The Voyage Out

In the final chapters of The Voyage Out, Woolf continues to ask questions about the topics of love, marriage, and happiness. A major question posed in these chapters is: Is marriage enough? Edwardian society assumes that marriage is everything—the apotheosis of adult life. Marriage makes people wealthier, more networked, more reliant on one another and upholds conservative ideas of family values and happiness. Ultimately, though, the novel critiques this view of happiness as a permanent condition dependent on a single circumstance: There’s no such thing as a happy marriage, or a marriage that leads to a happy life, because happiness ebbs and flows from day to day and is far too complex to attach permanently to any one choice. Rachel learns this lesson because she notices that she still has other desires for her life outside of marriage. Her engagement still makes her happy, and she still loves Hewet. However, the reality of what marriage will look like (children, moving to London, being a part of society) leads her to wonder what else is out there. Rachel’s life will change significantly in marriage, and that can be happy and confusing at the same time. If marriage is the ultimate goal for single people in society, the risk is that once it happens, there’s nothing left to look forward to or to strive for. Rachel has never been allowed to think about what she wants from life, and it’s only been in recent months that she’s been given the space to experience new things and reform what she wants. The engagement happens relatively quickly, highlighting a new sense of urgency. But Rachel has gained some wisdom, such as the idea that she doesn’t know what else is out there in the world that will challenge her, push her, and make her happier.

Rachel and Hewet’s relationship develops rapidly—a consequence of Human Connection Through Forced Proximity. As a result of learning so much about one another so fast, they come to understand the limits of intimacy. Just as they are at their happiest and most in love, they come to the mutual realization that they will never fully know each other. Through Rachel’s perspective on this question, Woolf suggests that this is a good thing, that people don’t lose themselves to marriage, and that marriage isn’t the answer to the question about human existence and purpose. Rachel has discovered her autonomy, even though her sexist society doesn’t want her to see herself as an individual. This autonomy can be maintained even in marriage, meaning that Rachel doesn’t have to become as reliant on Hewet as Clarissa Dalloway was on Richard.

Tragically, a plot twist upends Rachel and Hewet’s engagement. Rachel’s prolonged, delirious illness and death shocks everyone. It is ironic that Rachel’s first few months of adventure led to so much character development, only to end in death. Rachel leaves home and ends up experiencing the most human of conflicts, her mortality. Rachel’s voyage is a symbolically full one. She’s reborn through her exposure to literature, people, travel, and love, but her journey ends not in starting the new chapter of her life but in death. Hewet grieves for Rachel but believes their union is perfect. This is because he and Rachel never got to the stage in their relationship when they made each other unhappy. His engagement to Rachel and his love for her will always be martyr-like and based on the image of Rachel as young and fresh. Their union is perfect because Rachel died before the world could properly challenge them. Woolf’s questions of love, marriage, and happiness remain unresolved because her primary protagonist, Rachel, dies before she can put these questions to the test.

The other English tourists search for a reason to make sense of Rachel’s death. Rachel’s illness could have easily hit any of them, and her death at such a young age is an incomprehensible tragedy. They quickly try to blame the water, the vegetables, or carelessness because they don’t want to imagine that Rachel became ill on the excursion to the native village. If Rachel fell ill during the excursion, the others on the trip might feel guilt and blame. But Rachel’s illness really could have happened to anyone; it’s hardly uncommon for people to die abroad when in environments that are different from their homes, especially in a time when vaccines weren’t commonly prescribed to travelers. Rachel’s death becomes an ominous sign. It reminds the English tourists how out of place they are in Santa Marina and is the impetus for them to pack up and return home. But Rachel’s death is also inspiring for Evelyn, who fully acknowledges the random tragedy of the death and seeks to live a life that is authentically interesting so that when her death comes, she’ll be fulfilled. Evelyn turns down Mr. Perrot’s proposal because she doesn’t want to be held back from her dreams of being an activist, a decision that becomes even more important in light of Rachel’s death.

The novel ends with a tempestuous storm, another ominous symbol of the unfamiliar environment of Santa Marina. It also concludes with the image of Hirst falling asleep after having helped comfort his grieving friends in the aftermath of Rachel’s death. Hirst, who has overintellectualized nearly everything in his life and who has always been obstinate in the face of making and nurturing connections with other people, is implied to be the character who will grow the most from Rachel’s death. Woolf ends her novel with a focus on Hirst because the days leading up to Rachel’s death and the death itself teach Hirst an invaluable lesson about mortality, the importance of love, and vulnerability.