Ramsay shines light to all of the characters; therefore, they can
all experience the lighthouse through her. They had been looking through a glass, but now they
can see it up close and personal without ever approaching the physical lighthouse. (TTL 151)
Mrs. Ramsay is equivalent to the lighthouse, if not even greater. She is the source of serenity and
safety to James; she is the sanctuary that soothes him from the stark and cold treatment from Mr.
Ramsay. James embraces the perfect simplicity and good sense relationship he has with his
mother. (TTL 32) Mrs. Ramsay also offers encouragement and healing to Mr. Ramsay. She
created drawing-room and kitchen, set them all aglow; bade him take his ease there, go in and
out, enjoy himself. (TTL 33) Mrs. Ramsay set them all aglow because she is the light itself.
She cares and provides for Mr. Ramsay so that he may feel empowered she supports him

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entirely. She sees the good in him and understands him, for her light shines right through his
stolid and cruel character. However, she does not limit this treatment to just Mr. Ramsay, all of
the males in the story, including Charles Tansley and William Bankes, are treated the same way.
After Mrs. Ramsay passes away in Part II, her light still shines brightly. Her presence helps
Lily see clearly so that she is able to finish her painting. She saw it clear for a second. It was
done; it was finished. I have had my vision. (TTL 175) The single line that Lily draws to perfect
her painting is the lighthouse, and the lighthouse is Mrs. Ramsay. Lily draws Mrs. Ramsay to
complete her painting. She drew a line there, in the centre. (TTL 175) Laying down her brush
in extreme fatigue, she must have made a long, steady brushstroke due to her lack of energy.
(TTL 175). When Mrs. Ramsay becomes the light, she identifies with the long steady stroke,
which was her stroke. (TTL 52) Thus, the final line that concludes not only the painting but the
story as well is Mrs. Ramsay.
Although Mrs. Ramsay is the beautiful woman who means all things to all of the
characters (just like the lighthouse), Mr. Ramsay lacks the same internal light of his wife. In a
sense, because he does not have the light, he has the darkness, indicating the differences between
Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay. He is cruel, stern, and emotionless, whereas she is warm, welcoming, and
has no difficulty in making people like her. (TTL 35) He is the greatest metaphysician of the
time, (TTL 32) and she is famous for her beauty. (TTL 44) These classifications essentially
extend to all of the male and female characters. The males are thinkers among them are a poet
and a philosopher and the females are doers. Thus, Mrs. Ramsay believes that immortality can
be achieved through children, hence her constant matchmaking. The empty places. Such were
some of the parts, but how bring them together? (TTL 124) She seems to find joy in bringing
people together. Nothing seemed to have merged. They all sat separate. And the whole of the
effort of merging and flowing and creating rested on her. (TTL 70) Her dream is for everyone to

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get married so that people can reproduce, whereas the men hope to achieve immortality through
their minds. Mr. Ramsay wonders that when he dies, how men will speak of him hereafter and
how long his fame lasts, (TTL 30) for even the very stone one kicks with one's boot will
outlast Shakespeare. (TTL 31) Although his physical body may cease to exist, Mr. Ramsay
hopes to instill his ideas onto the world so that he may live forever, which is the reason he is so
adamant about reaching Z. However, he is stuck at Q and knows that he would never reach
R. (TTL 30) "Ramsay is one of those men who do their best work before they are forty," but his
marriage and family inhibited him from achieving greatness. (TTL 20) He had not done the
thing he might have done, surpassing Q and possibly reaching Z, because of his
relationship with Mrs. Ramsay. (TTL 38) Yet, he still pursues his intellectual ambitions even
though he knows that they are unachievable. Because of this awareness, he requires the
consolation of Mrs. Ramsay; therefore, she is always building up his ego with soothing words
and kind actions. Filled with her words, like a child who drops off satisfiedlooking at her
with humble gratitude, restored, renewed. (TTL 33) Mrs Ramsey seemed to fold herself
togetherin exhaustionso that she had only strength enough to move her finger. (TTL 33)
The endless comfort and sympathizing by Mrs. Ramsay becomes too strenuous for her, and she
dies suddenly in Part II.
The instantaneous moment when the boat carrying Mr. Ramsay, Cam, and James reaches
the lighthouse, Augustus Carmichael stands beside Lily, observing the Ramsays destiny. (TTL
175) His hand slowly fell, as if she had seen him let fall from his great height a wreath of
violets and asphodels which, fluttering slowly, lay at length upon the earth. (TTL 175) When
Tansley was walking with Mrs. Ramsay and held her bag, he felt the wind andthe violets for
he was walking with a beautiful woman, (TTL 12) and when Bankes talked with her on the
telephone, he imagined meadows of asphodelcompose that face of Mrs. Ramsay. (TTL 25)

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Violets and asphodels are flowers that correspond to Mrs. Ramsay. Therefore, when Carmichael
appears to have released a wreath of violets and asphodels to lay upon the earth, it represents
Mrs. Ramsay being set free and resting peacefully. In Part I, James was not allowed to go to the
lighthouse, and Mrs. Ramsay thought that he will remember that all his life. However, she, too,
remembers that all her life as well. As a beacon of light, she strived to meet the needs of
everyone around her, and she did, except for Jamess one wish to visit the lighthouse. When she
dies, she is aware that his wish is still not granted. Thus, after ten long years, James finally
reaches the lighthouse, and Mrs. Ramsay can finally rest in peace.
The lighthouse is the final destination for Mr. Ramsay, Cam, and James in the story. Ten
years ago, James had desired to go to the lighthouse. However, at the moment, he does not want
to go. James still feels resentment towards his father. James thought, then I shall take a knife
and strike him to the heart. (TTL 154) He wanted to go ten years ago; his father listens to him
ten years too late. Therefore, it is Mr. Ramsay, not James, who wants to go to the lighthouse. On
his way to the lighthouse, Mr. Ramsay reads an old notebook, attempting to get to R. When he
puts the book down and looks up, he was happy. (TTL 172) What was it he sought, so fixedly,
so intently, so silently? They watched him, both of them, sitting bareheaded with his parcel on
his knee staring and staring at the frail blue shape which seemed like the vapour of something
that had burnt itself away. He sat and looked at the island and he might be thinking, We perished,
each alone, or he might be thinking, I have reached it. I have found it; but he said nothing. (TTL
174) Mr. Ramsay looks to the lighthouse as if he is looking for someone because he is looking
for someone. He is looking for Mrs. Ramsay. He understands that Mrs. Ramsay had a light from
within which he lacked and that the light was from the lighthouse. Therefore, because Mrs.
Ramsay was the beacon of light in his life, he looks at the literal lighthouse in remembrance of

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her. At this point, Mr. Ramsay may have moved from Q to R, because he understands now.
He is filled with Reason the moment he lands on the lighthouse.
Just as Mrs. Ramsay was the lighthouse for everyone that she knew, the participants of
the Honors Program must also be lighthouses to everyone that we know. We may be the only
ones in the world who see the light and understand the light, so we must not give up. We must be
the beacons of light that we are and have learned to be, equipped with two years of irreplaceable
knowledge, to reveal and support the perception of the lighthouse of each person. Just as the
lighthouse had helped Mr. Ramsay escalate from Q to R, which represents Reason, we will
be lighthouses that help others find Reason in their own lives as well. Only the select few will
have the knowledge to be lighthouses, and only they will be able to help others find their own
light. The Honors Program has helped make darkness visible in each of its participants, and just
as Mrs. Ramsay has already done, we are more than ready to bring light to the darkest parts of
the world. We are ready to set the world aflame.