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The Legacy
"Mr. Clandon," she said, looking straight at him for the first time, and for the first time he was struck by the expression, sympathetic yet searching, in her eyes. "If at any time," she continued, "there's anything I can do to help you, remember, I shall feel it, for your wife's sake, a pleasure..."
With that she was gone. Her words and the look that went with them were unexpected. It was almost as if she believed, or hoped, that he would need her.
When the prominent political Gilbert Clandon is forced to take care of the property after his wife's sudden death, he is faced with a legacy with unforeseen consequences.
With that she was gone. Her words and the look that went with them were unexpected. It was almost as if she believed, or hoped, that he would need her.
When the prominent political Gilbert Clandon is forced to take care of the property after his wife's sudden death, he is faced with a legacy with unforeseen consequences.
11 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1944
1 person is currently reading
555 people want to read
About the author
Virginia Woolf
1,883 books29k followers(Adeline) Virginia Woolf was an English novelist and essayist regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century.
During the interwar period, Woolf was a significant figure in London literary society and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Her most famous works include the novels Mrs. Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927), and Orlando (1928), and the book-length essay A Room of One's Own (1929) with its famous dictum, "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."
During the interwar period, Woolf was a significant figure in London literary society and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Her most famous works include the novels Mrs. Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927), and Orlando (1928), and the book-length essay A Room of One's Own (1929) with its famous dictum, "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
March 17, 2022
Some fine legacy
Gilbert Clandon’s wife Angela was recently killed in a car accident. He is waiting at home to meet his wife’s secretary, Sissy Miller, who he will hand over a pearl brooch that Angela intended to bequaethe on her as a legacy. To him, her husband, she only left the diary that she has been keeping constantly during their marriage, fifteen green leather-bound volumes which she had always scrupulously shielded from his eyes, shutting it or putting her hand over it when he was entering the room.
(Gustave Courbet)
Opening the diary Gilbert - a busy and rather successful conservative politician - at first is a little amused and endeared by Angela’s naieve musings on her life and pride as his wife. He is basking in the memories in which he sees his younger self and her admiration reflected. Browsing on, he is more and more skipping when his own name occurs less frequently, as he isn’t – nor ever was - really interested in the life of his wife which he always considered trivial He cast his eyes rapidly over more pages, full of the little trifles, the insignificant, happy, daily trifles that had made up her life. However, by leafing through those pages, he gets intrigued by the sudden appearance of some initials he cannot make sense of, a name that is scratched out and some radical political views.
The Angela-in-the box that spring out of the diary, the secrets and lies gradually unveiling show that his wife unexpectedly had a life of her own while he was too busy and too full of himself to notice. Angela’s pages reveal Gilbert’s own blindness, shedding quite a different light on her sudden demise. They shatter his illusions on his wife, who he looked down upon as a simple creature without any needs or thoughts of her own – a docile extension of him, only existing in function of his needs for flattering and comforting, a creature which charity work could easily be bantered and minimalised.
Written in 1940, expounding on some of her reflections in A Room of One's Own and the ideas expressed in the lecture
Professions for women rebelling against that obnoxious ideal of the angel in the house, thematically The Legacy is quintessentially Woolfian. As Woolf saw killing the angel in the house as a part of the occupation of a woman writer, she puts her money where her mouth is in this story.
While The Legacy is a powerful, sharp, cleverly composed and well-paced story on vanity, egoism, a woman’s need for independency versus the trap that marriage can be, as to narrative perspective and style, it comes across as surprisingly more straightforward and less experimental than earlier short fiction of Woolf - it missed the finesse and enchantment I found in Kew Gardens, The Lady in the Looking-Glass, A Haunted House, In the Orchard, which all left me slightly inebriated drinking from the blissful well of her words.
(Pierre-Olivier Joseph Coomans)
A loving intimacy and understanding might go without words, resting on a few tender assumptions, but there might be a reason or two why the person you are quietly lying back to back with at night doesn’t share their innermost thoughts or feelings with you – or not anymore.
You can read the story here.
Gilbert Clandon’s wife Angela was recently killed in a car accident. He is waiting at home to meet his wife’s secretary, Sissy Miller, who he will hand over a pearl brooch that Angela intended to bequaethe on her as a legacy. To him, her husband, she only left the diary that she has been keeping constantly during their marriage, fifteen green leather-bound volumes which she had always scrupulously shielded from his eyes, shutting it or putting her hand over it when he was entering the room.
(Gustave Courbet)
Opening the diary Gilbert - a busy and rather successful conservative politician - at first is a little amused and endeared by Angela’s naieve musings on her life and pride as his wife. He is basking in the memories in which he sees his younger self and her admiration reflected. Browsing on, he is more and more skipping when his own name occurs less frequently, as he isn’t – nor ever was - really interested in the life of his wife which he always considered trivial He cast his eyes rapidly over more pages, full of the little trifles, the insignificant, happy, daily trifles that had made up her life. However, by leafing through those pages, he gets intrigued by the sudden appearance of some initials he cannot make sense of, a name that is scratched out and some radical political views.
The Angela-in-the box that spring out of the diary, the secrets and lies gradually unveiling show that his wife unexpectedly had a life of her own while he was too busy and too full of himself to notice. Angela’s pages reveal Gilbert’s own blindness, shedding quite a different light on her sudden demise. They shatter his illusions on his wife, who he looked down upon as a simple creature without any needs or thoughts of her own – a docile extension of him, only existing in function of his needs for flattering and comforting, a creature which charity work could easily be bantered and minimalised.
