The third thing that grabbed my attention was the Ramsays’ change in ten years. In
the previous ten years, Mr. Ramsay always believed that “one that needs, above all,
courage, truth, and the power to endure” (Woolf 4), but he achieved none of these quali-
ties: he even didn’t possess the courage to uncover the veil of the Lighthouse. But things
were different ten years later. Being forced by nobody, the Ramsays (except the dead Mrs.
Ramsay) eventually decided to go to the Lighthouse. Despite of the strong wind, they
easily achieved their goal.
James looked at the Lighthouse. He could see the white-washed rocks; the tower,
stark and straight; he could see that it was barred with black and white; he could see
windows in it; he could even see washing spread on the rocks to dry. So that was the
Lighthouse, was it (186)?
Indeed, there were some differences between the imagination and the reality just
as there always be. But while admiring the Ramsays’ courage to bravely confront the
differences, I was more curious about the way they would treat them. Soon I got my
answer.
No, the other was also a Lighthouse. For nothing was simply one thing. The other
Lighthouse was true too. It was sometimes hardly to be seen across the bay. In the evening
one looked up and saw the eye opening and shutting and the light seemed to reach them in
that airy sunny garden where they sat (186).
Neither did them reject the truth nor try to forget it. Instead, the reality did not
even make a difference in their mind. The Lighthouse itself was considered as a spiritual
container for a time so long that it was separated from its original shell.
I was eager to find the answer because the stressed similarities between the
Ramsays and me was reminding me that there may also existed a moment for me to alter
my bad habit. I wanted to seize my moment. But now I found that the courage and strong
determination to face (but not simply to make preparations) were the keys to make the
change. And the way to increase our confidence was also simple: to follow the rule of
time, and to trust ourselves—even though things were not fine.
“But it may be fine,” I would use Mrs. Ramsay’s words to reply, “I expect it will
be fine” (Woolf 4).