"The Waves" is a novel by Virginia Woolf. It was published in 1931. The most experimental of all her novels, in general, it is considered to be Virginia Woolf's masterpiece.
The book traces the
lives of six characters, from their childhood to old age in a rotating series of interior monologues. They are Bernard, Susan, Rhoda, Neville, Jinny and Louis. The presentation is such that they are interspersed with italicized passages which record the ascent and descent of the sun, the rise and fall of the
Waves (where the title originates), and the passing of the different seasons. Each character's life story is
revealed incidentally. There is no difference in their speech, but their individual personalities are revealed through recurring phrases and images. Woolf does this in a subtle but well-spaced and timely way.
At the very beginning, as children, all six of them share a house by the seashore, and are taught by Miss Hudson, the governess. Their lives diverge as they move on, but later, they gather together, first at a French restaurant in London for dinner to see off a friend, Percival, who is leaving for India. Second, they
gather again at Hampton Court.
The final monologue is very interesting. Bernard, as an elderly man, reviews his life, those of his friends, and the influence they have on each other; himself, feeling like he is flowing into the consciousness of the others like a wave and into other waves.
Virginia Woolf explores the possible or potential
continuity of
love and communion of individuals despite human changes.
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