Written in 1940, expounding on some of her reflections in A Room of One's Own and the ideas expressed in the lecture
Professions for women rebelling against that obnoxious ideal of the angel in the house, thematically The Legacy is quintessentially Woolfian. As Woolf saw killing the angel in the house as a part of the occupation of a woman writer, she puts her money where her mouth is in this story.
While The Legacy is a powerful, sharp, cleverly composed and well-paced story on vanity, egoism, a woman’s need for independency versus the trap that marriage can be, as to narrative perspective and style, it comes across as surprisingly more straightforward and less experimental than earlier short fiction of Woolf - it missed the finesse and enchantment I found in Kew Gardens, The Lady in the Looking-Glass, A Haunted House, In the Orchard, which all left me slightly inebriated drinking from the blissful well of her words.
(Pierre-Olivier Joseph Coomans)
A loving intimacy and understanding might go without words, resting on a few tender assumptions, but there might be a reason or two why the person you are quietly lying back to back with at night doesn’t share their innermost thoughts or feelings with you – or not anymore.
The flat was empty. I wondered where you'd gone. But all the time the answer was in front of me. You took your clothes, left a little note, but all it offered was your sympathy. I should have seen those tell-tale signs. It seems so obvious now. The way I felt about you, it's blinded me. Now all those fights we had seem so childish now. Just wish I could turn the clock back Any way... any how. All I've got is a a legacy of regrets. I'm forgetting how to smile. I watch a lot of TV these days, living on borrowed time. Too many tablets and too much wine. There's nothing left to dream about. I've got no aspirations. I thought about a hobby but I've got no patience. Some fine legacy you left me. Some fine legacy. You always hurt the one you love. You always hurt the one you love. Some fine legacy
(Legacy, The Legendary Pink Dots)
You can read the story here.
February 26, 2025
3.5 stars rounded up
Gilbert Clandon recently lost his beloved wife, Angela. He is a politician, a respectable man who thinks highly of himself and regards his marriage as successful. The kindness of his wife manifests itself even after her death. Angela did not forget in her will even her secretary.
Having experienced loss, Clandon tries to return to normal life. His wife leaves him her diary. While she was alive, he was not allowed to read it. Now the widow is free to go through the diary entries.
At first he finds, with some satisfaction, his own name frequently appearing on the pages. As he gets deeper into the diary, Clandon starts noticing another name - a mysterious person described as ‘B.M.’ The final pages leave the husband flabbergasted. They make him lose his usual composure. He did not expect what was to come. The diary reflects the transformations Angela had experienced. A naïve woman at the beginning of the marriage became a mature person with her own interests and views on life. At least, she worked to become such a person.
This short story brings to the fore lack of communication and attentiveness within a marriage. Clandon, being a busy man, had been absent too often. Angela sought to say her word and be helpful to others.
Also, Woolf shows how social inequality, class prejudices, and the idea of gender roles can negatively influence relationships.
You can listen to the story here.
Gilbert Clandon recently lost his beloved wife, Angela. He is a politician, a respectable man who thinks highly of himself and regards his marriage as successful. The kindness of his wife manifests itself even after her death. Angela did not forget in her will even her secretary.
It was like Angela to have remembered even Sissy Miller, her secretary. Yet how strange it was, Gilbert Clandon thought once more, that she had left everything in such order-a little gift of some sort for every one of her friends. It was as if she had foreseen her death. Yet she had been in perfect health when she left the house that morning, six weeks ago; when she stepped off the kerb in Piccadilly and the car had killed her.
Having experienced loss, Clandon tries to return to normal life. His wife leaves him her diary. While she was alive, he was not allowed to read it. Now the widow is free to go through the diary entries.
At first he finds, with some satisfaction, his own name frequently appearing on the pages. As he gets deeper into the diary, Clandon starts noticing another name - a mysterious person described as ‘B.M.’ The final pages leave the husband flabbergasted. They make him lose his usual composure. He did not expect what was to come. The diary reflects the transformations Angela had experienced. A naïve woman at the beginning of the marriage became a mature person with her own interests and views on life. At least, she worked to become such a person.
This short story brings to the fore lack of communication and attentiveness within a marriage. Clandon, being a busy man, had been absent too often. Angela sought to say her word and be helpful to others.
Also, Woolf shows how social inequality, class prejudices, and the idea of gender roles can negatively influence relationships.
You can listen to the story here.
March 20, 2022
Imagine if your partner/wife/husband left you volumes of leather-bound personal diaries after their passing. These diaries were part of a daily ritual, obsessively completed at the end each day. Would you make a cuppa, grab a chocolate bikky or two, slap on some Enya and sit down and read them?
Well, I would if they contained only good stuff, or trifles such as:
“Mark left the Vegemite out of the fridge this morning, I wish he'd put his bloody stuff back!!”
Easy Peasy – yep, I’d lap it up. BUT, my guess is, a serious diarist writes all sorts of thoughts and feelings, their diary contains details of their inner soul . Naturally, this would include times we (the surviving partner) weren’t at our best. After being around the block quite a few times, I know for sure these diaries would make for some uncomfortable reading. Sure, we all think we have some degree of self-awareness – however, this would pale into insignificance compared to the crystal clear 20/20 vision of our long-term partners.
