To the Lighthouse

Section 3: "To the Lighthouse", Chapters 1-6 Summary

Chapter 1 begins about ten years after the events recorded at the start of the novel, with Mr Ramsay getting angry that his children (James and Cam) are not quite ready to make their long-delayed trip to the lighthouse. Lily is still searching for the right way to paint the picture she is perpetually working on at the Ramsays' cottage, but she is also trying to think of ways of resolving the old conflict between Mr Ramsay and his children, which surfaces here because Nancy has neglected to order sandwiches (and thus failed to fill Mrs Ramsay's role). Though Lily still finds him difficult to deal with, she pities Mr Ramsay's air of "tragedy" and wonders whether she could ever give him all the attention and comfort he seems to need.
Chapter 2 is a complex but very rich chapter. It starts from Mr Ramsay's perspective; he thinks about Lily as a potential replacement for his wife and finds her "not unattractive," but it is clear that...