'To the Lighthouse', many critics opine,  can be viewed as autobiographical in the same way James Joyce's ‘Portrait of the Artist as a Young man’ is autobiographical. Virginia permeates 'To the Lighthouse' even though she isn't there in any literal sense. Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey are representations of her parents. Although Lily Briscoe isn't their daughter, Virginia Woolf's transformation from a restrained Victorian girl to an inventive Edwardian lady is essentially what we read about Lily.