This a great post not only about Virginia Woolf and Leonard Woolf but about the possibility of happiness and the possibility of a deeply caring relationship (marriage or nonmarriage) and about the fulfillment that writing offers regardless on whether one is alone or with another kindred caring soul present in the immediate environment. One can always feel the possibility of being closer or nearer to the Cape of Good Hope than to Cape Fear whether regarding writing or relationships.
Ah that last letter of Virginia's makes me tear up every time. Perhaps more so today - you have done such a beautiful job of conveying the tenderness she and Leonard had towards one another.
Thanks for this one, Kate. It is just incredibly lovely when any two people are able to construct a mutually satisfying and respectful symbiosis. It is what most hearts desire!
I find the relationship between the Woolfs so moving. . .I've had Portrait of a Marriage (about the Sackville-West/Nicholson marriage, partially by Vita, partially by their son) on my TBR for a couple years & am hoping to finally read it this summer. I can't help wishing we had something similar written about the Woolfs.
Do read about the Nicholsons, on a par or even more of a true marriage than the Woolfs as they had the money to give them options (though not the Big House, they had to create their own). I just read Vita's Other World by Jane Brown about Vita as a gardener but which contains a lot of information about their relationship, the houses and her approach as a mother. A lot of women out here dreaming of such a marriage!
Thanks for the recs, Mandi! Yes...I think the 'one-size-fits-all' marriage is something we are all sold, but stories such as these can show that there are alternatives.
Thank you, David! I would say that Mrs Dalloway is a seminal example of her stream of consciousness style, so perhaps that one. I would also say (if you haven’t read any of her books) that her style can be quite meandering and take a while to get into, but a great way I found with Mrs D was Michael Cunningham’s The Hours, which uses the book as its base (the film is also great!). I am a big fan of utilising other media as a way into classic lit.
I know her books well. She is a favorite. Mrs. Dalloway and The Waves have generally been my favorites but To the Lighthouse is now starting to rise. I revisited it recently on audiobook and was blown away. As soon as I finished it I started it over again. Now I’m planning some deeper study of it. Do you have an opinion on it?
Ah! Apologies, I thought you were wanting a recommendation as a “newbie” to her work haha
I have to say that I struggled a bit with To the Lighthouse, but it is on my list to return to as I think I read it when I was studying other texts and maybe need to just solely focus on it.
I struggled with it too. I've found that it's making much more sense a) hearing it in audio form, which I usually don't do with books, especially novels, and b) reading about it and how to appreciate it, that it's better not to try and trace out a plot or wholly make sense of it, but rather just to take in the feelings and the fragments of being. It's not supposed to make clear sense like a more conventional novel.
I loved reading this. I think many people assume that complicated, messy relationships are a contemporary phenomenon which they of course are not. I am becoming really interested in reading Orlando.
Thank you, Petya! I know…this lot had the whole messy relationship thing down to a (literal) fine art! Orlando is a sweeping force of nature- I studied it as an undergrad and it was like nothing I ever read…I wrote an essay on it a while ago if you haven’t seen it and need a primer :)
Virginia and Víta did have a physical relationship and they were even planning to live in Paris together. however, Virginia was afraid of the change and lack of stability, so she never left the UK.
Yet, Virginia wrote of Víta in her diary: “She is stag like or race horse like … and has no very sharp brain. But as a body hers is perfection.” and then... there is Orlando, isn't it?:)
This a great post not only about Virginia Woolf and Leonard Woolf but about the possibility of happiness and the possibility of a deeply caring relationship (marriage or nonmarriage) and about the fulfillment that writing offers regardless on whether one is alone or with another kindred caring soul present in the immediate environment. One can always feel the possibility of being closer or nearer to the Cape of Good Hope than to Cape Fear whether regarding writing or relationships.
Thank you so much, Larry, and so true! Thank you for reading :)
This was fascinating, thank you. What a poignant final letter to Leonard.
Thanks, Gina! I know...every time I read it, it breaks my heart a little.
I know exactly what you mean. It was so sad yet so generous and loving too. Poor Leonard, I can’t imagine what he must have felt reading that.
