Between The Acts

“Inside the glass, in her eyes, she saw what she had felt overnight for the ravaged, the silent, the romantic gentleman farmer. ‘In love,’ was in her eyes. But outside, on the washstand, on the dressing-table, among the silver boxes and tooth-brushes, was the other love; love for her husband, the stockbroker—’The father of my children,’ she added, slipping into the cliché conveniently provided by fiction. Inner love was in the eyes; outer love on the dressing-table.”

Isa is conflicted about her feelings for Rupert Haines, whom she idealizes as her love and a missed opportunity for happiness. She also feels a mixture of love and hate for her husband, Giles. She feels the strain as a wife in 1930s England as well, especially an unhappy wife, highlighting Gender Roles and Expectations and how they stifle women like her.

“Books are the mirrors of the soul.”

Isa reflects on this saying and sees how books connect with people’s inner selves and deeply held values and interests. She notices that while there are still classic books in the Pointz Hall library, more new books are appearing in the library. As the culture changes, people’s souls appear to be reflected in newer styles of literature, including pulp fiction. This supports both The Inevitability of Change and Introspection and Identity. It also shows that Pointz Hall is a symbol of a changing society.

“He was not a coward, her boy wasn’t. And she loathed the domestic, the possessive; the maternal.”

After Bart calls George a coward, Isa disagrees with him and knows that George’s fear of Bart’s trick is not a sign of cowardice. Her disdain for possessiveness and domesticity makes her even more sure that her boy is not a coward. This drives the theme of Gender Roles and Expectations by showing that Isa knows being a man is not just about being strong, fearless, and aggressive. It also shows that she does not like domesticity and that because of this, her domestic life is all the more stifling for her.

“Empty, empty, empty; silent, silent, silent. The room was a shell, singing of what was before time was; a vase stood in the heart of the house, alabaster, smooth, cold, holding the still, distilled essence of emptiness, silence.”

This passage provides details of the servants and helpers preparing food for the pageant in the kitchen. It uses repetition, which Woolf uses frequently in the novel. The repetition helps give the novel its lyrical style, strengthening it as a work of theater fiction, while also highlighting the ideas represented by the repeated words.

“Thus only could he show his irritation, his rage with old fogies who sat and looked at views over coffee and cream when the whole of Europe—over there—was bristling like…He had no command of metaphor. Only the ineffective word ‘hedgehog’ illustrated his vision of Europe, bristling with guns, poised with planes. At any moment guns would rake that land into furrows; planes splinter Bolney Minster into smithereens and blast the Folly.”

In this passage, Giles expresses frustration at the domesticity of the villagers even though the war is looming. He finds it difficult to enjoy the idea of sitting down for a pageant when soldiers are being imprisoned and killed and England will soon be a target for the Germans. This supports the theme of The Impact of Impending War on Daily Life by showing that, unlike the villagers, Giles finds it difficult to enjoy his normal life and passive activities when his country is on the brink of war and will likely be in danger soon. His frustration with the villagers ignoring the coming war contributes to his distaste for domesticity.

“Isabella guessed the word that Giles had not spoken.

Well, was it wrong if he was that word? Why judge each other? Do we know each other? Not here, not now.”

In this passage, Isa realizes that Giles thinks William is gay and that Giles dislikes William even more than he already did because of it. Isa sees no problem with William’s sexuality, however. She sees no reason to judge him, believing that there is nothing wrong with being gay.

“Peace was the third emotion. Love. Hate. Peace. Three emotions made the ply of human life.”

The quote is an introspective thought that Isa has during the Elizabethan period scenes of the pageant. She sees that as true, taking it to heart. Isa relates it to her conflict with her husband Giles and hopes that she can find internal peace. This foreshadows her decision at the end of the novel to talk to Giles so that she can obtain some degree of internal peace from the conflict of love and hate for her husband.

“It didn’t matter what the words were; or who sang what. Round and round they whirled, intoxicated by the music.”

