Solitude In Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse

3.2 Solitude as a consequence of failure in communication

As one of the Modernist central themes, the impossibility of genuine communication is also the cause of solitude. In Mrs Dalloway and To The Lighthouse, the inability to communicate is exemplified especially by the two couples in the novels. In Mrs Dalloway, after learning that Peter Walsh has returned to London, Mr Dalloway wants to express his love to Mrs Dalloway through verbal communication. “Here he was walking across London to say to Clarissa in so many words that he loved her. Which one never does say, he thought. Partly one's lazy; partly one's shy.” (90) Yet, he ends up not being able to utter any words but only gives her a bunch of flowers. “He was holding out flowers...(But he could not bring himself to say he loved her; not in so many words.) But how lovely, she said, taking his flowers. She understood; she understood

The unsuccessful communication between them is largely attributed to their self-enclosure, resulting in solitude. The inability to express love as seen in Mr Dalloway is manifested again in Mrs Ramsay:

“He wanted something--wanted the thing she always found it so difficult to give him; wanted her to tell him that she loved him. And that, no, she could not do. He found talking so much easier than she did. He could say things--she never could...A heartless woman he called her; she never told him that she loved him. But...It was only that she never could say what she felt...Will you not tell me just for once that you love me? He was thinking that.” (133-134)

Mr Ramsay is seeking acknowledgement and comfort from Mrs Ramsay, but Mrs Ramsay's self-enclosure saddens and disappoints him. Indeed, Mrs Ramsay is incapable of articulating her feelings and thoughts, but Mr Ramsay, who “could say things” (133), is not a good communicator either. Both of them are enclosed in their own space and unable to transcend