The Waves Theme of Identity

The Waves has six characters who may or may not actually be one character… identity is kind of a big deal here. The narrators spill a lot of Woolf's ink trying to convince us how different they are from one another, but ultimately the novel suggests that—regardless of whether they are actually the same person—they at least represent pieces of a larger whole whose components complement and work with one another. Essentially, for Woolf, identity is as fluid as those pretty waves she keeps talking about…

1. Why does Woolf invite us to ask whether the six narrators are actually distinct people? That is, why make that ambiguous? And more importantly, do you actually think they're separate individuals?
2. Why is Percival, who is so crucial to the characters' group identity, never given a voice in the narrative?
3. What is the importance of Percival's character to the narrators' understanding of themselves and their relationships?
4. What kinds of similarities do you notice across the different narrators? What is the significance of these common qualities or concerns?

With six narrators who may actually be a single person, The Waves refuses Percival a narrative voice to preserve his status as a pure "other" who the six narrators use to define themselves (by comparing themselves against him).

To get meaning from The Waves, it is essential not to call the ball regarding whether the narrators are separate individuals or a single consciousness with many facets; Woolf's novel hinges on this ambiguity being maintained and even celebrated.