On Binary Opposition In Virginia Woolf's Major Fiction

The thesis is designed to explore binary opposition principle in Virginia Woolf's major works. As one of the most prominent women writers in the 20^th Century, she is a pioneer in artistic representation and experiments with new writing techniques, leaving behind a large number of literary heritage for future generations. Woolf's concept of duality is most noticeably manifested in three of her novels: Mrs. Dalloway, To The Lighthouse and The Waves. They are crucial for comprehending the author's concerns about omnipresent contradictions in human existence and modern life.This paper is divided into five parts: the Introduction, in the first place, discusses binary opposition as a time-honored device in literary creation. Then, an overview of Woolf's accomplishments and contributions is presented and contemporary criticism on her masterpieces is briefly stated. Each chapter of the body part addresses one central binary from a different perspective.Chapter One brings into attention the coexistence of sanity and insanity. Signifying maturity of stream-of-consciousness application, Mrs. Dalloway tells about a middle-aged woman's lamentation of her gradual loss of identity in a snobbish society. Clarissa, "the angel in the house", experiences a "moment of being" during the process of party-hosting, when she is informed of a young man committing suicide. Septimus, the insane shell-shock victim, takes his own life because of social segregation and death of faith. The two protagonists somehow achieve spiritual communication with each other and the hostess chooses to carry on with her life despite social hostility.Chapter Two focuses on the divergence and reconciliation between intellect and intuition regarding world outlook. The Ramsay couple in To The Lighthouse have separate understanding of universal truth and interpersonal relationship. Mr. Ramsay insists on either-or cognition based on hard facts, whereas the kind-hearted wife tends to provide emotional support for people around and view the world with a touch of humanity. Woolf suggests the possibility of the two aspects combined in Lily Briscoe's ten-year painting. With the passage of time, Mr. Ramsay also learns to draw strength from Mrs. Ramsay even long after the latter's death, thus reflecting on reality with a new intensity.Chapter Three looks at the conflicts between order and chaos in Woolf's poem-like novel The Waves. Through interwoven voices, she gives full play to contradictory elements in life: imposed traditional roles versus emerging self-awareness, deconstruction of individuality versus establishment of community, loss of identity versus conception of hope, want of communication versus lack of contacts, suffocating social conventions versus ever-expanding inner freedom, etc. To solve the above myths, what is the right thing to do next? How to make sensible choices? How should one find his or her place in the mist of prevailing chaos for the sake of securing a concrete "self"? These are the questions Woolf poses to all her readers.The paper ends with a conclusion, which summarizes the central binaries singled out in previous chapters. In addition, judging from within any binary pairs, the two opposites are inharmonious with yet inalienable from each other. To sum up, Woolf displays a panoramic view both of binary opposition as a mature literary theory and of her three fictions as an effective vehicle of this principle.