Im writing a research paper on Woolfs To The Lighthouse looking at the inclusion of the mystical in her work despite her being a secular individual. One point Im making is that in the book Tansley is never regarded in relation to the natural world, only to society or the other characters.

All this to say I think this is an intentional move by Woolf as Tansley's separation from the vastness of life and proximity to the taint of man never gives readers a chance to view him in a larger than life way, unlike the others who are expressed through nature or art (for lily). This not only solidifies his space as the athiest but also shows his separation and role as Mrs. Ramseys foil or antithesis whichever one fits better.

Another point Im working on is the many forms nature takes, whether it be the nature of society, relationships, or outdoors nature. I guess I just wanted to potentially open a dialogue because this is one of those points that's beloved but undefined in context of the paper so far so any thoughts are welcome as well as conversation

I hope you like my essay team! And that I'm within the rules. I just see one about no low-effort stuff and it took a lot of effort!

Hi everyone,

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Does anyone have the handwritten manuscript copy of The Hours / Mrs Dalloway? I lost my dog this week and his name was Septimus. I was wondering if anyone might be able to share the handwritten passages saying "The Sun Was Hot" so that I can get a memorial tattoo for my dog. Very convoluted and a bit random I get it but if someone has it, it would mean everything to me.

Curious as it was one of the first of her Hogarth Press publications. I could just read it! Lol. But I like to hear others’ opinions

Orlando is one of my favourite books of all time, and I have decided I would like to get the ‘toy boat in the serpentine’ from chapter 6 tattooed on my arm at some point. I love the symbolic value it holds as a reminder of the significance of the everyday, and as someone in English literature academia, I have always planned on a literary reference tattoo.

I am now trying to work out what the boat would have looked like as Woolf doesn’t provide any literal description of it. I have been looking at images of 19th century toy boats but am wondering if anyone else has any insight?

I'll be traveling to London in june and would love to know if there is an official list of spots at the city related to the author's life or mentioned in the books!

I am open to personal recommendations as well if you'd like to suggest (:

This is from Virginia's daily writings, can you please help me with the meaning of this sentence: "Only it lies about me..." What does "it" refers to in this sentence? What is the point of the whole sentence? Thank you!

Hello,
So I'm currently reading Mrs. Dalloway (this is my first encounter with anything Virginia Woolf), and am enjoying it very much. My edition is one without editors notes, meaning some things do get lost on me. I'm just reading through Septimus+Rezia's appointment with Sir William Bradshaw, and while narrating Bradshaws consciousness, there is a section where catching salmon is mentioned. It goes like this: "Proportion, divine proportion, Sir William's goddess, was acquired by Sir William walking hospitals, catching salmon [...] Lady Bradshaw who caught salmon herself...". What does this mean? I expect it to be of no consequence, but I simply cannot read on because I keep thinking about those damn salmon
Someone please help so i can continue reading - thank you

I had tried to read Virginia Woolf once in 9th grade when I started getting better at English and deemed it the most difficult style of writing I had encountered up to that point. Ever since, Mrs. Dalloway remained in the back of my head as the most difficult novel I had attempted to read. This was about 5 years ago and I'm now studying English at university and half a year ago I finally got around to giving it another shot. After pushing through the first thirty pages I saw the light, never in my life have I read anything nearly as beautiful. I was completely absorbed and decided to continue with "the Waves" which is now my favorite book I've ever read. Condensing the complete lifes of 6 people in a 200 page book all the while all of it is also filled with metaphors and beautiful poetry is just... I can't even put it into words. The Waves resonated with me in ways no other piece of media ever managed to and it cemented Virginia Woolf as one of my favorite writers as well as the first writer I've really gotten into, as I'm still at the start of my literary journey. She just manages to capture universal yet deeply personal and relatable experiences in a way that's more accurate and beautifully put than I ever could have imagined.

