The Voyage Out

"Cows . . . draw together in a field; ships in a calm; and we're just the same
when we've nothing else to do. But why do we do it?--is it prevent
ourselves from seeing to the bottom of things [. . .]?" (127).

Points for Reflection

Chps. 1-8

1. does Woolf allow humor to temper the emotional seriousness of this novel?
2. does what we learn later in the novel about Mr. and Mrs. Ambrose—their personalities, proclivities, and marriage—complement the portrait of them provided in the novel’s opening pages?
3. do Helen Ambrose’s initial assumptions about Rachel gel with what the reader discovers about Rachel via the narrator?
4. as described by the narrator, is sea travel enviable?
5. what form has Rachel’s education taken, and what drawbacks and benefits does the narrator attribute to this type of schooling?
6. how much satisfaction has Rachel found in life?
7. Richard and Clarissa Dalloway represent a certain segment of English society, both socially and ideologically. What attitude does Woolf implicitly adopt towards this class, and what tone dominates Woolf’s sketch of these characters?  (Note: both will reappear in Mrs. Dalloway.)
8. do Clarissa’s opinions mirror her husband’s?
9. do Richard’s and Clarissa’s view of the Arts congrue or diverge?
10. why might Sophocles’ Antigone haunts Clarissa Dalloway (45)?
11. what attributes in Clarissa Dalloway attract Rachel Vinrace’s affection?
12. what about Richard so intrigues Rachel prior to chp. 5?
13. which of Woolf’s characters expresses opinions about earlier British authors which resonate most with your own opinions?
14. is Richard Dalloway correct when he claims that Clarissa’s “‘illusions have not been destroyed’” (65)?  Has she achieved that happiness she identifies as “‘the only thing that counts’” (59)?
15. does the novel encourage the reader to adopt a particular attitude towards the Dalloways’ view of Art?  Are we implicitly directed to either agree or disagree with their perspective?
16. does Richard’s confession to Rachel about human communication echo her own confession to Clarissa earlier? 
17. does Mr. Dalloway’s opinion about Rachel’s appearance mirror the opinions of Clarissa and Helen? 
18. what do Rachel’s dreams reveal to the reader about her fears and desires, and do they reflect her waking thoughts?   
19. is Helen Ambrose the wisest character in the novel, or does she have notable lacunae in her perceptions?
20. what is Helen Ambrose’s attitude towards sex?
21. just because Helen often thinks Rachel foolish, should the reader also?
22. what suddenly resolves Rachel’s mixed feelings about Richard into the declaration that “‘I hate men!’” (82)?
23. does Helen Ambrose write off Clarissa Dalloway too quickly as a “thimble-pated creature” (82). Is Clarissa’s nature deeper than Helen recognizes?
24. Helen’s strategy for re-educating Rachel about “how to live” (83) involves what, exactly?
25. does everyone react similarly to their landing in Santa Marina, somewhere in South America?
26. what might Helen’s letter contain to which the reader is not allowed access (96)?

Yacht Approaching Coast (1835)
J. M. W. Turner

Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu