Essays on the Self

by Virginia Woolf

Woolf's fine character studies of several authors, among them Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who 'seems not a man, but a swarm, a cloud, a buzz of words, darting this way and that, clustering, quivering and hanging suspended'. He is, Woolf adds,so complex, so eccentric, that we 'become dazed in the labyrinth of what we call Coleridge'. He was incapable of adopting requisite social modes, of suppressing his obsessive urge to talk, of pandering to the expectations of others. Woolf tries to capture a 'clear picture' of Coleridge but this metaphor is skewed and what she really reveals is a voice - mad and beautiful - never to be heard again:

Genres: Essays, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Feminism

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

(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."

Reviews

[Irmak Zileli · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Woolf sınırlı, sonlu benliğin tabiatı ya da bireysel deneyimin nasıl kavranıp ayırt edilebileceği ve aktarılabileceği hususunda büyülenmişçesne takıntılıdır” diyor kitabın önsözünde Joanna Kavenna. Bilinçakışı yöntemini belki de bu takıntıya borçluyuz diye düşündüm bu cümleyi okuyunca.
Dolayısıyla Woolf imzalı denemelerin toplandığı bir kitabın adının “Benlik Üzerine Denemeler” olmasından daha doğal bir şey olamaz. Her deneme doğrudan benlikle ilgili olmayabilir ama ucu benliğe dokunmayan konu da azdır. Hele yazarı Woolf ise.
Kitaptaki denemelerin bir kısmı başka kitaplarda da yer almış. Ama ben vu vesile ile yeniden okuduğum her yazıyı gerçekten “yeni” okumuşum gibi hissettim. Ne de olsa benlik dediğimiz şey hep yenilenen bir tabiata sahip.
#okudumbitti #okumaönerisi #reklamdeğildir #bookstagram

[Norman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Admittedly I don't know who these writers Woolf refers to are, but I feel it doesn't really matter. I think I get the concept of "I am I," and it'd probably be prudent to read some Coleridge or Walpole, but whatever. Some important essays: Character in Fiction, How Should One Read a Book?, Professions for Women, The Sun and the Fish, Thoughts on Peace in an Air Raid. Now I should continue onwards to "A Writer's Diary," but I feel so drained.

[alma]

Besides the wit and the anecdote and the brilliant descriptions of masquerades and midnight revelries his friends drew from him something superficial yet profound, something changing yet entire – himself shall we call it in default of one word for that which friends elicit but the great public kills? From that sprang his immortality. For a self that goes on changing is a self that goes on living. As an historian he would have stagnated among historians. But as a letter writer he buffets his way among the crowd, holding out a hand to each generation in turn – laughed at, criticised, despised, admired, but always in touch with the living.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This woman is obviously a genius and every time I have the pleasure of reading her I am reminded of that fact and like getting to spend some time with her wandering and amazing mind! A "Love of Reading" "Letters to a Young Poet" and "Work for Women" are gems, while some of her criticism on Edwardian and Victorian writers is a little dry and biographical about old dead men. Some serious sass in here as well! The last page is all about wandering around being tired of the patriarchy, but being a sure and sound self in a strange world.

[Evren Bay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joanna Kavenna'nın bir araya getirdiği bu seçki, Virginia Woolf'un "benlik" üzerine, "kadın benliği" üzerine yazdığı makaleleri içeriyor. Beni en çok etkileyen iki makale şunlar oldu:
1. Kurmacada Karakter
2. Kadınlar İçin Meslekler

[Skylar · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 stars

Virginia Woolf's writing is always delightful to read. My main issue is with the marketing for this collection of essays. For a collection called "Essays on the Self" I felt like there were remarkibly few essays that were actually about the self in some capacity. I feel like "Essays that might maybe touch on the topic identity or individuality in a sentence or two" might be have been a better title for the majority of these essays.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading these essays and Woolf's thoughts on writing, reading and women's roles and occupations will never not be interesting to me, but as a whole this collection was not really what I'd hoped it to be. The quote on the cover drew me in, but at the end it ended up being the best part of the whole collection.

