The Lighthouse


Updated August 14, 1997

Created August 14, 1997


Chapter 1

It has been ten years since they have all been back to the house. Lily wonders what it means to her to be back at the Ramsay’s. Mr. Ramsay, Cam, and James are going to the Lighthouse, but the children are not ready. Mr. Ramsay, as usual, becomes angry because Nancy has forgotten to order the sandwiches. She does not know what to send to the Lighthouse the way her mother did. Lily felt the whole scene aimless and chaotic. Mrs. Ramsay, Andrew, and Prue are all dead, yet Lily feels nothing. She tries her best to avoid Mr. Ramsay. She then remembers the picture that she attempted ten years ago. She decides to paint it now. Neither James or Cam wants to go to the Lighthouse. Lily does not want Mr. Ramsay to come near her or see her painting.

Chapter 2

Mr. Ramsay approaches Lily now needing sympathy from her. She cannot give him sympathy and so praises his boots. Cam and James show up rather melancholy. Only then does she feel any pity for him at all. She realizes that he no longer has Mrs. Ramsay to talk to at night. Then they are off.

Chapter 3

While Lily tries to paint, she recalls Charles Tansley’s voice telling her she cannot paint. She wonders about the meaning of life. She walks to the edge of the lawn and sees the boat on which Mr. Ramsay, Cam, and James are to set sail.

Chapter 4

Mr. Ramsay, James, and Cam are in the boat with Macalister and his son. James and Cam hope the breeze will not come and take them closer to the Lighthouse. They feel their father has forced them to go. Cam looks back at the house as they drift out, and Mr. Ramsay remembers walking along the terrace and people sympathizing with him. Cam shows feelings of loving her father and being proud of him. She also thinks of the past and the people that are now gone. Mr. Ramsay teases her about not knowing the points of the compass. Then he sees that Cam looks frightened and is quiet and wants to make her feel better. James seems to feel nothing for his father, yet he wants his approval. He remembers feeling angry with his mother. Cam is torn because she loves her father, but then remembers the "crash blindness and tyranny of [her father] which had poisoned her childhood and raised bitter storms, so that even now she woke in the night trembling with rage and remembered some command of his; some insolence…his dominance: his ‘Submit to me’" (170). She looks at the shore and feels that the people that used to be there are now free.

Chapter 5

Lily sees them go out and again remembers Mrs. Ramsay. She continues her painting. She thinks of Minta and Paul and how their marriage has not been the best, though they have found a way to make it work. She remembers William Bankes and his admiration for Mrs. Ramsay. She and William have remained good friends. As she remembers more and more, her feelings become more intense, and she cries. She then calls out for Mrs. Ramsay.

Chapter 6

Macalister’s boy mutilates a fish for bait.

Chapter 7

Lily continues painting and thinking of Mrs. Ramsay, relieved that Mr. Carmichael has not heard her. She contemplates how many times she has thought about Mrs. Ramsay after hearing about her death. The boat is now half-way across the bay.

Chapter 8

The boat passengers wait for another breeze to get them to the Lighthouse. Mr. Ramsay is reading. James thinks back remembering his mother and growing angry again at his father. As he thinks about his mother, the wind picks up, and they move on.

Chapter 9

Lily looks out over the sea and can no longer see the boat.

Chapter 10

Cam reflects on the good things about her father, when she felt safe with him.

Chapter 11

Lily is still looking for the boat—the brown speck. She thinks of Mrs. Ramsay, Mr. Carmichael, and Mr. Tansley. She feels that Tansley is a hypocrite (197). She thinks of Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay together and how he had tired his wife. Yet, they always managed to work through things. She can see Mrs. Ramsay knitting her reddish-brown stocking (202). She goes again to the edge of the lawn looking for the boat and wanting Mr. Ramsay?

Chapter 12

As the group gets closer to the Lighthouse, Mr. Ramsay opens up the lunch. As they eat, Cam feels secure. James sees his father as lonely "which was for both of them the truth about things" (203). When they pass over where three men drowned, Mr. Ramsay does not break into poetry, much to the surprise of James and Cam. When they reach the shore, Mr. Ramsay praises the job James has done steering them like a born sailor (206). James is pleased that his father has praised him, but will not let anyone see it. Both James and Cam want to do something for him, but he does not ask anything of them.

Chapter 13

Lily says to herself that Mr. Ramsay must have reached the Lighthouse. Mr. Carmichael joins her and agrees. She states, "It is finished" (208). She is then able to finish her painting, even though she feels it will be hung in the attics. She has had her vision.


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