Srpski

Abstract

This paper deals with the symbolic meanings of the Lighthouse in To the Lighthouse (1927), a novel about the Ramsay family, written by Virginia Woolf. We start from the theory of urbanism, which defines a building as the elementary unit of an urban form, that is, as a principal element from which a human settlement arises. We acknowledge that this theory regards every building as having its own physical and functional aspects, but also its symbolic connotation. Therefore, we reveal the symbolism of the Lighthouse in this novel, concluding that it conveys many physical and psychological meanings in the lives of the children, mother, and father Ramsay. In this respect, we point out that, in the frst part, for the Ramsays, the Lighthouse as a faraway sea construction symbolises a perfect (and as such unattainable) home they do not have and functions as an imaginary goal for its members; this stance of ours is confirmed by the fact that the Lighthouse is omitted from the second part of the novel – the one in which the Ramsays are gone as well; consequently, the final reaching of the Lighthouse island in the third part symbolically refers to the revitalisation of the Ramsay family by fulfilling an old, yet not entirely dead dream. We add that this effect is enhanced by the idea of completing an old painting, which happens at the same time as the Ramsays– disembarkation. Following these results, we draw a conclusion that the symbolic role of the Lighthouse is by no means negligible in this work, as it helps the development of its theme and secures the stability of its tripartite structure; that is, it strengthens the symmetry between the notions of instability, breakdown, and recovery of a family.