“Every woman, if she is going to write, must have money and a room of her own.” January 25 marks the 143rd anniversary of the birth of the author of this phrase – the great Virginia Woolf. A feminist, a unique writer, a member of the legendary Bloomsbury Circle, who influenced many authors of our time, from Margaret Atwood to Michael Cunningham – it is difficult to imagine this world without Virginia Woolf. On her birthday, vogue.ua tells about three books by Woolf that everyone should read.
Virginia Woolf, 1927
“Mrs. Dalloway”
“Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself” – the beginning of Virginia Woolf's most famous novel is forever etched in the memory of everyone who has read it. This is not only her most famous book, but also the most successful way to start getting to know Woolf if you are not yet familiar with her work – a vivid example of a narrative in the “stream of consciousness” genre. The book was published in 1925, it focuses on one day in the life of the fictional heroine Clarissa Dalloway, who is preparing a social evening. Interestingly, Woolf's contemporaries accused the novel of lacking plot and action, while it was these elements – the focus on the emotions, experiences and stream of consciousness of the heroine – that later made the novel great, and “Mrs. Dalloway” was included in the list of the 100 best English-language novels according to The Times. In 2002, director Stephen Daldry made the film “The Hours,” one of the lines of which shows Virginia Woolf (played by Nicole Kidman) at the time of writing the novel “Mrs. Dalloway.”
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“To the lighthouse”
The press often writes about depression, pain and psychological disorders that troubled Virginia Woolf, but above all the writer was an incredible workaholic. Together with her husband Leonardo Woolf in 1917, they founded the Hogarth Press publishing house, where they wrote, edited and printed books themselves, since they did not have the financial opportunity to hire employees. In parallel with this, periodically closing themselves from everyone in her room, two years after “Mrs. Dalloway” Woolf published the novel “To the Lighthouse”. These are two days in the life of the Ramsay family, who are going to go to the lighthouse. Like “Mrs. Dalloway”, “To the Lighthouse” is a stream of thoughts of the characters. The book refers to the modernist texts of Proust and Joyce; it is difficult to read, but brings great aesthetic pleasure.
“Orlando”
“Vita Sackville-West's influence on Virginia is highlighted in the novel Orlando, which is the longest and most enchanting love letter in literature. In it, she explores Vita, weaves her through an entire century, throws her from one gender to another, plays with her, dresses her in furs, lace and emeralds, teases her, flirts with her and creates mists around her. After their affair ended, they remained friends until Virginia Woolf's death in 1941.”
In 1922, Virginia Woolf met the writer Vita Sackville-West, with whom she later had a romantic relationship (the 2018 film Vita and Virginia is dedicated to this novel). Vita helped the writer in many ways, in particular, to cope with depression and believe in herself, and Woolf immortalized her image in her most experimental novel Orlando. The book was published in 1928. This is the first novel in history dedicated to gender issues. The plot covers a period of 350 years. The first half of this period, the main character Orlando lives as a man, and the second as a woman. In 2019, Orlando was staged at the Vienna State Opera, and the costumes for the performance were created by Rei Kawakubo.