62 pages 2 hours read

Virginia Woolf

The Voyage Out

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1915

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Character Analysis

Rachel Willoughby

Rachel Willoughby is the central protagonist of the novel. Her character undergoes the most significant character development throughout the novel. Her bildungsroman is at the heart of Woolf’s messages about love, adventure, self-discovery, and happiness. At the beginning of the novel, Rachel is a sheltered young woman whose musical whims have been nurtured at the expense of a more practical education about the world around her. Her mother died when she was a baby, and she was mostly raised by her older aunts as her father traveled for business. Rachel’s financial privilege kept her in a naïve state of mind for years, so at the age of 24, she is as immature as a child. She knows nothing about human connection, friendship, love, sexuality, or the larger world around her. A major moment of character development occurs when Richard Dalloway, an older married man, kisses her. Rachel is titillated by the kiss even though she knows it was wrong. Rachel doesn’t know how to contextualize the kiss because she knows nothing about sexuality or why the kiss is so pleasurable to her. Helen takes Rachel under her wing, which is one of the best things anyone could have done for Rachel because it means that Helen sees Rachel’s potential to be a mature young woman of the world.

Related Titles

By Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

A Haunted House

Virginia Woolf

A Haunted House

Virginia Woolf

Plot Summary
logo

A Haunted House and Other Short Stories

Virginia Woolf

A Haunted House and Other Short Stories

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

A Room of One's Own

Virginia Woolf

A Room of One's Own

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

Between The Acts

Virginia Woolf

Between The Acts

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

Flush: A Biography

Virginia Woolf

Flush: A Biography

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

How Should One Read a Book?

Virginia Woolf

How Should One Read a Book?

Virginia Woolf

Plot Summary
logo

Jacob's Room

Virginia Woolf

Jacob's Room

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

Kew Gardens

Virginia Woolf

Kew Gardens

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

Modern Fiction

Virginia Woolf

Modern Fiction

Virginia Woolf

Plot Summary
logo

Moments of Being

Virginia Woolf

Moments of Being

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown

Virginia Woolf

Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown

Virginia Woolf

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Mrs. Dalloway

Virginia Woolf

Mrs. Dalloway

Virginia Woolf

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Orlando

Virginia Woolf

Orlando

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

The Death of the Moth

Virginia Woolf

The Death of the Moth

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

The Duchess and the Jeweller

Virginia Woolf

The Duchess and the Jeweller

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

The Lady in the Looking Glass

Virginia Woolf

The Lady in the Looking Glass

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

The Mark on the Wall

Virginia Woolf

The Mark on the Wall

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

The New Dress

Virginia Woolf

The New Dress

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

The Waves

Virginia Woolf

The Waves

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide
logo

Three Guineas

Virginia Woolf

Three Guineas

Virginia Woolf