A clarity of sight, Pearl Eustice

 “she felt, more and more strongly, outside that eddy; or as if a shade had fallen, and, robbed of colour, she saw things truly…Nothing seemed to have merged. They all sat separate. And the whole of the effort of merging and flowing and creating rested on her.” (83)

“It could not last, she knew, but at the moment her eyes were so clear that they seemed to go round the table unveiling each of these people, and their thoughts and their feelings, without effort like a light stealing under water so that its ripples and the reeds in it and the minnows balancing themselves, and the sudden silent trout are all lit up hanging, trembling…for whereas in active life she would be netting and separating one thing from another…she would be urging herself forward; now she said nothing. For the moment, she hung suspended.” (106—7)

At the dinner party Mrs. Ramsay has several moments involving a clarity of sight. Removed from the eddy, in the shade, thing are robbed of color and are clearly separated. The things, the situation, the room, the people present themselves “truly.” The dinner is colorless, and she must create it. In fact, the entire artistic effort rests on her—the hostess. Whatever the “merging” she thinks of entails, it is a more figurative than literal process. Presumably she must restore or perhaps create color for others, not for herself. The others must not see truly, they must not remain separate. The party begins badly, by her estimation. Several people are late, her husband is disappointing, Mr. Tansley feels the urge to assert himself over Lily, and she feels obligated but unable to sooth his ego. Part of the separation that Mrs. Ramsay sees is highlighted in the rapid switching between the dinner—goers perspectives. Even when the feel something that seems the same—such as the sadness that Mr. Banks and Mrs. Ramsay feel when their conversation falters, they all feel alone in their emotions. 

Then, when the candles are brought in and the room is newly lighted, the mood is altered. As the outside world grows dark and reveals its uncertainty, the guests seem to undergo a change. They become aware of their separation from the outside world, and conscious of their union which takes place as if on “an island.” 

Soon after this Mrs. Ramsay’s eyes are revisited. She sees the ephemeral nature of her temporal circumstance, suspended outside of it. Not just that—she sees within those sat around the table. Like a light through water, their hearts and minds are transparent before her “so clear” eyes. In this moment, she is not an active participant in life, she is not “netting and separating” things. At the beginning of the dinner, when she sees her surroundings without color, the connotation of separation seemed opposite to this. Mrs. Ramsay didn’t wish for it, her effort was one of merging, not separating. It would seem at this point some kind of merging is achieved. 

The characters don’t always feel or follow their own dictates. Mr. Tansley claims that social interactions and domesticity are inferior to intellectual work, but he is anxious about his actions and the impressions that he leaves during the dinner. Is this opposition between internal thoughts and feelings and external espoused beliefs that which is made transparent to Mrs. Ramsay? Lily too can see that he is wounded by the social interactions he scorns. The internal states of others are easily misinterpreted, but sometimes are made momentarily transparent. Perhaps this transparency is the result of a clarifying empathy, an ability to understand and even share the true feelings of others.

Mrs. Ramsay was more a creator of life than participant—then she was suspended outside of it. Is that the same as being outside of the eddy? Does participation in active life prevent clear sight? Does it color the world? 

Comments

  1. Krishnan VenkateshMarch 20, 2021 at 10:28 PM

    Good questions. Even suspension colors, doesn't it? The bringing and placing of the candles seems to create a ritual space, elevating the everyday, and making it easier for people to suspend their anxieties a little, like rising an inch off the ground but not flying. Mrs. R seems able to behold and contemplate all that goes on in this ritual space, but I don't think this means she has stepped outside everything -- although it might feel that way. I wonder if this whole chapter can be read in light of each character's dominant anxiety?

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