Virginia Woolf Psychology

When authors write novels they are relinquishing part of themselves to their audience. After Virginia Woolf’s suicide many psychologists analyzed her novels and diagnosed her with manic-depressive and bipolar disorder. In To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf’s applies psychological concepts, such as unconscious motives, oedipus complex, and the stream of consciousness, to give us greater insight into her own ways of thinking, so that we can be more tolerant of those with mental illness.
Throughout the novel it becomes abundantly clear that Woolf has unconsciously made Mrs. and Mr. Ramsay her parents. Upon beginning the novel we are led to believe that Mrs. Ramsay is the protagonist of the story, but come part two we are given some terrible news, …show more content…
The relationship that James has with his parents is similar to what Woolf’s was with hers. Lilly and her painting are Virginia’s mental disorders. Lily herself is woolf’s bipolar illness. Physically Lily is young and attractive, but when it comes to who she is as a person, she is living in the shadow of others unable to stand up for herself, this is because throughout the writing of her novel her disorder was impacting how she felt about herself. While her views were shifting as she wrote, she didn 't go back and change what she had written in her previous state, because she wanted us to see the extent of her disorder and how it prevented her from having one set view on anything. She also wants to convey to us that this happens to in some way shape or form to many of those among the bipolar community and that it isn 't something they can control so we need to be patient with them. Lily’s painting is Virginia’s depression. Lily feels that her painting is worthless and has no meaning this is how Woolf felt about her work, herself, and ultimately why she ended up taking her life. Both Lily and Virginia can only express themselves through their work and finishing the painting/novel despite the struggles they had to deal with was their way of saying, “Take that!” to the world. For both of them, but mostly Lily it was proving to Tansley that his statement that, “Women can’t paint or write”(136) is completely and utterly preposterous. For Virginia it was more fighting her depression and being able to do something that was beneficial and therapeutic to her. Virginia Woolf’s choice to use stream of consciousness helped us to see how her brain functions with her mental illness, and why she views herself and others the way she