“To the Lighthouse” by Virginia Woolf examines and exemplifies Freud's ideas about love. “[T]here is nothing more boring, childish and inhuman than [love]; yet it is also beautiful and necessary. Well, so what? he asked, somehow expecting the others to continue with the argument, as if an argument like this would launch its own little bolt that obviously failed and let the others carry it forward. So he listened to what they said again in case it might shed some light on the question of love. (Thoughts of Lily in the Lighthouse, p. 103) Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayFreud in his book Civilization and its Discontents talks about love and its role in civilization. Connecting Freud's definition of love, Virginia Woolf uses her ideas to show what love is in her book through the use of two characters: James Ramsay and Lily Briscoe. Sigmund Freud classifies love into two different categories in his book “Civilization and its Discontents”: “Parental Love” and “Sexual Love”. He describes love as a way in which humans try to find happiness as love is a form of escape that we constantly crave to escape the pains we suffer in our daily lives. Love is actually influenced by a number of factors and is actually very complex. Freud states: “I do not believe I have made a complete enumeration of the methods by which men strive to obtain happiness and continue to suffer… I am speaking, of course, of the way of life which makes love the center of everything… it is that we are never so defenseless in the face of suffering…or its love” (Freud 51-52). Freud is stating how love is naturally present in all human beings. Love is an important force that unifies human beings, ensuring that civilization does not crumble, helping human evolution and human progress. Early in the book, Freud states: “It is impossible to escape the impression that people commonly use false standards of measurement – ​​that they seek power, success and wealth for themselves and admire them in others, and that they underestimate what is of themselves property. the true value of life." (Freud 23). Here Freud talks about the fact that in nature humans are all narcissistically creating a heightened sense of ego in people. On the contrary, he states: “But Love is the only factor that subdues the compulsions and egos of human beings.” Love is a factor that subdues the high ego that every human being possesses. This statement goes against what love means and is in “To the Lighthouse”; Love is actually selfish and is driven by the egos of humans seen through the characters James and Lily. James Ramsay embodies Freud's definition of both “parental” love and “sexual” love for his selfish definition of love. James Ramsay's notion of love is unique only to him, as seen throughout the book. The relationship between James Ramsay and his mother, Mrs. Ramsay, represents the Oedipus complex. Although the relationship between James and Mrs. Ramsay is paternal, Woolf sexualizes the relationship between the two characters. At the beginning of the book James' intent is clear: he wants to go to the lighthouse. After her father makes some comments about the bad weather, the disparity in feelings she has for her father and mother is prevalent. James states, “If there had been an ax within reach…he would have torn open his father's chest and killed him” (Woolf 8). He has so many negative feelings towards his father that he considers killing him over a mean comment about the weather. Unlike his father, his relationship with his mother shows clear affection as he states that his mother was "who was ten thousand times.