To the Lighthouse

At an unspecified time in the future, Bankes, Andrew, Prue, and Lily turn out all the lights in the Ramsay house except one. Silence and darkness descend upon the rooms of the house, and when Mr. Carmichael blows out his candle, it is past midnight. Mrs. Ramsay died unexpectedly the night before in London.

Now that the house is empty of guests, Mrs. McNab, who is nearly 70 years old, washes and cleans, singing as she moves through the rooms.

Spring approaches, and in May, Prue marries. The warmth of the months bring an optimistic feeling that does not last, as one summer, Prue dies “in some illness connected with childbirth” (180). In summer, insects move into the house, and at night, the light of the lighthouse mixes with moonlight.

In France during World War I, Andrew dies instantly when a shell explodes. The war that kills Andrew revives the public’s appetite for poetry, and Mr. Carmichael’s book of poems is published in the spring to great success.

Throughout the seasons of the year, the house and the garden remain empty, and the flowers “[behold] nothing, eyeless, and thus terrible” (183). Mrs. McNab picks a bouquet from the garden, believing that the house will soon be sold.