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Minta Doyle is one of the two young women of marriageable age staying at the Ramsays’ summer home, the other being Lily Briscoe. Mrs. Ramsay therefore makes it her duty to see Minta married, spending Part I of the book hoping that Minta and Paul’s walk to the shore will lead to an engagement. Throughout this section, Mrs. Ramsay projects her ideas of marriage and fears of modern womanhood onto Minta. Mrs. Ramsay observes that Minta is somewhat tomboyish and worries that her independence will cause her to reject Paul’s proposal. The idea of Minta rejecting Paul is horrible to Mrs. Ramsay because Mrs. Ramsay not only feels that marriage is the way humans find immortality but also because she believes it is the job of women to care for the feelings of men. She can barely focus on reading James a story because she is so worried about whether Minta will accept Paul’s proposal. These anxieties suggest that Mrs. Ramsay sees Minta as a synecdoche, or representative, of modern young women. Minta choosing marriage is not just her own choice, but a representation of modern youth, proof that social structures like marriage will continue.
In addition, because Minta is receptive to marriage and Lily is not, they serve as foils for each other, illustrating how marriage forces young women into stringent, stifling roles. In contrast to Lily, who resolves to never marry, Minta consents to marry Paul. In the immediate aftermath of Paul’s proposal, we see Minta begin to shrink herself into this new role. Before the proposal, Minta acts adventurous, singing and climbing the rocks. After, she relies on Paul to organize the search for her broach, assuage her fears, and comfort her. At the dinner party in Part I, Mrs. Ramsay and Lily observe how Minta’s propensity to flatter the men around her and willingly play a fool endears her to them. Minta calls this magnetism her “golden haze.” She doesn’t know what makes this golden haze appear, but contextually, it seems to surround Minta when she acts submissive and fawning. The changes brought on by her engagement mean that Minta’s glow is in full force during the dinner party. However, these changes are ultimately temporary. In Part III, Lily reveals that Paul and Minta’s marriage is unsuccessful because of Minta’s independence. Their unhappiness only eases when they allow themselves to be more friends than spouses, rejecting prescribed roles for their true natures.
