Argument: Mrs. Ramsey is triumphant over Mr. Ramsey, by her awareness and intuitive feeling of the more important things in life: the value of human relationships. Though she is submissive, with no mention of extensive educational background, she innately possesses the crucial social skills that gain: the cohesion of the family as a whole; the respect and love of her children, and the continued survival of her marriage.
Part I: The Window
“Had there been an axe handy, or a poker, any weapon that would have gashed a hole in his father’s breast and killed him, there and then, James would have seized it… .(Mr. Ramsey) grinning sarcastically, not only with the pleasure of disillusioning his son and casting ridicule upon his w:j’e, who was ten thousand times better in every way than he was (James thought).” P4
“Yes, of course, if it ‘sfine tomorrow, “said Mrs. Ramsey. To her son these words conveyed an extraordinary joy. P3
“Perhaps you will wake up and find the sun shining and the birds singing, “she said compassionately, smoothing.the little boy’s hair, for her husband, with his caustic saying that it would not be fine, had dashed his spirits she could see. P15
“But” said his father, “it won ‘t be fine. ” P4
“No going to the Lighthouse, James, “he said. P14
“What he (Mr. Ramsay) said was 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. ” P4
“When the great clangour of the gong announced solemnly, authoritatively, that all those scattered about, in attics, in bedrooms, on little perches of their own, reading, writing, putting the last smooth to their hair, or fastening dresses, must leave all that, and the little odds and ends on their washing-tables and dressing-tables, and the novels on the bed-tables, and the diaries which were so private, and assemble in the dining-room for dinner.
Essays on The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock: Another Analysis
An Analysis of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
“Prufrock” is a dramatic monologue, in which it is possible that the speaker is talking to another male, or just talking to himself; his alter ego. Throughout the poem Prufrock is too scared to make a move and seize the day because he keeps saying, “there will be time.” His destiny is that he will be old and loveless, hence the irony of the title, because he cannot bring himself to articulate his emotions to another woman. This is actually a pathetic parody of a Lovesong because there is no one to listen to it. Prufrock fears that he will not be heard and this is manifested in the line that refers to the Sirens that sing to Odysseus to lure him to his death in the sea, but Prufrock fears that they will not listen to him.
The various allusions in the poem need to be understood to gain a better comprehension of what is going on. When he says that he “should have been a pair of ragged claws” this could be seen as a reference to Polonious’ character in Hamlet, one who is getting old (a fear of Prufrock’s) or it may be that he wants the brainless life of a little creature that scuttles along the sea and has no troubling finding a mate because it requires no effort He talks about the endless places to meet women, but it is no good because he and causes no anxiety in Prufrock because it is easy and primal.
The entire poem expresses his fear of women and the fact that he cannot successfully relate to them. He asks, “Do I dare? and, Do I dare? / Time to turn back and descend the stair” He still has time to go back to the party and take a chance, but he hesitates, and associates himself with Hamlet, who is also hesitant, but who finally decides to act in the end of the play.