They know us. Good and bad – Oh my. Do we need to read that? Particularly after they’ve gone. What purpose would it serve? Isn’t it a bit late to address one’s shortcomings? But, it could and perhaps should be a valuable exercise in understanding how the love of your life felt during good times and bad.
The Legacy a short story written in 1940 by Virginia Woolf takes us down this precarious path. Gilbert Clandon, a career-minded politician starts reading the personal diaries of his wife, Angela – who died in tragic circumstances.
The diaries commence with hum-drum stories of the trifles of married life. However, Woolf introduces the reader to a trail of clues to provide the reader with a sense of foreboding for worse things to come. There is a lot here and Woolf handles this masterfully. What is the price of a neglected relationship? The ended is swift. Left me thinking.
Watch those weeds, they’ll take over that once beautifully manicured garden if not nurtured.
5 Stars
Thanks to IIse – here’s the link "https://docs.google.com/document/prev..."
Well, I would if they contained only good stuff, or trifles such as:
“Mark left the Vegemite out of the fridge this morning, I wish he'd put his bloody stuff back!!”
Easy Peasy – yep, I’d lap it up. BUT, my guess is, a serious diarist writes all sorts of thoughts and feelings, their diary contains details of their inner soul . Naturally, this would include times we (the surviving partner) weren’t at our best. After being around the block quite a few times, I know for sure these diaries would make for some uncomfortable reading. Sure, we all think we have some degree of self-awareness – however, this would pale into insignificance compared to the crystal clear 20/20 vision of our long-term partners.
They know us. Good and bad – Oh my. Do we need to read that? Particularly after they’ve gone. What purpose would it serve? Isn’t it a bit late to address one’s shortcomings? But, it could and perhaps should be a valuable exercise in understanding how the love of your life felt during good times and bad.
The Legacy a short story written in 1940 by Virginia Woolf takes us down this precarious path. Gilbert Clandon, a career-minded politician starts reading the personal diaries of his wife, Angela – who died in tragic circumstances.
The diaries commence with hum-drum stories of the trifles of married life. However, Woolf introduces the reader to a trail of clues to provide the reader with a sense of foreboding for worse things to come. There is a lot here and Woolf handles this masterfully. What is the price of a neglected relationship? The ended is swift. Left me thinking.
Watch those weeds, they’ll take over that once beautifully manicured garden if not nurtured.
5 Stars
Thanks to IIse – here’s the link "https://docs.google.com/document/prev..."
July 17, 2022
If ai only rated Virginia Woolf's books this would have been more of a 3 stars read. But as I'm reading far more books I gave it a higher rating. I don't think I've ever read something by Virginia Woolf I haven't liked and I was excited to see I got a few more things going through of hers. The writing is superb as always and I love the wordy yet very intriguing exploration of the characters. Hopefully will pick up something else by her rather soon
August 12, 2023
"Now All he had to do was to give her the brooch his wife had left her. A rather incongruous gift it seemed."
The clock struck three. It's short story time. Have you had your lunch? Lunchtime is the perfect opportunity to refuel. I had my lunch with Virginia today!
An emotional beginning of this tale, For every friend, Angela had left some little token of her affection...a ring, a necklace, a Chinese box, a pearl brooch! Angela dies in a sudden car accident, and as if she knew about her death, she left all such gifts for her friends. This was an unusual finding for her husband Gilbert, who was a politician.
For her secretary, Sissy Miller, she left a pearl brooch. She wrote, "For Sissy Miller , with my love!"
This story has a self-congratulatory, or you can call an uppish political fellow in the center, who does not give much respect to women, dresses immaculately and his political speeches are for the rich only. Through the diary of his wife, he realizes that she was not happy in his big house interested in doing social work she comes in contact with a socialist B.M! This story deals with a patriarchal mindset and reflects the feminist take of Virginia. It deals with love, marriage, trust, and self-absorbed egomania I think!
Of course, I picked up this short story to feel the prose of Virginia after a long time. Expecting a light-hearted, relaxing tale. I wanted calm to the mind. For a few days I have been reading mystery novels, and to come out from the influence of a Mystery mindset, an elegantly written story was what I was yearning for. This tale satiated my thirst yet Virginia knocked me for a six when I finished this tale. She has such a plot-twisting ability!
I ended up realizing that rather than coming out of a mystery mindset, it became another tale of twist to me adding one more chapter to my ongoing mystery run!
It's an interesting story addressing multiple things and I think all the people who like Virginia will like this story too!
March 22, 2022
This short story packs quite a punch as Woolf explores marriage, a topic she is very good with. The direction the story took was not a surprise, but the character study was marvelous.
Thank you to Mark for reminding me that I wanted to read this...and so I did.
You can read it HERE
Thank you to Mark for reminding me that I wanted to read this...and so I did.
You can read it HERE
May 18, 2022
In seventeen pages, Virginia Woolf has constructed a story that wanders through several people’s minds. A single tragic event develops into a sweeping canvas that reflects on marriage, societal constraints and self perception.
“ It was like Angela to have remembered even Sissy Miller, her secretary. Yet how strange it was, Gilbert Clandon thought once more, that she had left everything in such order-a little gift of some sort for every one of her friends. It was as if she had foreseen her death. Yet she had been in perfect health when she left the house that morning, six weeks ago; when she had stepped off the kerb in Piccadilly and the car had killed her.”
