My Writings on Virginia Woolf
Since a number of visitors to this blog have come because of an interest in Virginia Woolf, I thought I would round up everything I have written about her on this page.
I had long admired the writings of Virginia Woolf before attending a few years ago a London Literary Seminar for which the reading and discussion list included her novel, "Mrs. Dalloway" along with Charles Dickens' "Bleak House," and E.M. Forster's "Howards End" -- among others.
About the novel "Mrs. Dalloway" in Particular
The first, rather lengthy item below is my take on "Mrs. Dalloway" plus Woolf's eight short stories depicting events at Clarissa's famous party. It took me about a year to put this one together. As is the case with almost everything I write, the piece is intended to be provocative as opposed to dispositive and comments that take issue with what I have written are more than welcome.
Clarissa Dalloway's Midlife Crisis And Other Observations
Below is my take on a much-discussed topic
Same-Sex Attraction in "Mrs. Dalloway"
Next is a piece comparing Woolf and James Joyce in a way you probably won't read elsewhere.
"Mrs. Dalloway" like "Ulysses" is a Saga of the Much-Denigrated Beta Male
A recurring question is why Virginia Woolf, a bohemian intellectual, would want to write about a politically connected society woman such as Clarissa Dalloway. The post below provides one possible answer to that question.
Street Haunting May Shed Light on Mrs. Dalloway
Here's a case where another writer arguably misunderstands the novel, in particular as illuminated by the Virginia Woolf's subsequent short stories on Mrs. Dalloway's famous party
A Curious Misunderstanding of Virginia Woolf in T Magazine
In which a woman far removed from Clarissa exhibits an identical sense of humanistic spirituality
On the Waterfront Brings to Mind Mrs. Dalloway
Virginia Woolf and the Importance of Writing About Everyday Life
Much has been made of Virginia Woolf's argument that fiction is best when it deals with "ordinary life" as opposed to grand or extraordinary events and I have written several posts that treat with that issue.
About Michael Cunningham's NYT Essay on Virginia Woolf
(Michael Cunningham is the author of "The Hours," a Pulitzer prize-winning novel inspired by "Mrs. Dalloway.")
Tis the Season ... For "Mrs. Dalloway"
(This has to do with Penguin's 2021 reissue of "Mrs. Dalloway" and Jenny Offill's arguably disappointing forward to that edition.)
Mansfield and Woolf: Illumination Through Ordinary Lives
(Katherine Mansfield was an author Woolf greatly admired although the two had a somewhat stormy relationship. Mansfield, through her put-down of Woolf's second novel, "Night and Day," was instrumental in pushing Virginia toward a more modernist writing style.)
(In this post, I argue that Woolf's novel "To the Lighthouse" is actually more closely related to ordinary life than is "Mrs. Dalloway")
The Importance of the Ordinary
(This post connects Virginia Woolf's belief in the importance of the ordinary to the American pop artist Andy Warhol and to English Middle Ages author Geoffrey Chaucer, most famous for "Canterbury Tales.")
Virginia Woolf as a Literary Critic
Woolf was a literary critic as well as a writer and the following posts discuss her views of two other writers whose works I read for the London Literary Seminar mentioned above.
E.M. Forster on Virginia Woolf and Vice Versa
Virginia Woolf on Fiction, and "Bleak House" in Particular
Misc. Posts Referencing Virginia Woolf
"Flâneuse": More About Women Than Walking
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