TO THE LIGHT HOUSE BY

VIRGINIA WOOLF
LECTURER ENGLISH
SUMAIR ARSLAN
 Virginia Woolf…at a glance
• Virginia Woolf’s original name is Adeline
Virginia Stephen, (born January 25, 1882,
London, England—died March 28, 1941, near
Rodmell, Sussex). She was an English writer,
considered one of the most important 
modernist 20th century authors.
Virginia Woolf
 Date of Birth and Death
• Born: January 25, 1882, London, United
Kingdom
• Death: March 28, 1941, 
Lewes, United Kingdom
 Occupation
• Novelist
• Essayist
• Publisher
• Critic
 Alma mater
• King's College London
 Notable Work
•  Mrs Dalloway (1925)
• To the Lighthouse (1927)
• Orlando (1928)
• A Room of One's Own (1929)
• The Waves (1931)
 Spouse & Parents
• Leonard Woolf: He was married to author 
Virginia Woolf.
• Leslie Stephen: Father
• Julia Prinsep Jackson: Mother
 Relatives
• George Herbert Duckworth (half-brother)
• Stella Duckworth (half-sister)
• Gerald Duckworth (half-brother)
• Laura Stephen (half-sister)
• Vanessa Stephen (sister)
• Thoby Stephen (brother)
• Adrian Stephen (brother)
• Katharine Stephen (cousin)
To The Light House By Virginia Woolf
 Light House
• A tower or other structure containing a
beacon light to warn or guide ships at sea.
 Characters
• Mr. Ramsay stands, in many respects, as Mrs. Ramsay’s opposite.
Whereas she acts patiently, kindly, and diplomatically toward
others, he tends to be short-tempered, selfish, and rude. Woolf
fittingly describes him as “lean as a knife”. When reading novels, it
is important to understand the aspects of each character to
completely get the message that the author is trying to send to the
reader. In the novel, To The Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf illustrates
the character, Mr. Ramsay as a husband and a father of eight. As a
husband, he mentally abuses his wife, Mrs. Ramsay, and as a father,
Mr. Ramsay discourages and psychologically abuses his children to
an extent that makes his children hate him. Mr. Ramsay has
another side of compassion, and love for his family.
 Mr. Ramsay
 
 Mr. Ramsay
• In the novel, To The Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
illustrates the character, Mr. Ramsay as a husband
and a father of eight….Woolf
describes Mr. Ramsay as insensitive, malicious, and
brutal toward his family, but he also desires
happiness and wants the best for his family.… Mr.
Ramsay is dominated by rationality and scientific
reason. He is in search of truth and greatness, and
he fears that he is rather inadequate for not
achieving his aims.
Mrs. Ramsay
 Mrs. Ramsay
• Mrs. Ramsay is the loving and hospitable wife of Mr.
Ramsay. She is highly domestic, focusing on her
roles as mother and wife. She deeply admires her
husband, although she cannot tell him that she
loves him. She is responsible and strong, but she
dies unexpectedly in her fifties. She becomes
irritated with his insensitivity.
Mrs. Ramsay emerges from the novel's opening
pages not only as a woman of great kindness and
tolerance but also as a protector.
Lily Briscoe: She is passionate artist. She
paints Mrs. Ramsay
 Lily Briscoe
A young, single painter who befriends the
Ramsays on the Isle of Skye. Like Mr. Ramsay,
She begins a portrait of Mrs. Ramsay at the
beginning of the novel but has trouble
finishing it. The opinions of men like Charles
Tansley, who insists that women cannot paint
or write, threaten to undermine her
confidence.
Lily Briscoe
 James Ramsay
• The Ramsays’ youngest son. James loves his mother
deeply and feels a murderous antipathy toward his
father, with whom he must compete for Mrs. Ramsay’s
love and affection. At the beginning of the novel, Mr.
Ramsay refuses the six-year-old James’s request to go to
the lighthouse, saying that the weather will be foul and
not permit it; ten years later, James finally makes the
journey with his father and his sister Cam. By this time,
he has grown into a willful and moody young man who
has much in common with his father, whom he detests.
 James Ramsay
• A sensitive child, James is gripped by a love for
his mother that is as overpowering and
complete as his hatred for his father. He feels
a murderous rage against Mr. Ramsay, who,
he believes, delights in delivering the news
that there will be no trip to the lighthouse.
James Ramsay
 Paul Rayley: A young friend of the Ramsays.
Minta Doyle: A flighty young woman who visits the Ramsays on
the Isle of Skye.

• Minta marries Paul at Mrs. Ramsay's wishes.

