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[S]he could not say it. . . . [A}s she looked at him she began to smile, for though she had not said a word, he knew, of course he knew, that she loved him. He could not deny it. And smiling she looked out of the window and said (thinking to herself, Nothing on earth can equal this happiness)—
This passage, taken from Chapter XIX
of “The Window,” is a lyrical demonstration of how disjointed people
and their fragmented emotions can come together. Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay
represent opposite approaches to life. Possessed of a stolidly rational
and scientific mind, Mr. Ramsay relies on what can be studied, proven,
and spoken. Hence, at the end of “The Window,” he wants to hear
Mrs. Ramsay declare her love for him. Mrs. Ramsay, however, navigates life
on a less predictable course. She is led by her emotions rather than
her mind. This approach provides her a greater range and freedom
of expression. For instance, she can express her affection for her
guests by orchestrating a lovely and memorable evening rather than
forcing herself to articulate (or, like Mr. Ramsay, punish herself for
not being able to articulate) these feelings. In Woolf’s estimation, these
traits are gender-specific. She argues that men are most often satisfied
by direct declarations, as when, in the novel’s final pages, James
is mollified only by his father’s praise of his sailing skills. Women,
on the other hand, often convey their meaning by what they choose
