COMPREHENSION

1. You have read the whole story. What is your first reaction to this example of Woolf's fiction writing?

When I first read the story, I felt disoriented by the use of language which was quite complex.

Virginia Woolf used the technique of stream of consciousness to write the novel in order to make the reader know better the character.

As a consequence the scene has no wide descriptions or incipit and that's whay I felt that way.

2. What happens in the story?

Apparently the main character is in a market and while she is walking she is wondering about the essence of life.

3. What strinkes you as unusual in Woolf's short story when compared to traditional narration (plot and structure, narrator, characters, dialogue,...)?

Virginia Woolf's short story is completely different from the usual novels. First of all it is structured using the technique of stream of cosciousness and so the use of the language differs from the usual one:the narrator is overwhelmed by so many thoughts, memories and things are going on in that precise moment, that the reader finds difficult to understand what is reality and what is not.

As a consequence there are no usual plots because the story line is filled by whatever the character thinks or remembers or does in the precise moment and as a result the novel doesn't belong in the usual schemes.  

There are not usual dialogues. The main one is a continuous stream of consciusness which builds the story line.

4. Can you explain why Woolf adopted this way of writing?

She decided to use this kind of technique in order to go beyond conventions and so to send to the reader what she really wants them to understand.

By using this tool, the novelist puts the reader into the scene and she makes him/her understand better the attitude and the most inner thoughts of the character VIrginia Woolf chose as the right one.

INTERPRETATION PAG 532

1. What is missing in the conventional novels?

In the conventional novels, the writers are more interested in structuring their work according to the scheme of their century. Virginia Woolf believes they should be more focused on the contents of their work instead.

2. How does Virginia Woolf describe life?

In Virginia Woolf's opinion life is "a luminous halo, a semi-transparent envelope surrounding us from the beginning of consciousness to the end".

3. What does Woolf mean by "the life of Monday or Tuesday"?

She means the everyday life, the wordly time which differs from the time we spend in our mind, thinking about the essence of life.

4. What is the task of the novelist and how should fiction be written?

The novelists should pay more attention on the essence of their work rather than on the structure.

5. Can you see any similarity between Woolf's ideas about fiction and Monet's Impressionist painting?

Both artists go beyond the conventions their century and try to experiment new ways of pointing out the essence of their thoughts.