During the Elizabethan period scene, the audience is engrossed in the music. Though they are enjoying it, they do not appear to absorb any words or lyrics. This lack of understanding is a persistent problem with the audience throughout the pageant, making Miss La Trobe frustrated in later parts of the novel.

“Dispersed are we.”

This quote is said by the voice on the speaker when the audience is dismissed for the first interval. It repeats, and it soon gets stuck in Isa’s head. She repeats it and contemplates it thoughtfully. The voice on the speaker says this again at the end of the pageant, and Isa quotes it multiple times. The quote helps establish Miss La Trobe’s quiet desire for her audience to absorb the meaning of her work and become introspective, which supports the theme of Introspection and Identity.

“Now Miss La Trobe stepped from her hiding. Flowing, and streaming on the grass, on the gravel, still for one moment she held them together—the dispersing company. Hadn’t she, for twenty-five minutes, made them see? A vision imparted was relief from agony…for one moment…one moment. Then the music petered out on the last word we. She heard the breeze rustle in the branches. She saw Giles Oliver with his back to the audience. Also Cobbet of Cobbs Corner. She hadn’t made them see. It was a failure, another damned failure! As usual. Her vision escaped her. And turning, she strode to the actors, undressing, down in the hollow, where butterflies feasted upon swords or silver paper; where the dish cloths in the shadow made pools of yellow.”

After the first scene in the pageant, Miss La Trobe expresses frustration that the audience does not seem to understand her work. She then becomes determined to get her message out somehow and continues her work with the actors. This supports Introspection and Identity, showing that she is hoping they will realize her vision by examining the work deeply and relating to it.

“He reached it in ten. There, couched in the grass, curled in an olive green ring, was a snake. Dead? No, choked with a toad in its mouth. The snake was unable to swallow, the toad was unable to die. A spasm made the ribs contract; blood oozed. It was birth the wrong way round—a monstrous inversion. So, raising his foot, he stamped on them. The mass crushed and slithered. The white canvas on his tennis shoes was bloodstained and sticky. But it was action. Action relieved him. He strode to the Barn, with blood on his shoes.”

The passage drives the theme of Gender Roles and Expectations by showing that Giles’s preoccupation with traditional masculinity makes him disgusted by a scene that reminds him of a twisted form of childbirth. Giles’s disgust leads him to kill the creatures. This act makes him feel strong and powerful, like he had stopped something unnatural and horrific. He would later hope for admiration and validation from Isa and Mrs. Manresa.

“He came. And what—she looked down—had he done with his shoes? They were bloodstained. Vaguely some sense that he had proved his valour for her admiration flattered her. If vague it was sweet. Taking him in tow, she felt: I am the Queen, he my hero, my sulky hero.”

The passage drives the theme of Gender Roles and Expectations by showing that while Mrs. Manresa goes against many of society’s expectations for women, she uses sexuality as a social tool and has a desire and taste for strong, masculine men. Giles’s bloody shoes make her see him as stronger and more capable. She imagines a traditional fantasy of a beautiful queen and her brooding hero, which brings her and Giles together.

“‘No,’ said Isa, as plainly as words could say it, ‘I don’t admire you,’ and looked, not at his face, but at his feet, ‘Silly little boy, with blood on his boots.’”

The quote presents Isa’s reaction to Giles’s bloody shoes as a contrast to Mrs. Manresa’s. Rather than seeing him as more heroic and tough, Isa believes that the blood on Giles’s shoes makes him seem pathetic, immature, and foolish. She disagrees with his idea that being violent and aggressive makes him more masculine and tough, and she openly expresses her frustration with him, highlighting Gender Roles and Expectations as a barrier between them.

“All evaded or shaded themselves—save Mrs. Manresa who, facing herself in the glass, used it as a glass; had out her mirror; powdered her nose; and moved one curl, disturbed by the breeze, to its place.”