This intriguing paragraph invites us into the marriage of Gilbert and Angela Clandon, hinting that something is askew. Gilbert is a politician who has viewed his wife as a complimentary appendage to his career success. He mourns her within the scope of his own achievements, marveling at her social propriety in giving legacy gifts to her friends. He does not consider that Angela has removed deeply personal things from their home and situated them with other people who have impacted her life.
Angela does, however, have one gift for Gilbert. During their marriage, Angela kept a diary. She fiercely guarded its entries and never let Gilbert read it. Now, in death she has bequeathed the fifteen bound volumes of her diary to Gilbert.Upon reading the diaries, Gilbert frequently smiles as his name is repeatedly mentioned and he revels in the pride Angela takes in her wifely role. Gradually, Gilbert’s name appears less often and he begins to skim the entries. Eventually, two initials start to appear consistently …B.M. Startled by these entries, Gilbert reads on, determined to unlock the identity of this cryptically initialed person while discovering the nature of the relationship with Angela.It soon becomes evident that Angela had a life with previously unknown depths.
The story is cleverly constructed and explores the role of patriarchy, the struggle for gender independence, social expectation and class stratification. While the denouement is somewhat predictable, I think that Woolf’s concluding sentences should drive us back into the story to re-examine Angela’s motivations.
“ It was like Angela to have remembered even Sissy Miller, her secretary. Yet how strange it was, Gilbert Clandon thought once more, that she had left everything in such order-a little gift of some sort for every one of her friends. It was as if she had foreseen her death. Yet she had been in perfect health when she left the house that morning, six weeks ago; when she had stepped off the kerb in Piccadilly and the car had killed her.”
This intriguing paragraph invites us into the marriage of Gilbert and Angela Clandon, hinting that something is askew. Gilbert is a politician who has viewed his wife as a complimentary appendage to his career success. He mourns her within the scope of his own achievements, marveling at her social propriety in giving legacy gifts to her friends. He does not consider that Angela has removed deeply personal things from their home and situated them with other people who have impacted her life.
Angela does, however, have one gift for Gilbert. During their marriage, Angela kept a diary. She fiercely guarded its entries and never let Gilbert read it. Now, in death she has bequeathed the fifteen bound volumes of her diary to Gilbert.Upon reading the diaries, Gilbert frequently smiles as his name is repeatedly mentioned and he revels in the pride Angela takes in her wifely role. Gradually, Gilbert’s name appears less often and he begins to skim the entries. Eventually, two initials start to appear consistently …B.M. Startled by these entries, Gilbert reads on, determined to unlock the identity of this cryptically initialed person while discovering the nature of the relationship with Angela.It soon becomes evident that Angela had a life with previously unknown depths.
The story is cleverly constructed and explores the role of patriarchy, the struggle for gender independence, social expectation and class stratification. While the denouement is somewhat predictable, I think that Woolf’s concluding sentences should drive us back into the story to re-examine Angela’s motivations.
July 3, 2022
The audio on Youtube was not very good. One was AI "reading" and another version read by a human was slightly better, but the sound quality was poor.
February 25, 2023
{2023 update} An unusual short story from Virginia Woolf — one with a surprise twist, reminiscent of the short fiction of Kate Chopin. In my original review, below, I see I did not warn of spoilers; had assumed that everyone would have already read this short piece. Oops.
Yet how strange it was, Gilbert Clinton thought once more, that [his deceased wife] had left everything in such order—a little gift of some sort for every one of her friends. It was as if she had foreseen her death.
Indeed, little gifts of all sorts had been left, ranging from an enamel dolphin with ruby eyes, to a private diary in 15 volumes, bound in green leather. That diary is to be her husband's legacy.
{earlier review—beware of Spoilers!} This short story, about a husband discovering his recently-deceased wife had not died in an accident but had in fact killed herself because her secret lover committed suicide and she could not bear to go on without him, was rejected by an American women's magazine shortly before Virginia Woolf's own death.
Imagine that—a writer of Woolf’s caliber needing to deal with rejection letters.
It is also sad to think of all those American readers deprived of this sweet little story with its buried sting.
Yet how strange it was, Gilbert Clinton thought once more, that [his deceased wife] had left everything in such order—a little gift of some sort for every one of her friends. It was as if she had foreseen her death.
Indeed, little gifts of all sorts had been left, ranging from an enamel dolphin with ruby eyes, to a private diary in 15 volumes, bound in green leather. That diary is to be her husband's legacy.
{earlier review—beware of Spoilers!} This short story, about a husband discovering his recently-deceased wife had not died in an accident but had in fact killed herself because her secret lover committed suicide and she could not bear to go on without him, was rejected by an American women's magazine shortly before Virginia Woolf's own death.
Imagine that—a writer of Woolf’s caliber needing to deal with rejection letters.
It is also sad to think of all those American readers deprived of this sweet little story with its buried sting.