[Lejla Levin · Rating 5 out of 5]

With its central question on the self this collection gives profound depth on both writing and reading, acknowledging that they are one and not separated. The conscious task of writer to find a unique self through which to view the world is central in many essays. 5 stars because of the -How should one read a book? - reminding us that reading is a process and not easy one because it demands awareness and art of attention. One needs to become a friend with writer, first with the one inside of us and then second the other one - the great artist with its own task to find his unique self reflecting it back to the reader with reminder that we should read for the love of reading.

[Titus Hjelm · Rating 3 out of 5]

A difficult book to rate. Woolf obviously writes beautifully, but the focus on the 'self' is at times hard to unearth. The first essays are about the art of fiction and while interesting and pleasurable to read, I simply found Woolf's take on 'proper' fiction problematic. Kavenna's otherwise informative introduction did not exactly help in this sense. Stylistically, the essays range from the personal to the professional, and from argument-based to poetic. Not a bad collection, but left me somewhat cold.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Woolf devotees will not be disappointed by "The Sun and the Fish," as gorgeous an essays I've read (and about the only one I would describe as stream-of-consciousness in a good way). That said, the collection as a whole highlights one of the more subtle pieces of her art, her skill as a gentle ironist.

Also the design of this small book is an absolute pleasure.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️

"Write then, now that you are young, nonsense by the ream."

I picked this up thinking I could hammer it out within a day, what with it being less than 200 pages. Came to realize, about seven pages in, that this book demands you pace yourself and soak up every word. Virginia Woolf's wit and wandering mind isn't something to speed through.

[Yasin Çetin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Derleyenin benlik üzerine yazdığı bir önsözle başlayan kitap, Virginia Woolf'ün yazıları ile devam ediyor. Bu yazılar ağırlıkla Virginia Woolf'ün, kitaplara yazdığı eleştiri yazılarından oluşuyor; İngiliz Edebiyatı konusunda bilgisizliğimi hissettiren yazılarına da yer verilmiş. Bu eleştiriler, karakterlere ve karakterin ruhi dünyasının yansıtılması konusunda ağırlık kazanıyor. Modern yazarların, gelenek içinde kalarak, sınırlı bir yenilik ile özgünlük oluşturduklarına eleştiri getiriyor. Ataerkilliğe satır aralarında eleştiri getirmeyi ihmal etmediği gibi, kadınların sosyal hayat mücadeleleri ilgili yazılarına da kitapta yer verilmiş. Bir yazar nasıl yazmalı: kendi olmalı! Bir okur nasıl olmalı: yazarının suç ortağı olmalı ve sonraki okuyacağı eserlerle kıyaslama yapmalı! Virginia Woolf'ün muazzam kalemi ile kurgular ise kitabın ayrı bir güzelliği.

[Steven Severance · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a small anthology of 13 essays by Virginia Woolf.

I liked 3 of them . The piece titled "Proffessions for women" about the being a woman writter is wonderful, perceptive and surpising.

I would own the book for that essay alone.

Despite the book's title these pieces are mainly about literature not about "self".

[Casi ! · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed some pieces of this: on “rethinking human life into poetry” Woolf writes: “All you need now is to stand at the indie and let your rhythmical sense open and shut, open and shut, boldly and freely, until one thing melts in another, until the tacos are dancing with the daffodils, until a whole has been made from all these separate fragments”

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente. Creo que me queda bastante poco que leer de la autora, y un poco eso me entristece, pero siempre se que puedo volver a sus libros y encontrarme de nuevo entre esas páginas, y poder siempre aprender algo nuevo de Virginia Woolf.

[T.E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always a pleasure to read Ginny Wolf.

[Mara Vava · Rating 5 out of 5]

She’s mother

[Ha Tran Nguyen Phuong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow to be able to write like Virginia Woolf is truly a gift

[maría · Rating 5 out of 5]

she's so cool you guys

[jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous, gorgeous book, with beautiful and introspective writing.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

An uneven collection. The essays in the first half (on Modern Fiction, Character in Fiction, and Reading) are each very good, full of classic Woolfian stream of consciousness bits, and sharp wit. But the later essays were a bit too contemplative, and sad, to be enjoyable.