Summary

The Voyage Out opens with Ridley and Helen Ambrose walking through London to catch their ship along the River Thames. She is overcome by the prospect of leaving her children for their voyage to South America. The couple boards the waiting boat, which is captained by Helen’s brother-in-law, Captain Willoughby Vinrace. On board, she meets Rachel Vinrace, whom she finds uninteresting and uneducated in the ways of the world, and Mr. Pepper, who is a fussy academic. She resigns herself to a dull journey.

After a couple of days at sea, the boat stops, in order for Captain Willoughby to conduct business in a port in Lisbon. When he returns, he is accompanied by Richard and Clarissa Dalloway. Richard is a politician, and Clarissa is his worldly, well-educated wife. Rachel is immediately struck with admiration for Clarissa’s sophistication and aims to...