Feminist Criticism In Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse

Virginian Woolf was an English author who was born and raised into a privileged household in England in 1982 (Bio.com Editors). She worked as an essayist, novelist, publisher and critic. Several pieces of her writings such as essays, short stories, and novels were published throughout the 1920’s (Virginia Woolf – Biography). She is the author of To the Lighthouse, published in 1928; a work that embodies her exploration of independence and that juxtaposes two different images of women. The feminist approach lends itself well to a reading of the novel; it is a suitable approach to the novel as it critiques a patriarchal society and functions to make all aware of the gender limiting elements of life. By applying the feminist approach to the characters of Mrs. Ramsay, Mr. Tansley, Andrew Ramsay, and Lily Briscoe who are observed in the novel, To the Lighthouse, one is able to view the attitudes towards women of the time. A patriarchal society is defined as a society in which men have significant power over women (Napioski). It is a society that empowers men and subordinates women to the status of objects. In turn, the feminist approach is based on the belief that gender determines everything or that gender determines nothing. Various aspects of the feminist approach including examining …show more content…
Vivid illustrations of the expectations of the female are made clear through the use of the feminist approach as a lens to view the novel, an approach that attacks the patriarchal society and advocates for equality. To the Lighthouse depicts two different types of women found in a patriarchal society along with the attitudes that men held towards women at the time. Virginia Woolf, an author who wrote about her independence and who explores issues of equality, will continue to be an influential writer for feminists for generations to