Time, Gender, and To the Lighthouse

One of the most provocative themes in To the Lighthouse is the issue of gender roles. Lily and Mrs. Ramsay are the two main female characters, who Woolf often contrasts with their predominately male company. In "The Window", Mr. Ramsay and Charles Tansley are the primary male figures that counterbalance the two women. Mrs. Ramsay acts as the traditional domesticated wife, who lives to serve her husband and children. More important is the fact that she is aware of her role, but she chooses to lead her life in this traditional manner. Lily on the other hand is more outspoken that Mrs. Ramsay, and she refuses to allow her will to be overcome by male expectations. She is defiant when Charles insists that women do not make for good artists, and much like Mrs. Ramsay, she shows a degree of awareness of her own identity as a woman.
In contrast, Mr. Ramsay and Charles do not seem to so aware of their own roles as men. In fact, their whole existence can be seen as the opposite of that of the women. Mr. Ramsay is completely self-centered and dependent on his wife, who knows that he is in need of constant reassurance and support despite his irritability. Mrs. Ramsay even goes so far as to blame herself for his condition, something that Lily despises. Working as his understudy, Charles is exactly that- a Mr. Ramsay in the making, which Lily is keen to prevent. While Lily generally avoids involving herself in Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay’s marital affairs, Lily has no trouble defending herself in front of Charles. Unlike Mr. Ramsay, Lily knew that Charles had not yet reached the point where he required constant reassurance and flattery; on the contrary, he was ambitious to be challenged.
What is most interesting to me throughout the course of To the Lighthouse is how these gender roles remain constant yet reveal themselves through different characters. In "The Lighthouse," much time has passed since "The Window," and Mrs. Ramsay has passed away. Her role as wife and mother is partially fulfilled by Lily, who assumes the responsibility of being Mr. Ramsay’s primary source of comfort. Perhaps she is compliant to his demands so that she may remain at the house and work on her art in peace, but one gets the sense that she is consciously aware of Mrs. Ramsay’s absence and feels the need to fill the void that she left. Cam balances this notion as she represents the young female point of view, much like Lily did years earlier. Cam is also teased by her father on the boat trip to the lighthouse, and she begins to endure the psychological effect seen earlier in Lily. While it may be assumed that Cam’s relationship with her father and brother long preceded the moments Woolf captures on the page, it is interesting that we see almost the exact situation again, years later in a new generation.
I have by no means exhausted the theme of gender roles in To the Lighthouse, and there are other characters, such as James and Macalister, who need to be explored in order to make more profound conclusions regarding the issue of gender within the novel. However, my scrutiny of this issue has opened my eyes to what I believe is an even greater force in To the Lighthouse, which is time. It is extraordinary how Woolf seamlessly transforms characters over time, and after "The Lighthouse" it is remarkable to go back and look at the first segment of the book and see how each character is reincarnated in the younger generation.