To the Lighthouse

 So the end of this novel was like a reading something written by two different authors. Part two seemed very dull and lacked a lot of plot. Instead, Woolf chose to write the section in a way that reflected the section title: “Time Passes”. While I didn’t enjoy it, I can definitely appreciate the method. It definitely clarified the idea that as life ends and begins, time still rolls on. This is especially important in the way Mrs. Ramsey’s death was portrayed. In part one, she seemed to be the focus. Not only was the section predominately about her, but the other characters all existed in respect to her it seems. Without her, Mr. Ramsey had no identity, James had no true place, and all the people she took in wouldn’t have been a part of the Ramsey family. However, Woolf seems to challenge her true purpose by killing her off in a bracket. There is no extra information about her death, yet it just becomes a point of interest without a second thought.  
 This, to me, shows the way women are dispensable. It seems as if Woolf is making a statement that women who do not exist in their own realm of life are destined to be forgotten; to be victims of time passing. It reminds me of the quote “Well behaved women rarely make history.” This passage seems like an affront to women who settle for the way of life that Mrs. Ramsey pursued. As I read through part three I even forgot that Mrs. Ramsey existed. This section showed how she truly meant nothing in the grand scheme of things, as we see James and his father reconciling in a sense, or at least reaching an understanding, because the thing that defined their relationship was no longer around to be factor. On the other hand, it was a little disheartening to see how quickly her memory vanished and her position was filled with Lily, a woman who wasn’t even supposed to be the same type of woman. While she showed genius in figuring out how to step in, she seemed to regress from a modern woman to a woman destined to be lost in time. Who knows…