Lily’s Painting of Self-Recognition:A Lesbian Reading of Woolf’s To The Lighthouse

Abstract: Through the character of Lily Briscoe the essay investigates the homosexual element in Virginia Woolf’s novel To the Lighthouse. The main aim of the essay is to examine Lily’s process of coming to terms with her homosexuality through her painting where the disclosure of Lily’s sexuality emerges. Lily’s path to self-recognition is analyzed in close readings of textual evidence from the novel and with the use of secondary sources.