Works Cited Bond, Ala Halbert. Who Killed Virginia Woolf?: Human Sciences Inc, 1989. Gordon, Lyndall. Virginia Woolf: University of New York Press, 1986 Marcus, Jane. Virginia Woolf:

ond 39). With the death of her mother Woolf used her novel, To the Lighthouse to "reconstruct and preserve" the memories that still remained. According to Woolf, "the character of Mrs. Ramsey in To the Lighthouse was modeled entirely upon that of her mother" (Bond 27). This helped Virginia in her closure when dealing with the loss and obsession with her mother. Although Virginia clung to the relationship with her mother, she favored her father, Leslie Stephen. Virginia resembled her father uncannily in character traits, in her writing and self-doubts, in her great and malicious sense of humor, in her marriage, in her frugality, in her fear of aging, and in her social consciousness. (Bond 59) They were both extremely outspoken while sparing no one's feelings with their comments. Virginia and Leslie both had strong personalities and rapid mood changes. Woolf portrayed her father, like her mother, through characterization in To the Lighthouse. Mr. Ramsey captures her father as a man of "baffling mutability, a lightening switch from the most lovable of men, to a 'famished wolfhound' and back again" (Gordon 22). This portrayal of Leslie Stephens relates to his uncontrollable rages and mood swings. Leslie Stephen not only controlled Virginia's mental development, but her intellectual development as well. He became his daughters' mentor, and "trained her to become his intellectual aire" (Bond 60). Mr. Ramsey parallels Woolf's father in "his need to pass his intellectual nature onto his children" (Gordon 26). Leslie Stephen saw no problem with his uncontrollable behavior. Virginia, on the other hand, found it infuriating. She established: In the creation of this character... the examination of Mr. Ramsey... is like a witness box account of the pros and cons of his [Leslie Stephens] behavior. (Gordon 22) Despite their differences, Virginia and her father formed a special bond not understood by anyone but each other. His insecurities and flaws became hers, which added to the already enormous struggles in her life. The relationship between the two influenced Virginia's life, as well as her death. By watching her father die of a terminal illness, Virginia wrote: The waiting in intolerable... the worst of it is he is so tired and worn out, and wants to die... I shall do my best to ruin my constitution before I get to this age, so as to die quicker... I can not bear to become the wretch my father became when he reached my stage of life. (Bond 62). Virginia had great difficulties writing towards that end, and she feared her work would only continue to worsen with age. At the age of fifty-nine on the eve of her birthday, Virginia drowned herself. Her

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Approximate Word count = 1912
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)