Short Note on Interior Monologue
To the Lighthouse is a notable literary work by Virginia Woolf. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the main text, key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary Devices, Quotations, Notes, to various questions of To the Lighthouse.
Answer
Short Note on Interior Monologue
An interior monologue is a narrative technique that demonstrates the thoughts going through the protagonist’s mind. In other words, Interior monologue is a crucial storytelling technique to express a character’s thoughts and feelings.
At the beginning of the novel’s story, “To the Lighthouse” is a famous novel by Virginia Woolf (1882-1941). We enter the thoughts of Mrs. Ramsay, who wants to visit the lighthouse. However, her husband, Mr. Ramsay, thinks the weather will be wrong. It causes tension. We also hear from Lily Briscoe, a painter who doubts her talent because of a rude guy named Tansley. We get to know what all these characters are thinking and feeling. The story jumps ahead ten years. We see time passing, death, and sadness.
Mrs. Ramsay dies, and some of her kids, too. We learn how Mr. Ramsay struggles without her. The house is empty, and Mrs. McNab shows us how things have changed over the years. In the final section, we still hear what is happening inside the characters’ heads. Mr Ramsay plans a trip to the lighthouse with his children. However, his children are unhappy hearing it because they wanted to visit there with their mother, but now she is dead. It creates different types of thought in their thoughts. There is a sailor’s son who cuts a fish and shows his thoughts about life and death, which refers to interior monologue.
Besides, we see the inside of Lily Briscoe’s mind, a painter, as she tries to finish her painting. She tries to balance memories and impressions of the past to capture the truth about life. She realizes that her vision of coming to life is more important than leaving a legacy. So, in the novel “To the Lighthouse,” interior monologue helps us to understand the character’s inner thoughts deeply. We see their hopes and fears and how they change over time. Realizing the character’s thoughts and emotions, we are mixed with them and visit the world of interior monologue. So, the interior monologue makes this novel unique and praiseworthy.