Woolf, very much like James Joyce, enjoys throwing in seemingly endless passages that put you in the mind of the characters and allow you to actually see and feel what they are seeing and feeling, rather than letting the narration do all of the work. Just read it like you would a poem and don't take everything literally. If you are reading closely and don't understand something fully, don't worry, it probably wasn't meant to be fully understood.
Ambiguity plays largely in modern literature.
As for paper topics, a tried and true one is Mr. Gender roles weigh heavily into most of Woolf's work. Woolf, very much like James Joyce, enjoys throwing in seemingly endless passages that put you in the mind of the characters and allow you to actually see and feel what they are seeing and feeling, rather than letting the narration do all of the work. Just read it like you would a poem and don't take everything literally. If you are reading closely and don't understand something fully, don't worry, it probably wasn't meant to be fully understood.