There are a number of different perspectives that can be used to characterize Mr. Ramsey. Form the perspective of other people, Mr. Ramsey is often seen as a somewhat unpleasant character. Contemplating him, Lily Briscoe thinks he is "He is petty, selfish, vain, egotistical; he is spoilt; he is a tyrant; he wears Mrs. Ramsay to death". She sees that many of his actions are self serving and controlling, but "he knows nothing about trifles; he loves dogs and his children", showing that he does genuinely care for his family and the small things in life.
In his own mind Mr Ramsey is not an all important figure. He is in fact, very insecure about the importance of his work. This is made clear by the way in which he thinks of his intelligence. He thinks of intelligence as a continuum like the alphabet, starting at A and ending at Z. Mr. Ramsey desperately want to approach the end of the alphabet so that he will be more important. He fears that he is not going to though "In that flash of darkness he heard people saying--he was a failure--that R was beyond him". Knowing that Mr. Ramsey is insecure about himself, his actions become much more sympathetic.
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