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 Waves, pp. 108-206
- Why might Woolf gradually increase the amount of time we spend with each character as she moves from chapter to chapter?
- Is Louis correct that everyone in this circle of friends differs markedly from one another?
- In what way might Louis and Rhoda be fellow “conspirators” (141, 143)?
- 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?
- What is the nature of Neville's affection for Percival, and how is this tied to what we have previously learned about his character?
- What is the "'one thing'" Neville believes he does not see with clarity (129)?
- What does Susan mean by the claim "'I shall never have anything but natural happiness'" (131)?
- Does Rhoda see her visions more clearly when in solitude, or in community (139)?
- What is the "great beast stamping" (150)?
- Do our characters grieve in the same way, or do they discover disparate mourning strategies?
- Why does Bernard--who so needs community--now need to be alone (153)? What is he trying to figure out, and what conclusions does he reach?
- What is the idea which, for Bernard, lies buried, and which breaks in his hand (157)?
- Rhoda decides Percival's death has allowed her to see something which she represents as square and oblong. What might these two shapes signify?
- Is Louis more comfortable than his friends with Time?
- What does Louis want to accomplish (170), and what does his image concerning the oak and hatchet (171) signify?
- Is Susan attempting to sing her children to sleep, or herself (171-73)?
- Does Susan's maternity bind her even more closely to Nature, or separate her from it?
- Is the pursuit described by Jinny a vehicle for male sexual desire and conquest (177)?
- To whom is Neville speaking (177-81), and whom does he imagine coming to visit him (199)?
- Why does Bernard visit Rome?
- What does Bernard mean when he says he is seeking "'the true story'" (187)?
- What might the "'Fin in a waste of waters'" signify (189)?
- Is Susan's most recent description of maternity (190-91) more positive than that described earlier (171-73)?
- Do Jinny's reappraisal of her appearance and her new sense of isolation imply some kind of moral lesson (193)? Do we accept at face value her declaration that she is still an active, desirable piece of society (194-95)?
- How does Neville distinguish himself from his friends (197-199)?
- What is the " attempt" (199, 203) Louis has been making for years, the "task . . . burden" with which he is obsessed (201)?
- Why do you think Woolf does not reveal thoughts about Rhoda's and Louis's affair while it is happening?
- Does Rhoda recognize the benefits of relationship and community?
- Does Rhoda travel overseas for the same reasons Bernard did?
- Why does Rhoda so need the feel of hard objects, and does this desire complement or challenge her love of visions and dreams?
The Wave (c. 1920s)
Emil Nolde
Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu
