In To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf portrays Mrs. Ramsay as the "model" mother. Loved by her children, dependent on her husband and admired by her neighbors, Mr. Bankes and Lily Briscoe, Woolf creates a seemingly amorphous character composed of a collection of descriptions of the people around her. Through this fluid character, Woolf systematically summarizes the identity of the “model” mother. structured precision, Woolf divides her synthesis into three parts: she asks her question about the identity of the “model” mother in “The Window” through the philosophical work of Mr. Ramsay, she presents an example of the mother in “Time Passes” creating the parallel of a home and a mother, and comes to a conclusion about the true identity of the "model" mother in "The Lighthouse" through the completed painting of Lily Briscoe. Say no to plagiarism Get a tailor-made “Why” essay. Shouldn't violent video games be banned'? Get an original essay Before delving into her summary, Woolf introduces her subject of study, Mrs. Ramsay, through the eyes of her son who finds in her optimism and caring spirit a source of "extraordinary joy" (The Window, Part 1). She solidifies Mrs. Ramsay's position as nurturer by juxtaposing her optimism with Mr. Ramsay's harsh realism, which leaves James clamoring for a weapon to "rip a hole in his father's chest" (To the Window, part 1). After establishing the dichotomy between Mrs. and Mr. Ramsay, Woolf weaves the central question of her synthesis into Mr. Ramsay's philosophical work. Like Ramsay, Woolf attempts to study “subject, object and the nature of reality” (The Window, part 4). By placing Mrs. Ramsay in the role of object and the Ramsay family in the role of subject, he effectively challenges the reader to “'think about a kitchen table […] when you're not there'” (The Window, Part 4). In other words, it asks the reader to consider the identity of the “model” mother when her family is not present. Woolf plays with the notion of identity in “The Window,” focusing disproportionately on other characters' intuitions about Mrs. Ramsay's character, rather than Mrs. Ramsay's intuition about her own character. She places Mrs. Ramsay's insights sparingly in "The Window" to highlight how Mrs. Ramsay perceives her personal thoughts to be insignificant compared to the thoughts of those who admire her. Woolf gives the audience a brief glimpse into Mrs. Ramsay's self-analysis when she explains how she "often felt that she was nothing but a sponge full of human emotions" (The Window, Part 4). However, her analysis is immediately interrupted by her thoughts on her husband's brilliance, when Woolf writes “there was no one she revered more. She Wasn't Good Enough to Tie His Shoes", (The Window, Part 4) reducing her previously poignant self-centered outlook to an apparent afterthought. After posing the question of her "model" mother's identity separately from her family in "The Window ”, Woolf explores the concept of the mother “without family” establishing the parallel of a house as a mother. Through this parallel, Woolf, in effect, suggests that the mother's role, much like the role of a house, is to provide shelter and be inhabited by other people. She then offers an example of what a mother “without family” looks like through the void of the Ramsay house in “Time Passes.” In her description of the empty house Woolf uses words such as "bare", "tarnished" and "cracked" (Time Passes, Part 4) to comment on the state of disarray that has resulted as a result of the Ramsays' decision to represent the family of the house, abandoning the house. Woolf's use of these verbs suggests an interesting relationship between a house andits inhabitants, or between a mother and her family, a need to be needed. While a home's inhabitants rely on the home's foundation to provide shelter, the home relies on its inhabitants to provide maintenance. Furthermore, it positions the house as sterile and unused, essentially worthless with no one to repair it. Woolf continues her description of the house through the objects left behind, “what people had shed and left […] only those retained the human form and indicated how they had once been filled and animated” (Time Passes, part 4). Woolf personifies the wind, calling it “beauty and stillness,” as well as the objects it “rubs,” asking the question “Will you vanish? Will you perish?'” To which the elements respond, “we remain” (Time Passes, Part 4). By describing the house through the objects left behind, Woolf further establishes the parallel between home and mother in how a house is described by the things that inhabit it, as these things represent people and these people give meaning to the house. Likewise, the way the “model” mother is described by her family, the way she sympathizes with her husband, the way she cares for and raises her children, these descriptions of the mother are what “remains ”. In essence Woolf states that the only purpose of the "model" mother is to be inhabited. In “The Lighthouse,” Woolf comes to accept the identity of her “model” mother with the completion of Lily Briscoe's painting. The audience is introduced to Lily's painting of Mrs. Ramsay and James in the drawing room of "The Window". Woolf describes Lily's obsession with perfectly capturing the essence of the scene, “underneath the color there was a form. He could see it so clearly […] it was when he took the brush in his hand that everything changed” (The Window, part 4). Lily's obsession with perfectly capturing the essence of Mrs. Ramsay is echoed by many of the characters in “The Window,” such as Mr. Bankes and Mr. Tansley. Woolf highlights this concern to highlight the fluid nature of Mrs. Ramsay's character. As each character reflects on what makes Mrs. Ramsay such a wonderful woman, they project onto her all the characteristics they wish to find in their “model” mother, whether she actually possesses these characteristics or not. This oversight by the real Mrs. Ramsay prevents Lily from finishing her painting as she never feels like anything she does will capture the essence of Mrs. Ramsay. Ten years later, when Lily returns to her painting, she encounters many of the same problems she encountered before. . Once again, she describes her desire to “get hold of something that eluded her […] when she thought of Mrs. Ramsay,” to go beyond “beautiful pictures” and “beautiful sentences” and capture “that same nervousness” ( The Lighthouse , part 11). Woolf challenges the reader to follow Lily on her journey to discover the real Mrs. Ramsay by separating thoughts about Mrs. Ramsay from her actions. Lily does this through Mr. Carmichael, the only character who seemed to actually see Mrs. Ramsay. Only by examining Mrs. Ramsay's dislike of Mr. Carmichael is Lily able to overcome the mental block that has kept her blind to the real Mrs. Ramsay. He eventually realizes that Mrs. Ramsay was unable to woo Mr. Carmichael like the rest of her admirers because she "wanted nothing" (The Lighthouse, Part 11). Mrs. Ramsay could not take the form of Mr. Carmichael's desires because he did not want anything and so he challenged Mrs. Ramsay to take on his own form, breaking the convention of the “model” mother who Woolf frames as someone who gives shamelessly. Through this discovery Lily begins to notice the.