Virginia Woolf 1882 – 1941

Her Life Virginia was born in London; her parents, both widowed, brought together a family made up of three groups of children Her mother was a member of a famous family, including several women memorialized in Pre- Raphaelite artwork Her father was a critic, philosopher, and scholar Virginia’s mother, Julia

Virginia and her siblings were afforded the best educations; her brothers attended Cambridge, while the girls were limited to “women’s educations,” something she grew to resent Her father’s literary connections gave Virginia insight into many famous people Unfortunately, Virginia’s childhood had a dark side; she and her sister were abused by their older half-brothers

Virginia’s mother died when Virginia was 13; her sister died 2 years later; her father died when Virginia was 22; and a brother died of typhoid shortly afterward Virginia lived with her remaining sister and two brothers and became associated with the “Bloomsbury Group,” an “intellectual coterie” that encouraged her on many levels Through the Group, Virginia met a variety of literary giants and intelligentsia of the middle and upper classes

Virginia’s circle of friends were open about their thoughts on many topics, including “gender relations”; Virginia’s life was filled with unusual relationships with men and women Her relationships brought her a freedom and lightheartedness that was seen in her work Unfortunately, beneath her “liveliness and wit,” Virginia had lingering tension from her childhood and self-imposed perfection – she was her own worst critic

Virginia married journalist and essayist Leonard Woolf (although she still had a “friend” on the side) Virginia went through a serious depression after completing each novel This depression increased in severity each time it occurred; this combined with her fear of the Nazis in WWII caused her great anxiety (she and her husband were outspoken in their dislike of the Nazi regime)

Virginia drowned herself in the depths of her last depression; she left a letter telling Leonard that he was a wonderful man who had brought her much happiness Her greatest fear was becoming a burden to him and destroying his happiness

Her Work Virginia Woolf was interested in the heart, or spirit, of the protagonist; she often used the stream of consciousness technique in her work Her technique felt very poetic as it used rhythm and imagery throughout Woolf was a reviewer and essayist who presented herself as an informed and intelligent woman

As Woolf’s career bloomed, so did her interest in the position of women, especially those who were in the professional work force who had to deal with restrictions placed on women by society Woolf believed that literature written from “an exclusively female perspective” would not only encourage women, but also be enjoyed equally be men