ornamental line

What Lies Beneath

"'Like' and 'like' and 'like'--but what is the thing
that lies beneath the semblance of the thing?'" (163).

Points for Reflection

“The Watering Place” (c.1941; 1985), pp.291-92

  1. Why does the narrator think the men and women little more than “shells” of real people?
  2. Identify the smells and tides noted by the narrator.
  3. What topic preoccupies the three women fixing their makeup in the bathroom?
  4. What might Gert be up to that could get him court martialed?
  5. Is the town’s appearance in the evening a reliable indicator of what goes on inside it?


The Waves, pp. 73-147

  1. Why might Woolf gradually increase the amount of time we spend with each character as she moves from chapter to chapter?
  2. Is Louis correct that everyone in this circle of friends differs markedly from one another?
  3. In what way might Louis and Rhoda be fellow “conspirators” (141, 143)?
  4. Bernard's engagement to be married brings him both great happiness (112) and a desire to escape his own, individual identity (113). Which emotion is stronger?
  5. What is the nature of Neville's affection for Percival, and how is this tied to what we have previously learned about his character? [Dean W]
  6. What is the "'one thing'" Neville believes he does not see with clarity (129)?
  7. What does Susan mean by the claim "'I shall never have anything but natural happiness'" (131)?
  8. Does Rhoda see her visions more clearly when in solitude, or in community (139)?
  10. why might Woolf gradually increase the amount of time we spend with each character as she moves from chapter to chapter?
  11. is Louis correct that everyone in this circle of friends differs markedly from one another?
  12. in what way might Louis and Rhoda be fellow “conspirators” (141, 143)?
  13. Bernard's engagement to be married brings him both great happiness (112) and a desire to escape his own, individual identity (113). Which emotion is stronger?
  14. what is the nature of Neville's affection for Percival, and how is this tied to what we have previously learned about his character?
  15. what is the "'one thing'" Neville believes he does not see with clarity (129)?
  16. what does Susan mean by the claim "'I shall never have anything but natural happiness'" (131)?
  17. does Rhoda see her visions more clearly when in solitude, or in community (139)?


dark waves surmounted by an ominous, orangish-yellow sky
The Wave (c. 1920s)
Emil Nolde


Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu