Ian A Holcomb’s Reviews > Selected Stories By Virginia Woolf > Status Update

“Moments of Being: ‘Slater’s Pins Have No Points’” concerns a woman who has dropped and is searching for a pin. In that time, she reflects on her choice to remain unmarried. She claims independence, but there are signs she prefers women.

“The Man Who Loved His Kind” involves a man at a society party who realizes he doesn’t belong there. He briefly connects with a kindred spirit.

“The Lady in the Looking-Glass: A Reflection” offers an interesting perspective on an elderly spinster.

“She came so gradually that she did not seem to derange the pattern in the glass, but only to bring in some new element which gently moved and altered the other objects as if asking them, courteously, to make room for her.”

“Lappin and Lapinova” a tragic tale of a woman falling out of love with her husband.

“But how long does such happiness last? they asked themselves; and each answered according to his own circumstances.”

“Solid Objects” a story that exemplifies one man’s trash being another man’s treasure. This guy collects lots of trash at high cost.

“The Shooting Party” despite its name, takes place on a train ride home following a weekend of the hunt. Compared to other stories, it feels more humdrum.

“The New Dress” involves a woman wearing said titular dress to a party and regretting it. The story is almost entirely her internal monologue. In a fun twist, Clarissa Dalloway makes a guest appearance (the party is at her drawing room).

“The Mark on the Wall” as titled, is a woman focused on a mark on the wall, wondering where it is, and it gets much more philosophical from there.

“The String Quartet” and “Kew Gardens” contain some of the most euphoric prose I’ve ever read.

“For me it sings, unseals my sorrow, thaws compassion, floods with love the sunless world, nor, ceasing, abates its tenderness but deftly, subtly, weaves in and out until in this pattern, this consummation, the cleft ones unify; soar, sob, sink to rest, sorrow and joy.”

“An Unwritten Novel” is a brilliant stream-of-consciousness exercise involving people-watching on a train.

“Alone, unseen; seeing all so still down there, all so lovely. None seeing, none caring. The eyes of others our prisons; their thoughts our cages.”

“A Haunted House” and “Monday or Tuesday” are both very short, yet incredibly dense stories that I need to spend more time mulling over. Woolf’s prose and imagery are insane for how much she conveys saying so little.