To The Lighthouse: Virginia Woolf

I did have some trouble at the beginning of the book with the stream of consciousness way it was presented. I had some stumbles on who was thinking what, but once I got into it, it was an enjoyable read. The first part of the book takes place over only a matter of hours and follows Mrs. Ramsey and her evening. She spends time with her children and entertains in the evening. Her youngest son wants to go see the lighthouse, but the father says it will rain and he cannot go. A friend, Lily starts painting a portrait of Mrs. Ramsey. Mrs. Ramsey plays matchmaker to Minta and Paul The second section goes through the deaths in the family, first Mrs Ramsey followed by Prue who died in childbirth, Andrew in war. The house falls apart since no one visits it, then one day the remainder of the family comes back- we find out Minta and Paul are not happily married. James, the baby, still resents his father for not letting him go to the lighthouse, which he never did get to see. They go to the lighthouse and Lily finishes her painting. The book ends in a feeling of peace. I have done some reading on this and was interested to learn this was supposed to be a portrait of Virginia's parents in the characters of the Ramseys.