Thank you for introducing the Bloomsbury Library to your readers. “The Mark on the Wall” is such an outstanding opening selection! This formative work grants a privileged position to view the development of Woolf’s captivating stream-of-consciousness style as well as showcasing one of her representative themes involving the struggle in cultivating an authentic identity against a backdrop of the compartmentalization, commodification, and depersonalization shaping modernity— “As we face each other in omnibuses and underground railways we are looking into the mirror; that accounts for the vagueness, the gleam of glassiness, in our eyes.” I look forward to reading future selections from this collection!
Thank you for your comment. Yes, I knew I had to open with Woolf and The Mark on the Wall seemed the obvious choice. How many of us have stared at an object of some kind in the same way… I’m very much looking forward to adding more to the collection. Thank you again :)
Lord, the woman could assay. Lord, she envoices exactly how I feel:
"The wonder is that I’ve any clothes on my back, that I sit surrounded by solid furniture at this moment. Why, if one wants to compare life to anything, one must liken it to being blown through the Tube at fifty miles an hour—landing at the other end without a single hairpin in one’s hair! Shot out at the feet of God entirely naked! Tumbling head over heels in the asphodel meadows like brown paper parcels pitched down a shoot in the post office! With one’s hair flying back like the tail of a racehorse."
A piece that made me dizzy and laughing, brimful with joy. The novelist, the questioner of social norms, and the social anthropologist all share some habits. This piece dialled in deeply. Thanks!
Thank you for choosing this. Fascinating. "I want to think quietly, calmly, spaciously, never to be interrupted, never to have to rise from my chair, to slip easily from one thing to another, without any sense of hostility, or obstacle. I want to sink deeper and deeper, away from the surface, with its hard separate facts. To steady myself, let me catch hold of the first idea that passes…" Yes! So much here. Yet I can't help sensing a kind of pain behind that longing, alongside such acutely expressed and felt, endlessly twisting thoughts. Perhaps it's because I have seen that sort of brilliance in someone close to me. She yearned to 'think quietly'. And when the overdrive in her mind endangered her life, she was given a Bipolar 1 diagnosis and finally accepted medication. Now it is no longer 'Whitaker's Table of Precedency' to 'lift a finger at' but another kind of 21st century institutional hierarchy.
Thank you so much for your heartfelt comment, Bridget. Woolf's writing speaks to so many, even today. I hope that your friend is now healthy, happy and enduringly brilliant!
I love your introduction to the Bloomsbury Library. It is a beautiful initiative, and sharing Virginia Woolf's "The Mark on the Wall" was a perfect start. The story beautifully captures Woolf's unique ability to turn the mundane into deep reflections.
Thank you for introducing the Bloomsbury Library to your readers. “The Mark on the Wall” is such an outstanding opening selection! This formative work grants a privileged position to view the development of Woolf’s captivating stream-of-consciousness style as well as showcasing one of her representative themes involving the struggle in cultivating an authentic identity against a backdrop of the compartmentalization, commodification, and depersonalization shaping modernity— “As we face each other in omnibuses and underground railways we are looking into the mirror; that accounts for the vagueness, the gleam of glassiness, in our eyes.” I look forward to reading future selections from this collection!
Thank you for your comment. Yes, I knew I had to open with Woolf and The Mark on the Wall seemed the obvious choice. How many of us have stared at an object of some kind in the same way… I’m very much looking forward to adding more to the collection. Thank you again :)
I'm very excited about this section! Always loved The Mark on the Wall. It's mesmerizing. A true exercise of her talent.
Thank you, Clara. I'm very excited to add more to the 'shelves'.
Lord, the woman could assay. Lord, she envoices exactly how I feel:
"The wonder is that I’ve any clothes on my back, that I sit surrounded by solid furniture at this moment. Why, if one wants to compare life to anything, one must liken it to being blown through the Tube at fifty miles an hour—landing at the other end without a single hairpin in one’s hair! Shot out at the feet of God entirely naked! Tumbling head over heels in the asphodel meadows like brown paper parcels pitched down a shoot in the post office! With one’s hair flying back like the tail of a racehorse."
Thank you, Victoria, for introducing me to this story ! So looking forward to the next one.
Thank you, Maureen. I’m so pleased you enjoyed it 🤎
A piece that made me dizzy and laughing, brimful with joy. The novelist, the questioner of social norms, and the social anthropologist all share some habits. This piece dialled in deeply. Thanks!
You're very welcome, Caroline. Thank you for commenting and sharing :)
What a treat to come back to this story. It seems like the foundation stone for so many structures of fiction since then. Thank you, Victoria!
Thank you so much, Jeffrey. I'm excited to post the next one.
A marvelous addition to your gorgeous painting library, Victoria. I'm so glad to be a reader.
Thank you, Mary 🩶
Thank you for choosing this. Fascinating. "I want to think quietly, calmly, spaciously, never to be interrupted, never to have to rise from my chair, to slip easily from one thing to another, without any sense of hostility, or obstacle. I want to sink deeper and deeper, away from the surface, with its hard separate facts. To steady myself, let me catch hold of the first idea that passes…" Yes! So much here. Yet I can't help sensing a kind of pain behind that longing, alongside such acutely expressed and felt, endlessly twisting thoughts. Perhaps it's because I have seen that sort of brilliance in someone close to me. She yearned to 'think quietly'. And when the overdrive in her mind endangered her life, she was given a Bipolar 1 diagnosis and finally accepted medication. Now it is no longer 'Whitaker's Table of Precedency' to 'lift a finger at' but another kind of 21st century institutional hierarchy.
Thank you so much for your heartfelt comment, Bridget. Woolf's writing speaks to so many, even today. I hope that your friend is now healthy, happy and enduringly brilliant!
Excited about this feature, and what a fitting first choice!
Thank you! I'm so happy to add a new literary section to the newsletter.
What a delightful idea! So looking forward to the Bloomsbury Library...
Thank you so much, Jodi. I'm really looking forward to 'filling the shelves' :)
I liked reading this thank you
Thank you. You're very welcome! :)
I love your introduction to the Bloomsbury Library. It is a beautiful initiative, and sharing Virginia Woolf's "The Mark on the Wall" was a perfect start. The story beautifully captures Woolf's unique ability to turn the mundane into deep reflections.
Thank you, Jon. Yes, it is such a beautiful piece of prose and the 'Library' just had to open with her.
Thank you so much, Steven. I look forward to posting more!