December 11, 2020
El legado es un cuento de Virginia Woolf de apenas 11 páginas sobre una mujer que a su muerte deja unos diarios para que los lea su marido. ¿Qué se puede contar en tan pocas páginas?? Pues toda una vida porque en pocos retazos conocemos la vida de Angela, pero sobre todo, a su marido Gilbert, porque el cuento está contado desde el punto de vista del marido. Angela, la esposa perfecta, dedicada a Gilbert, sumisa a más no poder, se revela y se desvela en sus diarios ante Gilbert, y lo transgresor del cuento no está precisamente en el retrato que Virginia Woolf hace de Angela, sino de como muestra al marido. Y cuántos temas toca Virginia Woolf en este breve cuento: el papel de la mujer de aquella época y quizás de ahora mismo también, la soledad, el conformismo de una vida cómoda en lugar de la autosuficiencia liberadora y sobre todo el matrimonio. Un cuento necesario.
"-Tomé coraje y hablé con Gilbert finalmente. Fue tan bueno, tan generoso. No puso ningún reparo-. Recordaba esa conversación. Me había dicho que tenía mucho tiempo libre, que se sentía inútil. Que deseaba tener un trabajo propio. Quería hacer algo (se había sonrojado de una forma tan bella al decirlo, sentada en esa silla, lo recordaba) para ayudar a los demás. Él se divirtió un poco con ella. ¿No tenía ya suficiente cuidándolo a él, cuidando la casa?"
"-Tomé coraje y hablé con Gilbert finalmente. Fue tan bueno, tan generoso. No puso ningún reparo-. Recordaba esa conversación. Me había dicho que tenía mucho tiempo libre, que se sentía inútil. Que deseaba tener un trabajo propio. Quería hacer algo (se había sonrojado de una forma tan bella al decirlo, sentada en esa silla, lo recordaba) para ayudar a los demás. Él se divirtió un poco con ella. ¿No tenía ya suficiente cuidándolo a él, cuidando la casa?"
March 21, 2022
This is a first dip of a toe into the pool of Woolf's body of work. It is a brilliant short story.
For a truly exceptional review, read that of my GR friend Mark, which led me to read this story:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
For a truly exceptional review, read that of my GR friend Mark, which led me to read this story:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
February 22, 2021
A grieving husband, whose wife was recently killed in a tragic accident, reads her diaries, kept over the past several years of their marriage.
June 20, 2022
"And would she have the courage....."
This is a chilling but effective short story on the sudden death of a spouse, which involves the discovery, by her bereaved husband, Gilbert Clandon(her widower), that his wife, Angela, was not all that she seemed to be.
Gilbert is an overtly smarmy politician of the conservative variety, and the condescension with which he treats her personal assistant for whom she has bequeathed a piece of sentimental jewellery knows few bounds.
However, it appears that she, Sissy Miller, knows more about his late wife's activities and recent interests than he does....
This piece upends the coolly complacent politician and his contempt for the lower class that the PA appears to represent in a way that appears more to reflect the sparseness of Katherine Mansfield's "Bliss" than the overtly ornate inner dialogue of "Mrs Dalloway".
I have to confess that I really liked this story that I heard first as an Audio piece, free to hear on YouTube: https://youtu.be/TTHTsTJoan8
This is a chilling but effective short story on the sudden death of a spouse, which involves the discovery, by her bereaved husband, Gilbert Clandon(her widower), that his wife, Angela, was not all that she seemed to be.
Gilbert is an overtly smarmy politician of the conservative variety, and the condescension with which he treats her personal assistant for whom she has bequeathed a piece of sentimental jewellery knows few bounds.
However, it appears that she, Sissy Miller, knows more about his late wife's activities and recent interests than he does....
This piece upends the coolly complacent politician and his contempt for the lower class that the PA appears to represent in a way that appears more to reflect the sparseness of Katherine Mansfield's "Bliss" than the overtly ornate inner dialogue of "Mrs Dalloway".
I have to confess that I really liked this story that I heard first as an Audio piece, free to hear on YouTube: https://youtu.be/TTHTsTJoan8
March 26, 2020
A masterly crafted short story about a man who only in hindsight understands his marriage.
I absolutely adored this. It's been a while since I read 16 pages so full of perfection.
I absolutely adored this. It's been a while since I read 16 pages so full of perfection.
March 7, 2025
Killer story. Shocking. Well told. Cool!
March 20, 2022
Although this is not my first Virginia Woolf story, it is my first short story by her. Thank you to my Goodreads friend for drawing it to my attention, his review instantly intrigued me, and I had to read it then and there! Needless to say, I really enjoyed it. The simple premise led to a neat ending in a very short, masterfully written, package.
February 1, 2020
Empiezo a pensar que las cosas cuanto más concentradas mejor...igual que los perfumes.... Así es este relato. Precioso y trágico... Elegante y cuidado.
Muy poquitas páginas resumen casi la vida y muerte de una mujer.
Muy poquitas páginas resumen casi la vida y muerte de una mujer.
August 8, 2020
"he cast his eyes rapidly over more pages, full of the little trifles, the insignificant, happy, daily trifles that had made up her life.”
the legacy is a very short little novella exploring a marriage in hindsight after the wife, angela, has suddenly died. it was such a wonderful experience to read, filled with subtle clues to the true nature of what was going on that I absolutely loved dissecting. though it is so short it leaves so much room to speculate and I certainly took advantage of that making the little book overflow with notes in the margins and took huge satisfaction in figuring out the "twist" before it was fully revealed.
I don't want to explain the book too much because it's definitely an experience to read and uncover its themes, but, among other things, it explores ego, loneliness, identity, gender roles and the importance of caring for others. it's also just incredibly smartly written.
