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Virgina Woolf Concept Map - Coggle Diagram
Virgina Woolf Concept Map
Gender Roles
As Mrs.Dalloway finds herself battling against her own desires to live a life outside of the conventional, the audience sympathizes with her. Similar to Mrs. Ramsey chafes against the gender norms that are set before her. Mrs.Ramsey is representative of the conflicting feelings a woman holds when choosing between a life that was built for her versus a life that she builds for herself. She wonders what a life different from hers would be like.
Both Clarissa and Mrs. Ramsey is grappling with the challenges of being a woman in a patriarchal society. They are both constrained by societal expectations and gender roles, and they must navigate the complexities of balancing their own desires and ambitions with the demands placed upon them by society and their families.
In "Orlando" Orlando experiences being two genders. He is both a woman and a man however he takes on the look of only one at different times in the book. Woolf makes the argument that gender is fluid. Woolf's usage of the pronoun "they" subverted language that was traditionally gendered and expressed the fluidity of gender identity. Orlando is referred to as "they" by Woolf, who both acknowledges their development and implies that gender is a complicated and diverse part of identity that is difficult to identify.
In "To The Lighthouse" Mr. and Mrs.Ramsey conform to traditional gender roles. Mr.Ramsey fits the masculine aspects of a man and Mrs. Ramsey is the nurturing mother and wife. Mr. Ramsey is intellectually driven and committed to leaving a lasting legacy. Their relationship is weakened as a result of his frequent dismissal of his wife's opinions and sentiments. In contrast, Mrs. Ramsey is a welcoming and nurturing character who frequently serves as a liaison between her husband and the couple's kids and visitors. Many of the other characters in the book look up to her because of her grace, beauty, and intelligence.
Jaime Hovey explains that Virginia Woolf explores the complexity of homosexual and white female sexuality in her novel Orlando, which is linked with national and racial issues in 1920s England. In trying to both provide a home for sexually polymorphic white women inside their class and nation and challenge the ideological confines of national impulses, Woolf's investigation is paradoxical and equivocal. Woolf illuminates the intricate ways in which unique identity and experience are affected by larger social and historical influences by situating the investigation of queer and white female sexuality within these more general social issues.
Ambitions
As Lily struggles to finish her painting it shows the conflict between creativity and order. "To The Lighthouse" tackles the challenges of balancing creative drive with structure and order in life. As Lily is often confronted with life outside gender norms, the way in which she finishes her painting shows that a woman can have an artistic drive.
The Arts
In "A Room Of One's Own" Woolf discusses the impact of a woman's work literature. As Shakespeare's sister was a poet who never was able to take ownership of her work, her essence still lives in that same work. Still, her words are studied. Woolf proves that women can have a long-lasting effect with their work despite the lack of recognition.
“Why did men drink wine and women water? Why was one sex so prosperous and the other so poor?”
“Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.”
Orlando during his time as a man was able to accomplish a lot. Yet societal expectations and constraints frequently get in the way of his ambition when he becomes a woman. She cannot succeed to the same degree as a woman. She is compelled to conceal her true identity, and the limitations imposed by gender conventions frequently impede her aspirations. What is interesting about this situation is that Woolf raises the question “What if it were a man placed in the shoes of a woman?” instead of the other way around. What if men had to endure what women went through?
“I'm sick to death of this particular self. I want another.”
Woolf's writing focuses on the nonhuman world as Louise Westling explains. Woolf has written about landscapes, the weather, and other nonhuman things. In “Orlando”, Orlando publishes "The Oak Tree." While the tree represents the growth that Orlando has undergone, the tree also represents the Woolf effects that nature has on individuals. She believes that humans have had little impact on the actual shape of the location. It is the nonhuman environment in which humans grow. The Oak Tree illustrates the ambitions of Orlando as he develops this poem over 300 years.
“And all the lives we ever lived and all the lives to be are full of trees and changing leaves.”