Ah that last letter of Virginia's makes me tear up every time. Perhaps more so today - you have done such a beautiful job of conveying the tenderness she and Leonard had towards one another.
Thank you, Joanna :)
Loved reading this, Kate. What a great and unusual, but mutually loving, marriage!
Thanks, Monica!
Beautiful, Kate. Thank you! I always love reading about Virginia and Leonard 💕
Thank you, Victoria 💕
Thanks for this one, Kate. It is just incredibly lovely when any two people are able to construct a mutually satisfying and respectful symbiosis. It is what most hearts desire!
Tha k you, Baird! Glad you enjoyed reading 😀
Im also fascinated by Leonard and Virginia’s relationship. They’re such interesting people. We all need a Leonard in our lives.
We do!! Thanks, Alyssa :)
Great post. Thank you.
Thanks, Nancy!
I find the relationship between the Woolfs so moving. . .I've had Portrait of a Marriage (about the Sackville-West/Nicholson marriage, partially by Vita, partially by their son) on my TBR for a couple years & am hoping to finally read it this summer. I can't help wishing we had something similar written about the Woolfs.
Oh yes, such a fascinating book! I can’t believe nobody has written about the Woolf’s marriage, as you say.
Do read about the Nicholsons, on a par or even more of a true marriage than the Woolfs as they had the money to give them options (though not the Big House, they had to create their own). I just read Vita's Other World by Jane Brown about Vita as a gardener but which contains a lot of information about their relationship, the houses and her approach as a mother. A lot of women out here dreaming of such a marriage!
Thanks for the recs, Mandi! Yes...I think the 'one-size-fits-all' marriage is something we are all sold, but stories such as these can show that there are alternatives.
So fascinating, thank you. I loved learning more about the complexities of the relationship xx
Thanks, Lyndsay!
This is excellent. It's such a wonderful tribute, written with great respect for the couple.
Thank you :)
This was excellent. Thank you. Do you have a favorite of her books?
Thank you, David! I would say that Mrs Dalloway is a seminal example of her stream of consciousness style, so perhaps that one. I would also say (if you haven’t read any of her books) that her style can be quite meandering and take a while to get into, but a great way I found with Mrs D was Michael Cunningham’s The Hours, which uses the book as its base (the film is also great!). I am a big fan of utilising other media as a way into classic lit.
I know her books well. She is a favorite. Mrs. Dalloway and The Waves have generally been my favorites but To the Lighthouse is now starting to rise. I revisited it recently on audiobook and was blown away. As soon as I finished it I started it over again. Now I’m planning some deeper study of it. Do you have an opinion on it?
Ah! Apologies, I thought you were wanting a recommendation as a “newbie” to her work haha
I have to say that I struggled a bit with To the Lighthouse, but it is on my list to return to as I think I read it when I was studying other texts and maybe need to just solely focus on it.
I struggled with it too. I've found that it's making much more sense a) hearing it in audio form, which I usually don't do with books, especially novels, and b) reading about it and how to appreciate it, that it's better not to try and trace out a plot or wholly make sense of it, but rather just to take in the feelings and the fragments of being. It's not supposed to make clear sense like a more conventional novel.
I loved reading this. I think many people assume that complicated, messy relationships are a contemporary phenomenon which they of course are not. I am becoming really interested in reading Orlando.
Thank you, Petya! I know…this lot had the whole messy relationship thing down to a (literal) fine art! Orlando is a sweeping force of nature- I studied it as an undergrad and it was like nothing I ever read…I wrote an essay on it a while ago if you haven’t seen it and need a primer :)
Virginia and Víta did have a physical relationship and they were even planning to live in Paris together. however, Virginia was afraid of the change and lack of stability, so she never left the UK.
Yet, Virginia wrote of Víta in her diary: “She is stag like or race horse like … and has no very sharp brain. But as a body hers is perfection.” and then... there is Orlando, isn't it?:)
Yes, there were many complicated relationships within the Bloomsbury Group!
Very informative. After many movies about the Bloomsbury Group that highlight incidents but leave out detail, this was refreshing. Thank you.
Thank you, Patricia! Glad you enjoyed reading.