I can't wait to explore more of virginia woolf's works now, because if she can manage to craft perfection in just 17 pages, I can't even begin to imagine what her other works must be like.
read for the newt’s magical readathon 2020: ancient runes E
the legacy is a very short little novella exploring a marriage in hindsight after the wife, angela, has suddenly died. it was such a wonderful experience to read, filled with subtle clues to the true nature of what was going on that I absolutely loved dissecting. though it is so short it leaves so much room to speculate and I certainly took advantage of that making the little book overflow with notes in the margins and took huge satisfaction in figuring out the "twist" before it was fully revealed.
I don't want to explain the book too much because it's definitely an experience to read and uncover its themes, but, among other things, it explores ego, loneliness, identity, gender roles and the importance of caring for others. it's also just incredibly smartly written.
I can't wait to explore more of virginia woolf's works now, because if she can manage to craft perfection in just 17 pages, I can't even begin to imagine what her other works must be like.
read for the newt’s magical readathon 2020: ancient runes E
October 3, 2024
Nej asså är kär i Virginia Woolfs skrivstil????
September 27, 2020
Mic Drop
Oh. My. God.
That was such an amazingly structured short story!
Intelligent work of an intelligent writer indeed.
I'm astonished in a PERFECT way!
=====
The Legacy is a short story about a woman who passes away and leaves to her husband her diaries as her "legacy to him". As the husband starts reading the diaries, he gets to know shocking facts about his past wife.
I'm not going to make any spoilers, so no need to go through the plot. Let's talk about how Virginia, in a few lines, described, through the eyes of a man, what a "perfect women" to them is:
"the loveliest woman." She must be pretty; this tops the list.
"sitting on the platform beside him." A supporting wife, who follows her husband whenever he goes, and exerts all of her efforts to see him succeeding.
"She was so terribly ignorant, she used to say, as if that were not one of her charms." Of course she must be ignorant; this means she will always need him, she will always want and crave for his knowledge and look at him as a sort of a God.
"she had blushed so prettily, he remembered, as she said it, sitting in that very chair-to help others." Of course a woman who blushes and talks in a vey tamed and quite, respectful manner, what is there not to like? She must have manners, you know.
At the first glance, many would find this as a praise to her, but in fact, it shows how men and community have shaped women in a certain image in order to be perfect by their standers.
The way Gilbert had described his wife gives an example of how he viewed her in his life. She had no presence or personality but being his "wife", everything about her was insignificant. Even while reading the diaries, he had no interest in knowing about the life his wife was leading, he found it "Trifles".
"He cast his eyes rapidly over more pages, full of the little trifles, the insignificant, happy, daily trifles that had made up her life."
Even her wishes and her hopes were margined and pushed aside,
"And she, of course, was more often alone. . .. It had been a great grief to her, apparently, that they had had no children. “How I wish,” one entry read, “that Gilbert had a son!” Oddly enough he had never much regretted that himself. Life had been so full, so rich as it was."
If life was rich and full for him, why would he even care about how lonely and sad she has been?
But you know, of course he starts caring when he feels his masculinity is being threatened; MEN
=====
To be honest, this was very smart, and very well-written. A surface level reading would find Gilbert a victim. But it is all about the vocabulary and the terms used; the way men view and frame women under certain labels. This is what feminisms and feminist writers like Virginia have been trying to prove and fight against over the years.
Absolutely loved it.
It made its way to my "favorite Shelf" in a few minutes!
RECOMENDED!
Oh. My. God.
That was such an amazingly structured short story!
Intelligent work of an intelligent writer indeed.
I'm astonished in a PERFECT way!
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The Legacy is a short story about a woman who passes away and leaves to her husband her diaries as her "legacy to him". As the husband starts reading the diaries, he gets to know shocking facts about his past wife.
I'm not going to make any spoilers, so no need to go through the plot. Let's talk about how Virginia, in a few lines, described, through the eyes of a man, what a "perfect women" to them is:
"the loveliest woman." She must be pretty; this tops the list.
"sitting on the platform beside him." A supporting wife, who follows her husband whenever he goes, and exerts all of her efforts to see him succeeding.
"She was so terribly ignorant, she used to say, as if that were not one of her charms." Of course she must be ignorant; this means she will always need him, she will always want and crave for his knowledge and look at him as a sort of a God.
"she had blushed so prettily, he remembered, as she said it, sitting in that very chair-to help others." Of course a woman who blushes and talks in a vey tamed and quite, respectful manner, what is there not to like? She must have manners, you know.
At the first glance, many would find this as a praise to her, but in fact, it shows how men and community have shaped women in a certain image in order to be perfect by their standers.
The way Gilbert had described his wife gives an example of how he viewed her in his life. She had no presence or personality but being his "wife", everything about her was insignificant. Even while reading the diaries, he had no interest in knowing about the life his wife was leading, he found it "Trifles".
"He cast his eyes rapidly over more pages, full of the little trifles, the insignificant, happy, daily trifles that had made up her life."
Even her wishes and her hopes were margined and pushed aside,
"And she, of course, was more often alone. . .. It had been a great grief to her, apparently, that they had had no children. “How I wish,” one entry read, “that Gilbert had a son!” Oddly enough he had never much regretted that himself. Life had been so full, so rich as it was."
