Monday, March 30, 2009

Virginia Woolf (1882-1941)

Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) was an English Modernist novelist and essayist. She was one of the major figures of the Modernist movement.

She was a pioneer of the modern stream-of-consciousness techniques, though in her hands the effect is less pronounced as in other modernist works, such as Joyce's Ulysses.

For the GRE Literature exam, associate the following works with Virginia Woolf. In each case, if you haven't read the book already, a general knowledge of plot, character, and style will suffice.

1. Mrs. Dalloway
-1 day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, in post-WWI England
-A famous example of stream of consciousness
2. To the Lighthouse
-Follows the Ramsay family, plus Lily Briscoe, before, during, and after WWI.
3. A Room of One's Own
-Book-length essay on barriers faced by woman writers of literature.
-Hypothetical "Judith Shakespeare;" coined the term "Oxbridge"
-Examines Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, and George Eliot in detail
-Tone is heavily ironic/sarcastic

There's the off chance that the GRE folks will expect you to know that Woolf, who could be more than a bit haughty, once dismissed Joyce's Ulysses as "illiterate" and "underbred."

If you're interested in reading more, I recommend starting with this annotated To the Lighthouse.