The body under erasure: To the Lighthouse, “Time Passes”, section 3

André Viola

Abstract :
In “Time Passes”;, the second part of To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf deliberately attempted to obliterate human characters, and the main agents are the natural elements. Section 3 for instance is devoted to cosmic disruption and death, but, implicitely, it is the body of the dead mother which is being assaulted throughout. In fact, the lack of apparent emotion in the narrating voice may be a cathartic reenacting of that moment when young Virginia realized in horror that she felt like laughing in front of the dead body of Julia Stephen.
Published : 2005-06-25

Citation

André Viola, « The body under erasure: To the Lighthouse, “Time Passes”, section 3 », Cycnos, 2005-06-25. URL : http://epi-revel.univ-cotedazur.fr/publication/item/712