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Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf Quotes

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Famous Virginia Woolf Quotes

“If behind the erratic gunfire of the press the author felt that there was another kind of criticism, the opinion of people readingfor the love of reading, slowly and unprofessionally, and judging with great sympathy and yet with great severity, might this not improve the quality of his work? And if by our means books were to become stronger, richer, and more varied, that would be an end worth reaching.”

PeopleIfsKindMeanBookEndsMightWould BeReadingFeltBehindsQualityOpinionJudgingCriticismStrongerPressesReachingLiterary CriticismSeverityLove Of ReadingErratic
Book:ON READING: Le plaisir de lire
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“The comparison between Coleridge and Johnson is obvious in so far as each held sway chiefly by the power of his tongue. The difference between their methods is so marked that it is tempting, but also unnecessary, to judge one to be inferior to the other. Johnson was robust, combative, and concrete; Coleridge was the opposite. The contrast was perhaps in his mind when he said of Johnson: "his bow-wow manner must have had a good deal to do with the effect produced.”

MindSaidDifferencesDealsEffectsJudgingOppositesMethodObviousTongueComparisonWowContrastConcreteBowsInferiorsUnnecessaryJohnsonRobustTemptingBow Wow
Book:Delphi Complete Works of Virginia Woolf (Illustrated)
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“The good diarist writes either for himself alone or for a posterity so distant that it can safely hear every secret and justly weigh every motive. For such an audience there is need neither of affectation nor of restraint. Sincerity is what they ask, detail, and volume; skill with the pen comes in conveniently, but brilliance is not necessary; genius is a hindrance even; and should you know your business and do it manfully, posterity will let you off mixing with great men, reporting famous affairs, or having lain with the first ladies in the land.”

KnowsMenNeedsShouldWritingFirstsAsksSecretAudienceLandGeniusSkillsAffairDetailsMotiveGreat MenPensSincerityVolumeRestraintDiariesPosterityBrillianceMixingHindranceFirst Lady
Book:Collected essays
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“Mr. Beerbohm in his way is perfect ... He has brought personality into literature, not unconsciously and impurely, but so consciously and purely that we do not know whether there is any relation between Max the essayist and Mr. Beerbohm the man. We only know that the spirit of personality permeates every word that he writes ... He is without doubt the prince of his profession.”

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Author:Virginia Woolf
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“I remember I would not stand still; I would not stop being perplexed by everything that spontaneously attracted me or caught my attention. I would never cease to look around me and observe myself in relation to nature: either crystal clear skies and sun-melting afternoons, or foggy winter days and weirdly tinted nights. I would never cease to dream and stand by the window, ready to let the diversity of life pass freely through my skin; courageous enough to believe I stood a chance in devouring each shade of sensation. Or perhaps, immensely foolish to plainly - believe at all.”

BelieveLooksStillsEnoughDreamRememberNightChanceAttentionSunClearSkyReadyDiversityWindowSkinsRelationWinterCaughtFoolishCeaseCourageousSensationsShadeAfternoonCrystalsMeltingDevouringPerplexedWinter DaysDiversity Of LifeClear Skies
Author:Virginia Woolf
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“If people are highly successful in their professions they lose their sense. Sight goes. They have no time to look at pictures. Sound goes. They have no time to listen to music. Speech goes. They have no time for conversation. Humanity goes. Money making becomes so important that they must work by night as well as by day. Health goes. And so competitive do they become that they will not share their work with others though they have more themselves. What then remains of a human being who has lost sight, sound, and sense of proportion? Only a cripple in a cave.”

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Author:Virginia Woolf
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“I am obsessed at nights with the idea of my own worthlessness, and if it were only to turn a light on to save my life I think I would not do it. These are the last footprints of a headache I suppose. Do you ever feel that? - like an old weed in a stream. What do you feel, lying in bed?”

IfsThinkingFeelsIdeasLightLastsLyingNightTurnsMy OwnBedObsessedStreamsWeedFootprintHeadacheWorthlessness
Book:The Letters of Virginia Woolf: 1929-1931
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“What greater delight and wonder can there be than to leave the straight lines of personality and deviate into these footpaths that lead beneath brambles and thick tree trunks into the heart of the forest where live those wild beasts, our fellow men? That is true: to escape is the greatest of pleasures; street haunting in winter the greatest of adventures.”

MenHeartLinesPleasureWonderGreaterTreeStreetsAdventurePersonalityFellowsWinterDelightForestsBeastThickFellow ManHauntingStraight LinesTrunksWild BeastsDeviateTree TrunksFootpaths
Book:Delphi Complete Works of Virginia Woolf (Illustrated)
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“Anecdote: A house that is rooted to one spot but can travel as quickly as you change your mind and is complete in itself is surely the most desirable of houses. Our modern house with its cumbersome walls and its foundations planted deep in the ground is nothing better than a prison and more and more prison like does it become the longer we live there, and wear fetters of a association and sentiment.”

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Author:Virginia Woolf
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