If life was rich and full for him, why would he even care about how lonely and sad she has been?
But you know, of course he starts caring when he feels his masculinity is being threatened; MEN
=====
To be honest, this was very smart, and very well-written. A surface level reading would find Gilbert a victim. But it is all about the vocabulary and the terms used; the way men view and frame women under certain labels. This is what feminisms and feminist writers like Virginia have been trying to prove and fight against over the years.
Absolutely loved it.
It made its way to my "favorite Shelf" in a few minutes!
RECOMENDED!
December 27, 2024
Som med så meget andet VW er det det underliggende og usagte, der er nøglen. Og selv så kort en historie rummer en hel del.
June 29, 2017
The Legacy by Virginia Woolf is a short story about a woman and her diaries which she leaves behind for her husband before she commits suicide. Angela was a good wife and a helpful person. Being married to a person who was more interested in his work than her led to her penning down her feelings into a set of 15 volumes of diary. Trapped in a lonely marriage, she became unhappy and low and ultimately embraces death. This single scene story is based on the aftermath of her death when her husband finds the diaries, starts to read them and discover something that shakes him up.
One fine day, Gilbert waits for his wife’s secretary, Sissy Miller when he finds a brooch marked to her name in his wife’s belongings, after her death. He is fascinated by the fact that Angela had planned so much; it seemed she knew of her impending death. She had left a token of affection for all of her friends, and him – her diaries. He remembers having trivial tiffs over them, she unwilling to show them to him while she lived. Now, after her death, she left them with his name on it, as her legacy. While he waits for Sissy, he flips through the pages of the diaries. Angela mostly wrote about her day-to-day doings, little of this and that mentioning Gilbert’s name regularly, his achievements, their dates and travels. He reads them with little interest, although his head up high on giving her a good life until he realizes his name has vanished altogether. At this point Sissy arrives and he hands over her the gift from Angela inquiring if she needs any help financially. Sissy refutes and instead asks him if she could be of any help to him for the sake of his lovely wife. He muses over the fact that Sissy’s offer of help might be driven from the fact that she is enamored by him and prides in himself. After she leaves, he continues with the reading and finds initials of B.M., who appears constantly in Angela’s entries after his own name was obliterated. This B.M. seems to have a highly dramatic effect on Angela, his thoughts and methods force her to question herself. Inquisitively he probes further but is unable to uncover the identity of B.M. with whom Angela seems to have an intimate relationship. She even invited him to their home when Gilbert was out giving speech somewhere! His ego hurt, Gilbert makes a call to Sissy to inquire about this man. She informs him that he was his brother and had died in an accident two weeks ago. Realizing that Angela had an affair with B.M. and had committed suicide to unite with her lover and escape Gilbert in a loveless marriage (it was believed to be an accident until then), he disconnects the call and tries to come to face with The Legacy he had received.
The narrative is quite simple and forward, there are no back and forth and is easy to understand. Turning the pages does not seem difficult when the story binds you with itself even when there is just one living character from beginning to the end (except the Sissy Miller interjection). It is compactly written, sketching the character of the dead protagonist via memories of her husband, secretary and most importantly, her diaries. The author touches upon multiple themes in this short story – marriage, love, infidelity, loneliness, neglect, gender roles, ego and change.
It may be possible that this story was written to highlight the situation of married women, where they are seen as a wife or a mother and not as a person with her own singular personality. Being trapped in a lifeless marriage with a husband gives her no option but to take a drastic step that would let her escape forever.
One fine day, Gilbert waits for his wife’s secretary, Sissy Miller when he finds a brooch marked to her name in his wife’s belongings, after her death. He is fascinated by the fact that Angela had planned so much; it seemed she knew of her impending death. She had left a token of affection for all of her friends, and him – her diaries. He remembers having trivial tiffs over them, she unwilling to show them to him while she lived. Now, after her death, she left them with his name on it, as her legacy. While he waits for Sissy, he flips through the pages of the diaries. Angela mostly wrote about her day-to-day doings, little of this and that mentioning Gilbert’s name regularly, his achievements, their dates and travels. He reads them with little interest, although his head up high on giving her a good life until he realizes his name has vanished altogether. At this point Sissy arrives and he hands over her the gift from Angela inquiring if she needs any help financially. Sissy refutes and instead asks him if she could be of any help to him for the sake of his lovely wife. He muses over the fact that Sissy’s offer of help might be driven from the fact that she is enamored by him and prides in himself. After she leaves, he continues with the reading and finds initials of B.M., who appears constantly in Angela’s entries after his own name was obliterated. This B.M. seems to have a highly dramatic effect on Angela, his thoughts and methods force her to question herself. Inquisitively he probes further but is unable to uncover the identity of B.M. with whom Angela seems to have an intimate relationship. She even invited him to their home when Gilbert was out giving speech somewhere! His ego hurt, Gilbert makes a call to Sissy to inquire about this man. She informs him that he was his brother and had died in an accident two weeks ago. Realizing that Angela had an affair with B.M. and had committed suicide to unite with her lover and escape Gilbert in a loveless marriage (it was believed to be an accident until then), he disconnects the call and tries to come to face with The Legacy he had received.
