Woolfy's Lighthouse

Oh, Virginia Woolf. Woolfy, as she is called affectionately in some circles. I have a feeling she would hate the nickname.

I admit I have a love-hate relationship with Virginia Woolf. Occasionally I am blown away by her powerful words, other times I am depressed and wondering why I have to read this stuff. To the Lighthouse was not unique in this way. Yet, I found myself looking more closely for the turning points, the epiphanies. I find the title of the book, using a lighthouse, and interesting metaphor for an epiphany. A lighthouse itself could cause an epiphany of sorts: when you're watching that light and it turns and sears you in the eyes...your vision would never be the same, a physical epiphany of sorts.

"The Lighthouse was then a silvery, misty-looking tower with a yellow eye, that opened suddenly, and softly in the evening. Now—James looked at the Lighthouse. He could see the white-washed rocks; the tower, stark and straight; he could see that it was barred with black and white; he could see windows in it; he could even see washing spread on the rocks to dry. So that was the Lighthouse, was it?
No, the other was also the Lighthouse. For nothing was simply one thing. The other Lighthouse was true too."

This passage struck me as an epiphany...suddenly, the realization hits..."nothing is simply one thing." That seems a powerful image that could change the way you think. A lighthouse is never just a lighthouse...this idea also seems to capture the spirit of Virginia Woolf. Woolf never just looked at something and accepted it as it was, she was on a continual journey of exploring the depths of this thing, whether it be a person or lighthouse or words. A meaningful way to look at the world, and the responsibility of a great writer--to show the world that everything around us has more meaning, can carry an epiphany, can change us, more than we could possibly imagine.

P.S. I just figured out how to add pictures...so I'm going to town.