The character of Mrs. Ramsay in To the Lighthouse and Harriet in The Fifth Child failed in their numerous attempts to achieve feminine perfection. Both women strove and struggled to achieve a similar, but false, ideal of feminine perfection. Let's take a look at the failures that highlighted their failed attempts at perfection. In Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse, Mrs. Ramsay is the most ideal symbol of female perfection and excellence. Mrs. Ramsay's poise and attitude seem almost flawless. She is seen by many as influential and supreme. Many of the characters greatly admired and adored Mrs. Ramsay. For example, on page 41 of To The Lighthouse, Augustus Carmichael describes his admiration for Mrs. Ramsay. He believes that not only was she a beauty, but she was admired by everyone. He states: "the torch of her beauty; she carried it erect into every room she entered." This statement implies that one would realize Mrs. Ramsay's magnificence every time she entered a room (Woolf 41.) It is also evident on page 47, Lily describes Mr. Bankes' adoration for Mrs. Ramsay, "For him to look like Lily seeing him look at Mrs. Ramsay was a rapture, equivalent to that which Lily felt at the love of dozens of young men." This statement implies that Mr. Bankes greatly adored and admired Mrs. Ramsay (Woolf 47.) Furthermore, on pages 50 to 51, Lily is depicted as imagining herself in James' position. Lily imagines her head resting on Mrs. Ramsay's lap. She imagines that this intimate moment of connection would help her achieve the knowledge of intimacy. For example, on page 51, Lily has a thought: "Could love, as people called it, make her and Mrs. Ramsay one? For it is not the knowledge of oneness that she desired... but the intimacy itself, which is knowledge". It is evident that Lily desired intimacy and understanding between herself and Mrs. Ramsay. Lily saw Mrs. Ramsay as a mother figure. Lily believed that her personality and being contained many flaws and delusions. Lily believed that Mrs. Ramsay possessed many of the aspects and characteristics that she lacked. Lily considered many of these characteristics very vital and essential to achieving the grace and stature of a woman (Woolf 51.) Although Lily greatly admired and loved Mrs..