Summary: Chapter XII
As they walk together, Mrs. Ramsay brings up to Mr. Ramsay
her worries about their son Jasper’s proclivity for shooting birds
and her disagreement with Mr. Ramsay’s high opinion of Charles Tansley. She
complains about Tansley’s bullying and excessive discussion of his
dissertation; Mr. Ramsay counters that his dissertation is all that Tansley
has in his life. He adds that he would disinherit their daughter
Prue if she married Tansley, however. They continue walking, and
the conversation turns to their children. They discuss Prue’s beauty
and Andrew’s promise as a student. Still walking, they reach a conversational
impasse reflecting a deeper emotional distance. Mr. Ramsay mourns
that the best and most productive period of his career is over,
but he chastises himself for his sadness, thinking that his wife
and eight children are, in their own way, a fine contribution to
“the poor little universe.” Her husband and his moods amaze Mrs.
Ramsay, who realizes that he believes that his books would have
been better had he not had children. Impressive as his thoughts are,
she wonders if he notices the ordinary things in life such as the view
or the flowers. She notices a star on the horizon and wants to point
it out to her husband, but stops. The sight, she knows, will somehow
only sadden him. Lily comes into view with William Bankes, and Mrs.
Ramsay decides that the couple must marry.
Summary: Chapter XIII
Lily listens to William Bankes describe the art he has
seen while visiting Europe. She reflects on the number of great
paintings she has never seen but decides that not having seen them
is probably best since other artists’ work tends to make one disappointed
with one’s own. The couple turns to see Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay watching
Prue and Jasper playing ball. The Ramsays become, for Lily, a symbol
of married life. As the couples meet on the lawn, Lily can tell
that Mrs. Ramsay intends for her to marry Bankes. Lily suddenly
feels a sense of space and of things having been blown apart. Mrs.
Ramsay worries since Paul Rayley and Minta Doyle have not yet returned
from their walk and asks if the Ramsays’ daughter Nancy accompanied them.
Summary: Chapter XIV
Nancy, at Minta’s request and out of a sense of obligation,
has accompanied Minta and Paul on their walk. Nancy wonders what Minta
wants as she keeps taking then dropping Nancy’s hand. Andrew appreciates
the way Minta walks, wearing more sensible clothes than most women
and taking risks that most women will not. Still, this outing disappoints
Andrew. In the end, he does not like taking women on walks or the
chummy way that Paul claps him on the back. The group reaches the
beach and Nancy explores the tiny pools left by the ebb tide. Andrew
and Nancy come upon Paul and Minta kissing, which irritates them.
Upon leaving the beach, Minta discovers that she has lost her grandmother’s
brooch. Everyone searches for it as the tide rolls in. Wanting to
prove his worth, Paul resolves to leave the house early tomorrow
morning in order to scour the beach for the brooch. He thinks with
disappointment on the moment he asked Minta to marry him. He considers
admitting this disappointment to Mrs. Ramsay, who, he believes,
forced him into proposing, but, as the well-lit house comes into
view, he decides not to make a fool of himself.
Summary: Chapter XV
Prue, in answer to her mother’s question, replies that
she thinks that Nancy did accompany Paul and Minta.
Summary: Chapter XVI
As Mrs. Ramsay dresses for dinner, she wonders if Nancy’s
presence will distract Paul from proposing to Minta. Mrs. Ramsay
lets her daughter Rose choose her jewelry for the evening, a ceremony
that somehow saddens her. She becomes increasingly distressed by
Paul and Minta’s tardiness, worrying for their safety and fearing
that dinner will be ruined. Eventually she hears the group return
from its walk and feels annoyed. Everyone assembles in the dinning
room for dinner.
Analysis—The Window: Chapters XII–XVI
Woolf’s disjointed story line would have been especially
shocking to readers raised on Victorian novels, who were used to
linear narratives, elaborate plots, and the mediating voice of an
author. Woolf eliminates these traditional narrative elements and
presents her characters’ competing visions of reality. As Mr. and
Mrs. Ramsay stroll on the lawn, for instance, Woolf forces us to
weigh and judge their various perceptions. Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay’s
viewpoints conflict over whether it is more important to publish
a remarkable dissertation or to have the ability to “notice his
own daughter’s beauty, or whether there was pudding on his plate
of roast beef.” She portrays Mr. Ramsay’s cold, domineering neuroses
as completely as Mrs. Ramsay’s generosity and love. Woolf’s goal
is not to present one character’s experience as the truth but rather
to bring opposing worldviews and visions of reality, such as those
held by the Ramsays, into a unified story.
