The old woman and the sea, subtexts in Virginia Woolf's To the lighthouse

Chapter One will examine the first alternative to patriarchy, the sacrifice of the father, by tracing the influence of the Pin Well legend in Woolf's work. Chapter One will explore not only the phallic pins, but also the related notion of the gaze. In opposition to the gaze, Woolf sets out cove...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Peterson, Donna Kristin
Language:en_US
Published: 2007
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1993/1523
Description
Summary:Chapter One will examine the first alternative to patriarchy, the sacrifice of the father, by tracing the influence of the Pin Well legend in Woolf's work. Chapter One will explore not only the phallic pins, but also the related notion of the gaze. In opposition to the gaze, Woolf sets out coverings, and we will briefly examine the significance of shoes and stockings in her work. Chapter Two will explore the second alternative to patriarchy, the father who voluntarily abdicates his position of power, by examining the significance of the fairy tale "The Fisherman and His Wife," focusing on the way Woolf uses it to explore the relationship between male power and female creativity, and linking it with the character of Mr. Carmichael in To The Lighthouse. Chapter Three will look at a third alternative to patriarchy, the union of the father and the mother, by examining Woolf's marginal characters, particularly Mrs. McNab, the washerwoman who rescues the R msay's house in the central section of To The Lighthouse.(Abstract shortened by UMI.)