The De-Romanticization Of Paternity And Male Characters And Woolf’s Romantic Volarisation Of Female Characters In Virginia Woolf’s To The Lighthouse

Abstract

This paper explores the complex relationship among Virginia Woolf’s serious yet whimsical characters in her luminous fiction, To the Lighthouse. Woolf is the champion of complicating the stance and determination of her characters. This study is an attempt to find out how Woolf treats her characters and to reach an agreed point where she discriminates between genders. The study also attempts to find out how and why Woolf appropriates and relegates male characters, particularly Mr. Ramsay’s to a secondary and less important position. The critique of male characters and an unwarranted appropriation of substantial value to women characters is the main focus of the paper. The study is qualitative in nature and employs theories of Sigmund Freud, especially his Electra Complex and other personality theories. The study concludes that male characters have been de-romanticized and women characters have been uplifted to a valorized status.