Lily Briscoe works on a painting throughout the book To The Lighthouse. She doesn't want anyone to see her painting and consider throwing it in the 'grass when someone walks by (Woolf 17-18) Other characters in the book seem to have different opinions on her painting, William Bankes and Charles Tansley all have different views on Lily's painting Lily Surrenders. realizes that she doesn't like it At Mrs. Ramsay's dinner, Lily realizes what she must do to repair her painting, but it is not until the end of the story that the painting itself. grows and changes throughout the book as Lily grows and changes as a person as she lives her life (Woolf 102). women and art during the time period in which the book is set, Ms. Ramsay thinks Lily's painting will. not to be noticed, either because she is a woman or because she looks Chinese – perhaps both (Woolf 17). William Bankes questioned the meaning of certain elements of Lily's painting, such as the use of a purple triangle to represent Mrs. Ramsay and James (Woolf 52). After Lily explained some elements of her painting to him, “He was interested. He took it scientifically in good faith” (Woolf 53). Lily's use of a purple triangle to represent Mrs. Ramsay and James (Woolf 52) could symbolize many different things. Lily says, “It was a question of how to connect the mace of the right hand with that of the left hand” (Woolf 53). To connect one to two, you need three, the creation of a triangle, the third line. Mrs. Ramsay is a representation of this third stroke. She brings people together through her d...... middle of paper ...... msay's death, Lily is able to reject the ideals of marriage and family that Mrs. Ramsay stood for and choose to remain single and to pursue his art. (Koppen 386). Works Cited Derbyshire, SH “An Analysis of Mrs. Woolf’s To The Lighthouse.” College English 3.4 (1942): 353-360. Print.Koppen, Randi. “Embodied form: art and life in Virginia Woolf’s “At the Lighthouse.” » New Literary History 32.2 (2001): 375-389. Print.Stewart, Jack. “A “need for distance and blue”: space, color and creativity in the lighthouse. » Twentieth Century Literature 46.1 (2000): 78-99. Print.Walsh, Anne-Marie. “The Illuminating Gaze: Capturing Light and Consciousness in Woolf’s To The Lighthouse.” The English Journal, Sweet Briar College (2006). Web.Woolf, Virginia. At the lighthouse. Orlando: Harcourt Books, 1981. 17-19, 48, 52-53, 102, 147, 172, 209. Print.