Pride And Prejudice Critical Lens Essay

It is true that in both Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, plot is used to dramatize certain themes. Although, in Virginia Woolf’s book To the Lighthouse the plot is less significant, it still has some significance to the dramatization. Woolf creates a unique approach and goes into the characters minds. She dramatizes the events by narrating them through characters inner thoughts. This technique is called the “stream-of-consciousness.” “Virginia Woolf is one of the precursors of modernist English fiction and a master of the technique of stream-of-consciousness (Sümbül 3).” These thoughts do not follow a steady order. They are “composed of the continual activity of characters’ consciousness and shower

This process is yet again dramatized by the characterization process. I presume Mrs Ramsay is the most complicated character for this matter. In the chapter 12, she looks a passionate about the meeting. However, as her inner thoughts revealed further, it appears that she is conflicting with herself. “But, what have I done with my life (Woolf 76)?” Similarly, Mr Ramsay tries to find a fulfilment in life as the book scopes deeper into his mind. He tries to leave a mark in the world by trying to become a great philosopher in the future. Lily also symbolically starts her search fulfilment by her painting. In the last part she completes her painting and, in a sense, she finds fulfilment. I presume her painting process too can be considered as a “plot”, and it is an important addition the theme of this book. As readers learn and about these characters, universal concepts like “time” or “fulfilment” make themselves relevant to the plot. Mostly, they occur with the stream-of-consciousness. However, there are still important plot events in which Woolf supports her themes. Word War I and ten year time period are all still remain to be significant. Cam and James also go to the lighthouse together. Symbolically, I think their arrival to lighthouse and around the same time Lily’s completion of her painting contributes to the theme of fulfilment. These points seem insignificant,

However, considering the plot completely irrelevant can make the reader miss important points. There are, as I mentioned, still relevant events which contributes the overall content. Of course in both Great Expectations and Pride and Prejudice the novels are structured around the plot. They demonstrate a problem of a whole society. Rather than the shocking, dramatized events, in To the Lighthouse, narration focuses around characters internal world. Characters often search a meaning in life. Focusing internal thoughts is a very effective way to explore philosophy. Philosophy is all about thoughts after all. In chapter 3, she uses brackets to narrate some of the plot which indicates their insignificance. Yet, I do believe the plot’s presence still contributes to overall the dramatization of the themes in one way or