Mental Illness
In The Hours all three women have one thing in common, they all suffer from depression. The film explores the different ways in which individuals feel alienated in the midst of their depression. For example, when Virginia's husband says, "If I could walk midmorning, I'd be a happy man", the implications become clear. He questions Virginia about her unhappiness because she has control over her body. Those who suffer from depression encountered comments of confusion from others. Those types of comments invalidate her feelings.
Clarissa Vaughan in The Hours suffers from depression. Even though she is surrounded by people who love her, she struggles to connect with others and cannot seem to find any purpose in her life. Her mental condition is portrayed as an all-encompassing sense of desolation and misery.
Septimus exists only in his head. He frequently experiences phantom visions and sounds, such as conversing with his deceased friend Evans, whose loss appears to upset Septimus the most. Unquestionably, his mental disorder prevents him from interacting normally. Is it that no friend or family member understands the gravity of his illness or is it that they simply don’t want to see it? The cover-up of the illness depicts the suffocating environment in which Woolf grew up.
WW2
In The Hours, Richard tells Clarissa that she is always “giving parties to cover the silence.” But what silence is he referring to? The silence of her unfulfilling life or the silence of her internal chaos. He furthers that he thinks that he is staying alive to satisfy Clarissa. And Clarissa responds with that's what people do, stay alive for each other. This illustrates a dependent image of human beings. They rely on others to keep them moving instead of themselves. Clarissa doesn't want to think of herself. She wants to move her attention away from her problems and so she distracts herself with parties and taking care of Richard.
“Mrs. Dalloway is always giving parties to cover the silence”
The portentous language that Woolf uses to describe the disabling effect that illness has on people in a section of Outka’s essay entitled On Seeing Illness contrasts her subtleness in her writing. Both her description of illness and the portrayal of it through her characters like Septimus and Clarissa Dalloway depict the gravity and the reality of illness. Septimus is haunted by the voices of the war and those around him suppress his need for help. Clarissa struggles internally as she contemplates how to appear perfect to those watching. Woolf writes “...how we go down into the pit of death and feel the waters of annihilation close above our heads and wake thinking to find ourselves in the presence of angels…” (Outka 107). Woolf outlines the feeling of suffocation as one battling illness and the desire to be cured of it.
Social Class
Most of Clarissa's friends are in the same or higher social classes. It's interesting to see how Clarissa looks down on people like Miss Kilman because she is socially inferior. Her look is frequently contrasted with the sophistication of the upper-class characters, and she is depicted as being poor and uneducated. In fact, Miss Kilman is portrayed as an intense and authoritative person who resents the upper class. Why does she resent the upper class is the question that is raised. Could Kilman secretly wish to be rich and powerful like Clarissa and her friends? Could the gap between the working and upper class be so wide that it causes people from the working class to hate those social above them? The purpose of Kilman’s character is to depict those who are underrepresented in the social hierarchy of London.
Working-class Miss Kilman is shown as having to fight for her position in society. She serves as a governess and is frequently spotted with Elizabeth, one of her little charges. Miss Kilman is portrayed as a severe and authoritative person, and there is tension and uneasiness in her relationship with Elizabeth.
Peter once refers to Clarissa as the perfect hostess (as she always hosts parties) and Clarissa cries. This indicates that she is upset that Peter sees her in such a light. Her whole identity is built off of the standards that society imposes on her. Being part of the upper class she feels obligated to host grand parties to please society.
Zwerdlin explains that Mrs. Dalloway is a sympathetic portrait of a person who has given in to the pressures of society and the life they expected her to lead. As a result, her emotions and desires were buried.
The idea of an imperfect marriage is explored in Mrs.Dalloway. As Richard and Clarissa know that their relationship lacks passion. Clarissa only chose him because he could give her a safe and therefore traditional life which is admired as shes part of the upper class.
Imperfect Marriage
Try to think as little about yourself as you can, Sir William advises when the frantic Septimus stammers in Dr. Bradshaw's office. Zwerdling explains that this feeling of repression is accredited to the social pressures of the upper class. Since the upper class is focused on the exterior and how others view them this shows how everyone functions to cover up their imperfections. In this case, Dr. Bradshaw attempts to cover up Septimus' illness as he was conditioned to cover up the reality of life.
