There is a saying that the worth of a man’s life is best measured by the degree to which he has if he has touched the lives of others and not by the quantity of worldly possessions that he has acquired. It is important to keep this in mind when considering Virginia Woolf’s novel, To The Lighthouse. Throughout the novel, it seems as though the characters, mainly Mr. And Mrs. Ramsay, are trying to find worth in their lives. As a first time reader of the novel, it immediately seemed clear to me that the eight children that Mr. And Mrs. Ramsay have bore and raised gives significant worth to their lives; however, they feel that they need more. They both appear to be good and decent people, and yet there is an inner struggle that is apparent in both characters, as well as others, to find a way to leave a lasting mark on this earth after their death.
For Mrs. Ramsay, the quest appears in her charity for other people. Her character is caring and giving. She shows great concern for social inequality and is charitable to those less fortunate than herself. She has a certain aura about her which draws people to her. She is able to talk to most people and get them to talk to her. She is aware of this quality and secretly prides herself on it. In fact, she needs it, and when it does not come to her, she tries to find fault or reason for it. Mrs. Ramsay becomes irritated when Carmichael shrinks away from her and at one point, she admits her awareness of this, and we see her searching for a way to make Carmichael feel closer to her.
He never told her anything. But what more could she have done? There was a sunny room given up to him. The children were good to him. Never…
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…; intellectually, through writing and literature, and compassionately through her focus on human beings, their relationships and their need to be needed. Throughout the novel, the different characters help each other, as insignificantly as it may seem, and we see that each life has it’s place. So, did Virginia Woolf succeed in her quest to leave a lasting mark on mankind after her death? The answer seems simple. Yes. Her readers and followers are living proof.
Works Cited and Consulted
Burt, John. “Irreconcilable Habits of Thought in A Room of One’s Own and To the Lighthouse.” ELH 49.4 (1982): 889-907.
Fokkema, Douwe W. An Interpretation of To the Lighthouse. Tel Aviv, Israel, 1979.
Ruddick, Lisa. The Seen and the Unseen: Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse. Cambridge: Harvard, 1977.
Woolf, Virginia. To the Lighthouse. New York: Oxford, 1999.
Madness and Insanity in Shakespeare’s Hamlet – Hamlet is Truly Sane
Hamlet is Truly Sane
In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, we meet an interesting character named Hamlet. His father is killed and he finds out it was his uncle who murdered him. This, among other events, is believed to drive Hamlet insane. But he is not insane, he merely puts on an act because he craves attention, and is really quite sane. There are little incidents that tell the truth of his state of mind. He plans ahead, before doing something important. He acts in a calm and rational manner (most of the time) when planning, and when carrying out this plan, acts irrational. Everything he does is done for a viable reason; there is a purpose to what he does and why he does it. Also, Hamlet is aware of what is going on around him, something someone insane would not see.
Hamlet plans ahead before doing certain tasks. When the acting company comes along, Hamlet talks to himself discussing that the play will bring about the conscience of the killer. He thinks of a play where a man is killed by someone close, something that resembles Hamlet’s father’s murder. This was not done in a state of insanity, and it was not spurr-of-the-moment idea. Hamlet thought this through and planned it out ahead. People insane do not think to plan ahead and do not act in rational manner. When Hamlet does act irrationally, it is in front of people; it is as if Hamlet wants the world to think he is insane. But maybe his reason for acting insane is legitamite.
Many of Hamlet’s actions are done for a viable reason. He does not go off and do random acts of violence or anything of the sort. When Hamlet was going to kill Claudius the first time, he stopped himself, because Claudius was in confession. If Hamlet had killed him there, all of Cladius’ sins would have been wiped away, and Hamlet feared sending him to heaven, so he would wait for a better time to kill Claudius. When Hamlet was arguing with his mother and Polonius approaches, Hamlet assumes it was the King. They scuffle, and Hamlet stabs Polonius. Hamlet thought it was the King, a viable reason, just not true.
The most important reason to prove Hamlet’s sanity is that he is aware of what is going on around him.