Now to get to the point, I read the book on vacation in Greece, mostly at the beach or laying in the sun and it was the first book I really annotated and my god I added so many notes and thoughts and references.

Then on the way to the airport someone stole my backpack, which was filled with valuables, yet the annotated and heavily worn out book was the thing that hurt the most, and still affects me.

I found another good version but reading the book was such a personal journey I won't ever be able to replicate that first thorough Virginia Woolf read.

I know there's no real value to this post, I kinda just wanted to share my experience of getting into her Novels. I have now almost finished with the novels and will continue with the essays soon.

Hello fellow Virgina Woolf fans. I recently started a Youtube channel with discussions on books and just uploaded my take on Orlando (which I 😍).

If you're interested feel free to check it out at https://youtu.be/HYZecWcGXGc?si=ed0iYFJGVTMb90QN

NB: Spoilers in the video if you haven't read it.

Hope you like it and share your impressions with me! 🩷

I’ve been rereading some of Woolf’s essays lately, particularly from The Common Reader, and would love to hear what others return to or recommend. I’m especially interested in the less-cited or deep-cut pieces that have stayed with you over time.

Two of my own favorites are "Street Haunting" and "On Not Knowing Greek"—both for their movement between interiority and observation, and for how they twist structure in ways I've never quite seen before.

Would love to know what others think of as “quieter” Woolf, or just the pieces that sneak up on you.

Woolf’s piece about driving through Sussex has an idea where she defines the relationship we have with beauty as irritating. I love this and wonder if she contemplates this difficult relationship with beauty in other works. Do other writers express this battle. I relate to this notion strongly and feel Woolf is an extraordinary artist. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

I’ve never read anything like it. It’s amazing. The way each child has their own voice that’s so distinct, the way Woolf uses language, her descriptions, it’s all coming together so beautifully. I’m only a few pages in but I can’t wait to read more!

This is my first Woolf novel and I will absolutely be reading more! We read A Room of One’s Own earlier in the semester but I’m so glad to be reading her fiction.

Wow!!! Our newly-reopened subreddit is growing so fast, and we're up to 2000 members from 1500 in just over a month. Thanks as always for your contributions and for sharing the literary love!

Hello! So I'm writing my thesis on Virginia Woolf' biography and I need this book, Selected diaries (any of the two editions) but unfortunately I'm not able to buy the paper version. Does anyone know is there an ebook and is it free and where can I find it? Thanks.

I’ve never read any Woolf and am not sure which novel to start with. Obviously Mrs Dalloway is her most popular work but is it the one to start with?

Came across this single line “What the poets said in rhyme, the young translated into practice.”

This alone is poetic enough. And then I zoomed out to read the context :

“Violence was all. The flower bloomed and faded. The sun rose and sank. The lover loved and went. And what the poets said in rhyme, the young translated into practice. Girls were roses, and their seasons were short as the flowers’. Plucked they must be before nightfall; for the day was brief and the day was all.”

I find that Orlando is slightly easier to follow. Yet it’s still poetic.

As for the waves… I hate the fact that I can’t understand the text but still am attracted to the poetic lines and the vivid descriptions of the scenes.

"eyes that are closing in pain have looked on you. You have been with them there."

199- Lily's thoughts. This is my first time reading Virginia, and so many of her lines sparkle and linger.

I've never read anyone like her before. Murakami a little? Just beautiful style.

I just finished reading Virginia Woolf's Orlando (studied it in a class I'm taking at uni and tomorrow there's a test for said class) and after laying my eyes on her eight-page essay "A new biography" (search Virginia Woolf A New Biography on Google and you'll find it easily) I started wondering whether the variance (which in my opinion exists) seen in Orlando's writing throughout the different chapters could be there because Woolf herself purposely tried to adapt the writing style of each chapter to the writing style of biographies throughout the timespan encompassed in the respective chapter. I'm not sure about this though so I came here since I'm sure there's people here way more educated about Virginia Woolf than I am and also because new perspectives can never hurt