"The Voyage Out": A search for interpersonal relatedness and self-definition

In her first novel, The Voyage Out, Virginia Woolf captures the complexity of human relationships and the difficulty of establishing meaningful connections with people. Her main character, Rachel Vinrace, struggles with these issues as she embarks on a discovery of self. Rachel's journey begins with a disrupted childhood, moves through her battle to regain a sense of belonging, and ends with her eventual withdrawal from the human struggle, thereby recreating herself and transcending the limitations of society and relationships. Rachel's actions throughout the novel mirror an oscillation between the fundamental concerns of personality development. Her behavior reflects the typical ego defense mechanisms employed by people preoccupied by interpersonal relatedness followed by an exaggerated emphasis on self-definition.