 Paul proposes to Minta Doyle
• A young friend of the Ramsays, visiting them
at their summer home. Paul proposes to
Minta Doyle on the beach as Mrs. Ramsay
wished. Minta is a guest at the Ramsays'
summer home. 
 Minta Doyle
• Minta Doyle : A flighty young woman who
visits the Ramsays on the Isle of
Skye. Minta marries Paul Rayley at Mrs.
Ramsay's wishes.
Charles Tansley: Student of Mr. Ramsay. He discourages Lily and
says that she can’t write and can’t be a good painter.
 Charles Tansley
• Charles Tansley is a student of Mr. Ramsay's who
was invited to the house for the summer. A young
philosopher and pupil of Mr. Ramsay who stays with
the Ramsays on the Isle of Skye. Tansley is a prickly
and unpleasant . An odious athiest whom none of
the Ramsays particularly like, Charles is one of Mr.
Ramsay's philosophy pupils. He is insulting and
chauvinistic, trying to discourage Lily from painting.
He is often concerned with the affairs and status of
others and is very self-centered.
William Bankes: A botanist and old friend of the Ramsays who
stays on the Isle of Skye.
Mrs. Ramsay hopes that he should marry Lily Briscoe. Although
he never marries her, Bankes and Lily remain close friends.
 William Bankes
• William Bankes: A botanist and old friend of
the Ramsays who stays on the Isle of Skye.
Bankes is a kind and mellow man. Mrs.
Ramsay hopes that he should marry Lily
Briscoe. Although he never marries her,
Bankes and Lily remain close friends.
Augustus Carmichael: A poet who takes opium.
Augustus Carmichael
 Andrew Ramsay:
• The oldest of the Ramsays’ sons. Andrew is a
competent, independent young man, and he
looks forward to a career as a mathematician.
Andrew Ramsay, her oldest son, is killed in
battle, and his sister Prue dies from an illness
related to childbirth. 
Andrew Ramsay: oldest son, is killed in battle.
Prue Ramsay: The oldest Ramsay girl, a
beautiful young woman.
 Jasper Ramsay
• Jasper Ramsay is a small son; he is very joyful
and enjoys his life to the fullest. He likes to
play a lot, and sometimes his games disturb
other people. His hobby is shooting birds, and
it makes Mrs., Ramsay, his mother, very
nervous. The writer, who made this character
wanted to depict the simplicity, open attitude
to life and carelessness.
 Roger Ramsay
• One of the Ramsays’ sons. Roger is wild and
adventurous, like his sister Nancy.
 Rose Ramsay
• One of the Ramsays’ daughters. Rose has a
talent for making things beautiful. She
arranges the fruit for her mother’s dinner
party and picks out her mother’s jewelry.
 Nancy Ramsay
• One of the Ramsays’ daughters. Like her
brother Roger, she is a wild and adventurous.
An adventurous person is willing to take risks
and eager to have new experiences.
 Cam Ramsay
• One of the Ramsays’ daughters. As a young
girl, Cam is mischievous. She sails with James
and Mr. Ramsay to the lighthouse in the
novel’s final section.
 Mrs. McNab
• An elderly woman who takes care of the
Ramsays’ house on the Isle of Skye. The
witless and leering housekeeper.
• Witless Housekeeper
• Leering Housekeeper
 Macalister
• The fisherman who accompanies the Ramsays
to the lighthouse. Macalister
• A Scottish Fisherman
Macalister accompanies Mr. Ramsay, James,
and Cam to the Lighthouse.
 Macalister’s Boy
• Macalister’s Boy
• Macalister’s Boy assists Macalister and
accompanies Mr. Ramsay, James,
and Cam to the Lighthouse.
 Mrs. Bast
• Mrs. Bast helps Mrs. McNab prepare the
summerhouse for the Ramsays’ return after
ten years have passed.
 Mildred
• The cook at the Ramsay's house on the Isle of
Skye.
 SUMMARY
• Written in 1926
• Published in 1927
 Divided in 3 Parts:
• Divided in 3 parts:
1. Window
2. Time Passes
3. The Lighthouse
 Ramsay Family
• 1. Andrew: killed in WW1
• 2. Jasper
• 3. Roger
• 4. Prue
• 5. Rose
• 6. Nancy
• 7. Cam
• 8. James
 Use of Symbols in the Novel, To The
Lighthouse
Virginia Woolf has made extensive use of
symbols in “To The Lighthouse” for her
purpose was to lay bare the psyche or spirit of
her characters. There are five important
symbols in the novel, the sea, the lighthouse,
Lily Briscoe’s painting, Charles Tansley, and the
personalities of Mrs. Ramsay & Mr. Ramsay.
 Five Important Symbols:
• The Sea
• The Lighthouse
• Lily Briscoe’s Painting
• Charles Tansley
• Mrs & Mr. Ramsay
 THE SEA
• The sea is heard throughout the novel. It symbolizes
the eternal flux of time and life. The water of sea is
symbolic one. The sound of waves of sea can be
heard throughout the novel. The Sea with its waves
is to be heard throughout the novel. As a force that
brings destruction, has the power to decimate
islands, and, as Mr. Ramsay reflects, “eats away the
ground we stand on,” the sea is a powerful
reminder of the impermanence and delicacy of
human life and accomplishments.
 CONTINUE…
• The waves are the symbol of the movement of
life. The waves have dual aspects. They show
serenity and anguish.
 THE LIGHTHOUSE
• Lighthouses have long been used in literature
and cinema to symbolize strength, safety,
individuality, and even death. They represent
hope and safe.
 PAINTING OF LILY
• REPRESENTS THE STRUGGLE OF WOMEN
• Lily's painting represents a struggle against
gender convention, represented by Charles
Tansley's statement that women can't paint or
write. This symbol of picture is symbolizes the
condition of woman during those days. It
shows woman’s struggle of woman in the
patriarchal society.
 Mr. Ramsay and Charles Tansley
• Mr. Ramsay, in the lighthouse is a symbol of
authority in the family. For Charles Tansley
the lighthouse represents his inability to
insert himself into social situations.
 Mrs. Ramsay
• SOCIAL BUTTERFLY
• SOCIAL
• LOVING
• CARING
• UNITED WE ARE ROCK, DIVIDED WE ARE
SAND.
END…