Virginia Woolf

by Carl R. Woodring, Viviane Forrester, Jody Gladding (Translator)

Virginia Woolf, czołowa pisarka XX wieku i mentorka współczesnych feministek. Jej życie zainspirowało nagrodzony Oscarem film Godziny z Nicole Kidman w roli pisarki. Viviane Forrester pokazuje tę niezwykłą postać, analizując listy i pamiętniki Virginii oraz jej męża Leonarda. Kreśli portret kobiety, której dotąd nie znaliśmy, obala niektóre mity na jej temat, między innymi o niechęci do dzieci czy o źródle frustracji i depresji, za wszelkie niepowodzenia oskarżając męża Virginii. Forrester stawia pisarkę w nowym świetle i w przeciwieństwie do poprzednich biografii, pokazuje ją jako kobietę silną, pewną siebie, a jednocześnie bardzo skrzywdzoną przez najbliższe otoczenie.
Książka została nagrodzona w 2009 r. prestiżową Prix Goncourt de la Biographie, przyznawaną najlepszym powieściom biograficznym przez Towarzystwo Literackie im. francuskiego pisarza Edmonda de Goncourta.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, History, Feminism

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Carl Ray Woodring was a professor of English literature at Wisconsin and Columbia, an author, an acclaimed essayist and a distinguished international literary critic.

He became the George Edward Woodberry Professor of Literature at Columbia in 1976, and retained the chair as professor of literature emeritus when he retired in 1988. During his career at Columbia he served on the Columbia Society of Fellows in the Humanities as Chairman and Co-Chairman. Carl's scholarly awards are numerous, ranging from the Bowdoin prize at Harvard (1947), a Ford Foundation grant for 1955-56 and a Guggenheim Fellowship for 1958-59. In 1986 he received Rice University's Distinguished Alumnus award. Carl wrote numerous articles and books including "Politics in the Poetry of Coleridge" (1961), "Wordsworth" (1965), and "Nature into Art: Cultural Transformations in Nineteenth-Century Britain" (1989), He edited the two volumes of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Table Talk (for the Bollingen Series "Collected Coleridge: in 1990) and co-edited "The Columbia History of British Poetry" (1995). His 1970 book on William Wordsworth, "Politics in English Romantic Poetry," won the Phi Beta Kappa award. His "Literature: an Endangered Profession" (published Columbia University Press in 1999) won the Texas Writers League Violet Crown Award.

Reviews

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give a lot of books 5 stars - it is very difficult to write a book - but this is one of the very few books that deserves more. This book deserves all the accolades it has been given, as well as my own praise: it took me out of my head, immediately, and I did not want to finish reading it.

[MaureenMcBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wrote this review for the newspaper:
At first, I thought I was reading an autobiography by Virginia Woolf, rather than a biography about her. The sentence fragments and stream-of-consciousness could be right out of “Mrs. Dalloway.”
Viviane Forrester, a French writer, essayist, novelist and literary critic, channels Woolf as she re-examines the life and literature of the famed British writer, essayist, novelist and literary critic: “Here she is, passionate, ever watchful for what is always escaping, although she manages to capture its transience; here she is demanding, a little weary, impatient.”
Forrester, who died in 2013, was a protective biographer. She challenges the narrative that has shaped Woolf’s image, particularly that told by her husband, Leonard, whose memoir describes a fragile, frigid woman, a mere step from the madness that would lead her to fill her pockets with stones and enter the River Ouse one day. Forester’s research included recently discovered documents as well as interviews with friends and family members conducted over the years. The result describes a stronger, passionate woman, a brilliant writer beset by loss and betrayals by her closest family members — yet someone not above flirting with her sister’s husband.
Just translated into English, this book has won one of France’s best-known literary awards, the Prix Goncourt for biography. For Woolf fans, it is a provocative portrait, richly woven with Woolf’s distinctive voice and Forrester’s faithful echo.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author, Viviane Forrester (1925-2013) has translated some of Virginia Woolf’s work into French and has done tremendous research in her book, Virginia Woolf - A Portrait. This research, based on additional letters and journals, has revealed another side and conflicting characterization of Virginia Woolf than what is portrayed by the common perspective offered by her nephew and biographer, Quentin Bell. It is refreshing to see a perspective that may be a more accurate point of view from research outside of the family alliances. This book was originally written in French and translated into English by Jody Gladding.

I have To The Lighthouse (1927) by Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) on my TBR pile and it is part of my personal challenge to read more of the great literary works. To The Lighthouse tops lists of literary classic fiction and was inspired on the remembrances of family trips from Virginia's own life. I wanted to find out more about Virginia Woolf by reading a literary biography.

Viviane Forrester is a French Jew and points out the complexity of the anti-semitism of the time period and of the particular conflicts that Virginia holds in her own views. She married Leonard Woolf, of Jewish ancestry and loves him dearly, yet has feelings of disgust and animosity toward the Jews in general. Virginia is devoted to Leonard and even plans a suicide pact that they would chose to die together if England were to be invaded by Germany and fall under Hitler’s torture. Thankfully, this did not materialize, but her devotion to a Jewish man is clearly demonstrated.

The book has extensive references and includes discussions of the facts and correspondence that was occurring during the time periods of the writing of some of her major works, including:

The Voyage Out (1915)
Mrs Dalloway (1925)
To The Lighthouse (1927)
Orlanda (1928)
A Room of One's Own (1929)
The Waves (1931)

Along with James Joyce and William Faulkner, Virginia Woolf is known for writing in the Modernist style of ‘stream of consciousness’ in some of her works.