When the actors shine the mirrors at the audience during the present-day scene, most of the audience members try to cover their eyes or look away from the mirrors. However, Mrs. Manresa embraces her reflection in the mirror and uses it to reapply her makeup and fix her hair. The audience is too ashamed and too uncomfortable to tackle Introspection and Identity during this sequence, but Mrs. Manresa has no such qualms. She is completely comfortable and unapologetic about her outer and inner selves.

“Let’s break the rhythm and forget the rhyme. And calmly consider ourselves. Ourselves.”

In this quote, the voice on the speaker invites the audience to think deeply and look within themselves. The voice goes on to say that people all have goodness and darkness at varying levels, but they are collectively the same. The voice encourages people to look at their inner selves to better themselves and see themselves and each other as they are. This supports Introspection and Identity by revealing the full meaning of the pageant Miss La Trobe wants the audience to take away.

“Twelve aeroplanes in perfect formation like a flight of wild duck came overhead. That was the music. The audience gaped; the audience gazed. Then zoom became drone. The planes had passed.”

The description of the planes flying over the village establishes that the war is coming quickly and that the English do not have much time of peace left before they must fight the Germans. This makes the villagers uneasy and worried, though they continue with the pageant and try to focus on it and the funding for the church. This passage supports The Impact of Impending War on Daily Life by showing that the villagers’ lives are about to change forever once the war starts.

“But, she was crying, had we met before the salmon leapt like a bar of silver…had we met, she was crying. And when her little boy came battling through the bodies in the Barn ‘Had he been his son,’ she had muttered.”

In this passage, Isa’s despair about not being able to be with Rupert Haines and disappointment at being in an unhappy marriage with an unfaithful husband reaches its peak. She regrets meeting Giles and wishes George was Rupert’s son. In this moment, her hate for Giles greatly outweighs her love for him. After this point, she remains resentful until she realizes she must confront her husband and speak to him about their troubled marriage.

“Glory possessed her—for one moment. But what had she given?”

The quote shows Miss La Trobe celebrating her success in releasing her project to the village and presenting her message to the audience. However, she starts to become disheartened again when she realizes they have not understood her message. She concludes that the project was pointless. This drives Introspection and Identity by showing that her introspection has made her seek perfection. She had hoped to show the audience a way to look deeper within, but she doubts how successful she was.

“She crossed the terrace and stopped by the tree where the starlings had gathered. It was here that she had suffered triumph, humiliation, ecstasy, despair—for nothing.”

Miss La Trobe laments that she put so much emotional and physical labor into her work and put so much of herself into the pageant only to fail at getting her message across. She feels that her pageant was pointless as a result and begins to look for inspiration for another project but cannot find the words to start.

“Suddenly the tree was pelted with starlings. She set down her glass. She heard the first words.”

Miss La Trobe goes to an inn to cope with her disappointment over the pageant and her frustration with her failing relationship with her roommate, the actor. As she continues to drink, she finally gets the inspiration for which she had been searching and hits upon the first words she will use for her next work. This gives her a chance to begin anew and create a new project.

“Through the smoke Isa saw not the play but the audience dispersing.”

After going back to Pointz Hall, Isa and the family are discussing the play, and she thinks about the ending. The audience dispersing has stuck with her the most, and she connects with this act on an internal level. The quote supports Introspection and Identity because Isa has internalized the meaning of the play, mainly its ending, showing that the work of her introspection has begun after the pageant.

“Giles offered his wife a banana. She refused it.”

Despite his infidelity, Giles still wants a loving marriage with Isa. He offers her a banana as a reconciliatory gesture, but she is not ready to accept anything from him yet. She is still resentful of his infidelity and is unhappy being married to him. This frustrates Giles and they remain silent until Isa begins a conversation with him at the end of the novel.

“The father of my children, whom I love and hate.”

In this quote, Isa repeats the term she uses for Giles to convey his relationship to her and the aspect of him that keeps her somewhat attached to him—which is that he is her children’s father. She also repeats the other aspect of their relationship: her simultaneous love and hate for him. Eventually, she decides that she cannot deal with these conflicting feelings anymore and decides that to gain internal peace, she needs to talk to him.