New Women And Ideal Women:a Brief Interpretation Of Feminism In To The Lighthouse

Virginia Woolf, who was among the most significant writers of the twentieth century, made herself unparalleled with her brand new ideas embodied in her works. On the one hand, Woolf introduced a new form of novel to the academic world. Her stream-of-consciousness novels were just like a breath of fresh air and set a model for the coming writers. On the other hand, she paid her attention to the life and psychological world of women and produced a lot of insightful works. So she contributed to the literary circle in the two aspects mentioned above. In her writings, she explored the social issue of sexual discrimination and tried to improve women’s living situations through her works.To the Lighthouse has roused strong repercussions in academic circles, becoming a hot topic among scholars engaged in feminist study at home and abroad. It is widely recognized that To the Lighthouse embodies the most obvious autobiographical features in Woolf s novels. The story in To the Lighthouse is a literary version of Woolf’s virtual life, Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay being Woolf’s real parents, Lily being Woolf herself. Woolf created this novel partly to memorize her past and her parents. So studying this novel is the essential stepping stone to understand the unique thoughts of Virginia Woolf. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze her feminist thoughts revealed in this well-known masterpiece and to prove the argument that the new woman excels the ideal woman.In this novel, Virginia Woolf pays close attention to women’s lives and puts forwards her perspectives on how women could lead their own true lives. And the argument of this thesis is that Lily represents the new women who strive hard for freedom and seek self-fulfillment and heir own bliss, not being dominated by men. On the contrary, Lily’s mother, Mrs. Ramsay, is a reflection of the ideal woman in Victorian era. She plays the role of the household manager, mother and wife, focusing on domestic chores everyday. She is just like the angel according to Woolf’s famous essay. A conclusion can be drawn in this thesis is that the new woman, stood for by Lily, excels the Mrs. Ramsay-style ideal woman. This thesis is made up of seven chapters. Chapter one is a general introduction. Chapter two is literature review. Chapter three discusses about the writer and her novel, To the Lighthouse. The writer’s life and its influence over Woolf are explored in this chapter. Chapter four, Virginia Woolf s feminine consciousness, introduces the background of Virginia Woolf s feminine consciousness and Woolf’s concern for women and opinions on writing. Chapter five, women’s life in Victorian Age, explains the two different types of women:the ideal woman and the new woman. The main part, chapter six, tries to prove that the new woman excels the ideal woman. The last chapter is the conclusion.