Virginia struggled with mental illness during a time period where there was not much treatment other than being committed to an asylum. Sadly, throughout her life, she had a few suicide attempts and ended her life at age 59.

At times, this book was difficult to follow since it seems to jump around between references and time periods in the discussions. It may be because it is translated but also because I had not previously been aware of the major details of Virginia Woolf’s life. Perhaps others with more knowledge of the people, places and events of her life would have an easier time following along in this book.

[Alina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Irytowała mnie ta książka. Forma, treść, błędy w polskim wydaniu i ta bzdura z okładki (skopiowana zresztą przez większość serwisów).

[Kristi Hovington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never read a biography like this one; it is Woolfian in its writing, more concerned with leaving an impression of the facts (with facts!) than with narrating a history. It won the Prix Goncourt for biography in France, deservedly so. What I love best about this is that is urges the reader to reconsider Woolf's "madness' and "frigidity" and questions how the two men who championed that narrative (her husband and her nephew, her first official biographer) benefited from it. Anyone who has read Virginia's letters to Vita would scoff at the notion she was frigid or asexual; and in terms of madness, that moniker allowed Leonard to have quite a bit of control over her. When I visited Monk's House, one of the workers there told me about Leonard's partner after Virginia's death, Trekkie parsons, who I'd not heard of. They were together for decades but, like with Virginia, they never consummated their partnership physically. Forrester dives into why Leonard might advance the idea that the intimacy issues are all Virginia's, while publishing in this book letters Leonard wrote to Strachey that really turn the whole idea of Virginia being the "frigid" one in the relationship upside down. And Quentin Bell - just no. I tried to read some of his work about Virginia a long time ago and aborted that attempt almost immediately, and I'm glad Forrester interrogates his motives in characterizing his aunt so negatively.

Forrester also doesn't shy away from the antisemitism that was rampant in Bloomsbury and the hateful things said about Jewish people to Leonard, who was Jewish. Bloomsbury was many wonderful things, but this is absolutely not one of them and I think any biography of that group, or of Virginia, that doesn't include this is incomplete.

A great and necessary addition for anyone interested in Virginia or Leonard.

[Marie-Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography shatters the image of Woolf, Leslie and her nephew tried to shape. It brings up new insights into her relationship with her husband, her sister and her physical desires .The reason why I didn't give this a 5 stars is that Forrester in her battle to portray Virgina as ''sane'' and ''normal'' completely banalizes her mental health. I've read Virginia's journal, and although we can argue that perhaps Virginia was only reacting to her life, she did struggle with mental health; she felt deeply and her emotional reactions did not concord with the events of her life. In Andrew Solomon's words ''it is too much of a reaction for too little of a cause". And that is O-KAY. If you ever read ''the yellow wallpaper'' by Charlotte Perkins, Forrester seemed to be arguing in a similar vein that Virginia's mental health issues were caused by her husband's control and this is what eventually led to her suicide. And perhaps that was the case, we will never know anyway. She is not here to tell us or for us to judge. But Virginia jumping out of a window was not a banal event. It does suggest deep sensitivity/ unabilty to reason. It is unarguably extreme. And I feel like trying to make those problems unimportant is as bad as Leslie making it her whole person. She is not defined by that sensivity or her illness and I feel sorry that no one ever understood that.
It's worth a read, but it's to be taken with a grain of salt because there's a lot of supposition/Forrester's interpretation. It is well researched and opens the conversation to multiple aspects of Virginia's life and relationships.

[Minstrelka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read quite a few biographies, but never have I read such an overly emotional one! At times it was just unbearable. Viviane Forrester does have some interesting theories and only they made me go through with this book. Way too many exclamation marks, rethorial questions and repetitions. This biography it definitely only for those, who have already read other books about Woolf. Otherwise, I stronly don't recommend it for Woolf-beginners.

[Mélie Nasr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the book that got me reading Virginia Woolf compulsively. I took one star off because the style can get overbearingly emotional, but I was just so relieved to read something about this genius that was relatable. I'm not sure it's possible to understand Virginia Woolf without a resolutely modern approach to her character, like this one, considering what she went through and her times.

[Katherine Cherington · Rating 4 out of 5]

One must find a book absolutely smashing in order to have the fortitude to read it over Mr Zamoras droning tones.
That it the case for the mah-verlous biography which consistently dazzles with craft, research, and poetry.

(Translation: fire read would recommend)

[Marion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Une biographie qui réussit le pari d’être excellente à tous les points de vue : analyse du personnage, érudition et écriture. Un objet littéraire bouleversant.

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times I really enjoyed this lyrical, intuitive meditation on Woolf's life which sometimes read as if Cixous had finally turned from Joyce. It is provocative, suggestive in both senses of the word. Yes, I can imagine this new vision of a sensual Virginia thwarted by a sexually repressed Leonard, and I have long felt a deep sadness at Vanessa's self-denying devotion to a Duncan who was only chaste with her. And I can imagine the suffocating pressure of the histrionic father's demands feeling like incest, but the slide from metaphor into literal claim is too assured and definite. After a while the pervasive accumulation of sentence fragments (dozens per page) begins to toll, as if the grammatical lack of predication is a symptom of a logical lack: it is so much easier to suggest connections, dwell in metaphor, than to actually argue for a thesis.

[Mills College Library]

Biog W9128f 2015

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A portrait, not a biography, with some interesting insights about the people and environment that shaped this tragic life

[Jesse]

a creatively written alternate perspective on Woolf and her relationships