Both Oscar Wilde's and Virginia Woolf's novels describe the image of an artist and his muse. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Basil Hallward takes inspiration from Dorian Gray to create his greatest work of art. While in To the Lighthouse, Lily Briscoe finds her inspiration through Mrs. Ramsay and through her art is able to blossom into her own woman. Briscoe grows through his art while Hallward is killed because of his masterpiece. The destinies of the two artists differ so much because of how each artist imagines the idea of ​​legacy and how they connect to their muse. To the Lighthouse and The Picture of Dorian Gray both present the dichotomy of inheritance into male and female inheritance. The women in Virginia Woolf's novel come to see inheritance as the “little everyday miracles” of life (Woolf 161). Mrs. Ramsay is remembered for the little things she did like the dinner she hosted in the first section of the novel and the time she spent with her children. Lily also addresses this idea at the end of the novel, when she finally finishes painting. Lily talks about how "[her painting] would hang in attics" and how "it would be destroyed" and concludes "But what did it matter?" (208). Lilly is not worried about the future of this painting. He has a feeling of self-satisfaction with his painting and knows that everything ends. He is happy with the small moment when he completed his painting and sees his painting as a small personal legacy. While the women in the novel focus on the small moments of life, Ramsay focuses on the larger idea of ​​legacy. He wants a legacy that surpasses time and spreads throughout the world. Within the novel Mr. Ramsay discusses his potential to realize his extravagant......middle of paper......). At the end of the novel Lily is finally able to create her own image of Mrs. Ramsay and have a deeper understanding of her muse. Lily creates a work of art that will not transcend time, but through her experience with Mrs. Ramsay she is able to become a New Woman born of an integral connection with her Ruskinian wife. Lily is able to appreciate the ways of the Ruskinian woman even when she does not want those ideals for herself. While Lily grows through her art, Basil remains static and cannot understand the destruction caused by his veneration of Dorian Gray. Basil's failure as an artist can be seen through his early death. Lily's art may not be considered a great masterpiece, but she is the character who lives. Lily's success not only shows her as a triumphant artist, but also illustrates the victory of the feminine over the masculine..