Memory function in Virginia Woolfs To The Lighthouse essays

Memory function in Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse essays The mood of To the Lighthouse is one of nostalgia. The bulk of the novel (section I) takes place before World War I, before the death of Mrs. Ramsey, and before the end of childhood of the Ramsey children. The rest of the novel looks back on those moments of wholeness, innocence, and desire. The novel is heavily overlaid with a sense of memory. Each of the vivid moments of the first section has the feeling of memory in the sense that they seem to have acquired symbolic significance over the years so that they have formed vivid moments defining lives and relationships. Lilly Briscoe, the painter who stayed with the family at the summer home, is a character that focuses largely on her memory of the summer house and Mrs. Ramsey, especially when she returns years later to finish her painting. Lilly Briscoe illustrates the power of memory and symbolism in preserving someone who has passed away. The novel is written in three sections and each serves as a function of memory. The first part is where the memories are formed, the encoding of memory. In the second part a considerable amount of time passes and the memories are put away. The third part is the crucial stage of memory retrieval, when the memories are brought up in the minds of the people who return to the summer home. Part III, "The Lighthouse," resumes the story of the Ramseys, now without Mrs. Ramsey. In the first part of the novel, James Ramsey had asked to go to the lighthouse. His mother had said he could and his father had said he could not because the weather would be too rough to allow the boat to land. The novel ends with James achieving his desire and, along with his sister Cam, reconciling with his father. Part III is also a completion of the narration of Lily Briscoe painting a portrait of Mrs. Ramsey. In the absence of Mrs. Ramsey, she completes this portrait begun ten years ago. For all who return to the summer home the lighthouse is viewed as a symbol of...