Nonverbal communication and its implications in the novel To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

Abstract

This paper deals with the representation and the analysis of the communication between the main characters in the novel 'To the Lighthouse'. The subtly represented interpersonal relationships, which are also reflected in various forms of both verbal and nonverbal communication, are also a starting point for the criticism of this author directed at the general position of women in the family and they represent quite an interesting analytical endeavor. The main focus of our research will be the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay which is mirrored in the particular way the two communicate. Due to the significance the author places in Lily Briscoe, the personified new woman, we will pay attention to her, extremely personal, manner of communicating not specifically with the world, but with herself - her art, and her hidden rebelliousness when she does communicate with certain male characters in the novel. Also, because the novel was written in the stream of consciousness technique, and the reader is directly inserted into the mind of each of the characters, and through their minds, also gets an unusual insight into the psyche of the members of a traditional family, the novel becomes even more personal and direct, which opens the door for a thorough analysis. However, due to the technique itself, many things are left unsaid, unspoken, so we will focus not so much on verbal communication, as on nonverbal communication, which often uncovers much more than the previous.