The narrative is quite simple and forward, there are no back and forth and is easy to understand. Turning the pages does not seem difficult when the story binds you with itself even when there is just one living character from beginning to the end (except the Sissy Miller interjection). It is compactly written, sketching the character of the dead protagonist via memories of her husband, secretary and most importantly, her diaries. The author touches upon multiple themes in this short story – marriage, love, infidelity, loneliness, neglect, gender roles, ego and change.
It may be possible that this story was written to highlight the situation of married women, where they are seen as a wife or a mother and not as a person with her own singular personality. Being trapped in a lifeless marriage with a husband gives her no option but to take a drastic step that would let her escape forever.
December 30, 2018
I realised when I read this, how ignorant the upper class tends to be. A grieving husband, also a politician, didn’t notice how unhappy his own wife was? He mentioned that the lower class are, well, less worth.
Particularly one moment struck me. When he told about how his wife wrote about this B.M. Apparently this B.M had greeted their housemaid when he visited them. My first thought was that it’s obvious and just polite to greet someone, no matter what occupation they have. But, he, the politician said that it was therefor clear that B.M belonged to lower class, as well as the housemaid. Just because he greeted her.
The ending was really sad as he realised how miserable his wife had been and discovered how she truly died.
Particularly one moment struck me. When he told about how his wife wrote about this B.M. Apparently this B.M had greeted their housemaid when he visited them. My first thought was that it’s obvious and just polite to greet someone, no matter what occupation they have. But, he, the politician said that it was therefor clear that B.M belonged to lower class, as well as the housemaid. Just because he greeted her.
The ending was really sad as he realised how miserable his wife had been and discovered how she truly died.
May 20, 2020
Relato sorprendente de la magistral escritora Virginia Woolf. Escrito desde el punto de vista de Gilbert, el protagonista del relato, no sólo nos muestra su carácter, sino su absoluta ignorancia en todo lo que se refiere a su mujer. No voy a explicar más del argumento. Es sorprendente para la época en que fue escrito. Me ha gustado mucho la sutileza al describir gestos y la interpretación condescendiente de estos por parte de Gilbert, así como la eficacia y economía del diálogo. También su forma de contarlo. Va de menos a más y dosifica la intriga de una forma magistral. Leer este cuento me ha redescubierto a esta autora.
February 1, 2020
El legado es un cuento de Virginia Woolf de apenas 11 páginas sobre una mujer que a su muerte deja unos diarios para que los lea su marido. ¿Qué se puede contar en tan pocas páginas?? Pues toda una vida porque en pocos retazos conocemos la vida de Angela, pero sobre todo, a su marido Gilbert, porque el cuento está contado desde el punto de vista del marido. Angela, la esposa perfecta, dedicada a Gilbert, sumisa a más no poder, se revela y se desvela en sus diarios ante Gilbert, y lo reaccionario del cuento no está precisamente en el retrato que Virginia Woolf hace de Angela, sino de como muestra al marido. Y cuántos temas toca Virginia Woolf en este breve cuento: el papel de la mujer de aquella época y quizás de ahora mismo también, la soledad, el conformismo de una vida cómoda en lugar de la autosuficiencia liberadora y sobre todo el matrimonio. Un cuento necesario.
"-Tomé coraje y hablé con Gilbert finalmente. Fue tan bueno, tan generoso. No puso ningún reparo-. Recordaba esa conversación. Me había dicho que tenía mucho tiempo libre, que se sentía inútil. Que deseaba tener un trabajo propio. Quería hacer algo (se había sonrojado de una forma tan bella al decirlo, sentada en esa silla, lo recordaba) para ayudar a los demás. Él se divirtió un poco con ella. ¿No tenía ya suficiente cuidándolo a él, cuidando la casa?"
"-Tomé coraje y hablé con Gilbert finalmente. Fue tan bueno, tan generoso. No puso ningún reparo-. Recordaba esa conversación. Me había dicho que tenía mucho tiempo libre, que se sentía inútil. Que deseaba tener un trabajo propio. Quería hacer algo (se había sonrojado de una forma tan bella al decirlo, sentada en esa silla, lo recordaba) para ayudar a los demás. Él se divirtió un poco con ella. ¿No tenía ya suficiente cuidándolo a él, cuidando la casa?"
August 11, 2025
Ulalala
ELSKER PLOTTET
Sådan meget fin og kort novelle (som noveller jo er?)
Men propfyldt med gode ord og historier!!!
ELSKER PLOTTET
Sådan meget fin og kort novelle (som noveller jo er?)
Men propfyldt med gode ord og historier!!!
September 19, 2021
Brilliant.
September 25, 2025
3,5 ⭐️
December 9, 2017
Strange, but when I read this story of a grieving husband, a highly successful politician, reading his deceased wife's diaries, I couldn't help but think how removed from reality the privileged ruling class is. It is not just that the upper one tenth of one percent does not understand the other 99%, they are often completely unaware of what happens outside their own immediate circle of activities. Egocentric is inadequate to describe the phenomenon and probably even an understatement.
Using terminology from grammar, what society must achieve is not a shift from thinking exclusively in the 1st person singular to the 2nd person or 3rd person, but a shift from the 1st person singular to the 1st person plural, from "I" to "we". When that happens, mankind will have achieved genuine progress.
Using terminology from grammar, what society must achieve is not a shift from thinking exclusively in the 1st person singular to the 2nd person or 3rd person, but a shift from the 1st person singular to the 1st person plural, from "I" to "we". When that happens, mankind will have achieved genuine progress.
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