PAPER:
MODERNIST
LITERATURE
TOPIC:
READING OF THE CHARACTER OF MRS. RAMSAY IN THE NEGATIVE CONTEXT
COLLEGE:
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH,MKBU
CLASS:
M.A. PART 2
“READING
OF THE CHARACTER OF MRS. RAMSAY IN THE NEGATIVE CONTEXT”
“To
The Lighthouse” is the novel which become famous because the writer
has used the technique of Stream of Consciousness. Even we find that
When Virginia Woolf has written the novel when women were not
writing. Even they were only doing the household works. Without
focussing on the introduction lets directly focus on the interesting
matters.
To
The Lighthouse is written by one woman so obviously the focus must be
on the woman. She was suffering from several kinds of problems
because she was ambitious while at that time generally the duty of
women is to serve husband and children and doing household works. But
she has some different vision. She has started to write so it was
something against the social values and norms of the society. Even
being a woman we find her desire to be a writer and also to be a
successful woman writer.
In
her book we find many characters but the central character of the
novel is Mrs. Ramsay. She is in the centre and the novel begin when
she was alive and its ends when she was dead. Can we say that the
whole novel is all about the women who is just doing household works?
Is it all about a woman who is pampering ego of all the man(male)? is
it the novel about a woman who loves to cooking and to take care of
guest? Or there is also something else.
Generally, when we discuss the
use of Symbol in the novel we got hundreds of article which discuss
that Mrs. Ramsay as the central character and obviously when we look
at the novel with that perspective but that is not all as I have
seen. I find that Mrs. Ramsay is not that much great as it was shown
by the writer or maybe she was characterised by many of critics. She
has many weaknesses and may it represent that Virginia Woolf has not
created her that much great but it was the vision of the society not
her. How the people give the attention towards any woman not because
of her ambition like man but woman are generally judged by their wok
and how she is great in cooking, how she pampers the ego of the
man???
Now
let’s discuss the character of Mrs. Ramsay but not with the typical
way as we have seen her from the earlier time. Let’s look at her
with the modern Perspective. Let’s discuss her negative points
which may Virginia Woolf want us to see.
MRS.
RAMSAY WITH HER HUSBAND AND CHILDREN
Mrs.
Ramsay is somewhere bridge between Mr. Ramsay and the children. in
the beginning we find that When Ramsay refused to go Lighthouse the
little boy wants to kill him for being so rude and he love his
mother. Let’s not connect here the relation of mother and child
with any complex because it will not make the point clear. Here we
find that until Mrs. Ramsay was alive there is not good relation
between father and children Because Mr. Ramsay was straight forward
any decision and also very realistic man. Even in the novel also we
find,
“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 of his own children, who, sprung 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”
He
has many problems and so he was also not that much rich compare to
the spend of Mrs. Ramsay.
Mrs.
Used to pamper the ego of all the man no matter if he is her husband
or the little child or may any guest. Mrs. Was a sweet tongued to all
the man but she was not that much good to her daughter. When the
father was angry or not good to her son she is always there to pamper
his ego and so that little boy(James) loves his mother. She was not
much great to her daughter. So we find that she was biased towards
her own children.
During
the whole day she was trying to make everyone happy as we have seen
but that was not truth. Once we find that she was saying that she
wants be immortal and always remain in the memory of the everyone.
MRS.
RAMSAY AS THE BRIDGE BETWEEN CHILDREN AND FATHER OF THE REASON OF
GAPE
Mrs.
Ramsay is the mother so as the idea woman it’s her duty to maintain
the relationship or establish the good relationship between father
and children. We can see that she was bridge between father and
children but just because of that there is no relation between father
and children. Even when father become rude to children instead of
make other to understand the point of their father she used to give
false promises. She used to tell the tales and stories to them which
are not real and also teach greed.
When
the little boy(James) was afraid at the night because of the mask of
that animal she wraps her clothe there rather than make them brave
and face the reality.
MRS.
RAMSAY: HER DESIRE TO BE IMMORTAL
Mrs.
Was once talking that whatever she was doing is just to remain
forever in the memory of everyone. She also become successful in that
because after her death she also remain in the memory of the
everyone. Many years have been passed but no one is capable to
replace her in the home.
“Some
empty spaces are reserved no one can
replace
them.”
Mrs.
Ramsay is also the place that no one can replace that. At the end
when they were going to the Lighthouse finally there was silent but
everyone was missing her. When the first time Mr. Ramsay praise
James, he become very happy. He was waiting for that moment from many
years and they didn’t jump in joy but his facial expression was
everything to show his happiness. Virginia Woolf has written that,
“What
do you want? they both wanted to ask. They both wanted to say, Ask us
anything and we will give it you. But he did not ask them anything”
That unknown silence
between all of them has many voices even they all can heard that but
no one wants to answer. Before they have landed to the Lighthouse it
was very difficult to pass such areas and so Mr. Ramsay praise him
the moment was described as,
“He
looked at it attentively; he made, perhaps, some mathematical
calculation. At last he said, triumphantly:
"Well
done!" James had steered them like a born sailor.
There!
Cam thought, addressing herself silently to James. You've got it at
last. For she knew that this was what James had been wanting, and she
knew that now he had got it he was so pleased that he would not look
at her or at his father or at any one. There he sat with his hand on
the tiller sitting bolt upright, looking rather sulky and frowning
slightly. He was so pleased that he was not going to let anybody
share a grain of his pleasure. His father had praised him. They must
think that he was perfectly indifferent. But you've got it now, Cam
thought.
Finally,
that silence was broken. And Lily Briscoe has also completed her
picture. It was about Mrs. Ramsay and we can say that as she was
framed in the picture she was disappeared from the relations of
father and children.
Lily
Briscoe is totally opposite to Mrs. Ramsay and that is the reason
that she is not at the centre. But the modern reading proves her as
the centre not Mrs. Ramsay.
Lily
is not doing anything to get praise, she is not living her life for
others or sacrificing her life for others, she has her own dreams,
she is realistic, she doesn’t want to be immortal, whatever she was
doing have never selfish purpose. So the modern reading of character
of Lily and Mrs. Ramsay made a different perspective.
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