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Narrative Characters In The Waves By Virginia Woolf

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Virginia Woolf’s “The Waves” is an eloquent and poetic novel, far ahead of its time. Portraying the beauty and the complexities of human life by following the lives of six friends from childhood through adulthood and even to death, the novel contains almost no dialogues and the author uses the thoughts of the characters to convey the story to the reader; making the experience unforgettably unique. The novel showcases the beauty of the English Language through an articulate use of words in order to convey feelings of joy, sorrow, and regret. Despite the novel’s poetic language, stylistic expression and vivid imagery, Woolf has managed to retain the inherent narrative nature of the novel by utilizing a plethora of narrative characteristics and techniques consisting of themes, plots, structures and conflicts.

An essential trait of narrative is the use of conflicts. Conflicts are struggles between two opposing forces; they build the reader’s interest in the novel. Woolf has managed to employ this technique by juxtaposing concepts and ideas within the novel. The creation of a protagonist and an antagonist is a necessary step to the forging of any narrative. The clash between these two entities is the drives the suspense of a story and keeps the reader engaged. Percival, the symbol of order in a world of chaos, the proclaimed ‘God’ amongst men and the liberator of Identities, is the protagonist of this story. There is only one force that can conquer every hero -Death itself.

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