A week from now Sarah will be kicking off the Woolf in Winter conversation with Mrs. Dalloway, and I can't wait! I whetted my own appetite by dipping into Woolf's diaries from the period when she was writing and publishing this breakthrough novel, and I thought I would share some of the entries I found most relevant. Does that sound interesting to anyone besides me? I hope so! Woolf isn't primarily famous as a diarist, but I think her more casual, less polished language in the diaries and letters create a lovely conversational tone, and give insight into her creative process and relationships.
Some useful things to know: an early working title for Mrs. Dalloway was The Hours (hence the Michael Cunningham novel of the same name); Jacob's Room was the novel she wrote previous to Mrs. Dalloway; "In the Orchard" is a short story by Woolf; Duncan Grant and Lytton Strachey were friends and fellow Bloomsbury Group members. Thoby Stephen was Woolf's idolized older brother, who died at 26, and Leonard Woolf was Virginia's husband.
Wednesday, 16 August 1922
(You get a sense from this entry how much literary criticism Woolf was writing simultaneously with her novels.)
For my own part I am laboriously dredging my mind for Mrs Dalloway & bringing up light buckets. I don't like the feeling I'm writing too quickly. I must press it together. I wrote 4 thousand words of reading in record time, 10 days; but then it was merely a quick sketch of Pastons, supplied by books. Now I break off, according to my quick change theory, to write Mrs D. (who ushers in a host of others, I begin to perceive), then I do Chaucer, & finish the first chapter early in September.
Tuesday 19 June 1923
(There's so much to stimulate conversation in this entry. I personally feel there's no shortage of deep emotion or "reality" in Mrs. Dalloway, but I'll be curious about others' impressions. I love "and still there remains this excitement.")
But now what do I feel about my writing? - this book, that is, The Hours, if thats its name? One must write from deep feeling, said Dostoevsky. And do I? Or do I fabricate with words, loving them as I do? No, I think not. In this book I have almost too many ideas. I want to give life & death, sanity & insanity; I want to criticise the social system, & to show it at work, at its most intense - But here I may be posing. I heard from Ka this morning that she doesn't like In the Orchard. At once I feel refreshed. I became anonymous, a person who writes for the love of it. She takes away the motive of praise, & lets me feel that without any praise, I should be content to go on. This is what Duncan said of his painting the other night. I feel as if I slipped off all my ball dresses & stood naked - which as I remember was a very pleasant thing to do. But to go on. Am I writing The Hours from deep emotion? Of course the mad part tries me so much, makes my mind squint so badly that I can hardly face spending the next weeks at it. Its a question though of these characters. People like Arnold Bennett, say I cant create, or didn't in J[acob]'s R[oom], characters that survive. My answer is - but I leave that to the Nation: its only the old argument that character is dissipated into shreds now: the old post-Dostoevsky argument. I daresay its true, however, that I haven't got that 'reality' gift. I insubstantise, wilfully to some extent, distrusting reality - its cheapness. But to get further. Have I the power of conveying the true reality? Or do I write essays about myself? Answer these questions as I may, in the uncomplimentary sense, & still there remains this excitement.
Monday, 15 October 1923
(One of the things I most love about Mrs. Dalloway is the way in which the past seems tangibly present in the current moment - the way time, along with human connection, has a sort of fluidity.)
I wrote the 100th page today. Of course, I've only been feeling my way into it - up till last August anyhow. It took me a year's groping to discover what I call my tunneling process, by which I tell the past by instalments, as I have need of it. This is my prime discovery so far; & the fact that I've been so long finding it, proves, I think, how false Percy Lubbock's doctrine is - that you can do this sort of thing consciously. One feels about in a state of misery - indeed I made up my mind one night to abandon the book - & then one touches the hidden spring. But lor' love me! I've not re-read my great discovery, & it may be nothing important whatsoever. Never mind. I own I have my hopes for this book.
Sunday, 5 August 1924
(This passage makes me think of Clarissa's complaints about not understanding what Richard gets up to in his job. Although Woolf has a direction to her life - "it is a question of work" - which Clarissa may be missing.)
Now its already going, my silver mist, & I don't quite recognise myself of yesterday. L[eonard] has been telling me about Germany, & reparations, how money is paid. Lord what a weak brain I have - like an unused muscle. He talks, & the facts come in, & I can't deal with them. But by dint of very painful brain exercises, perhaps I understand a little more than Nelly of the International situation. And L. understands it all - picks up all these points out of the daily paper absolutely instantly, has them connected, ready to produce. Sometimes I think my brain & his are of different orders. Were it not for my flash of imagination, & this turn for books, I should be a very ordinary woman. No faculty of mine is really very strong. But it is a question of work.
Friday, 15 August 1924
(Basically, I just love the image of a tipsy sailor demanding poetry in front of a pub.)
For I see that Mrs. Dalloway is going to stretch beyond October. In my forecasts I always forgot some most important intervening scenes. I think I can go straight at the grand party & so end; forgetting Septimus, which is a very intense & ticklish business, & jumping Peter Walsh eating his dinner, which may be some obstacle too. But I like going from one lighted room to another, such is my brain to me; lighted rooms; & the walks in the fields are corridors; & now to day I'm lying & thinking. By the way, why is poetry wholly an elderly taste? When I was 20, in spite of Thoby who used to be so pressing & exacting, I could not for the life of me read Shakespeare for pleasure; now it lights me as I walk to think I have 2 acts of King John tonight, & shall next read Richard the 2nd. It is poetry that I want now - long poems...Now its poetry I want, so I repeat like a tipsy sailor in front of a public house.
Friday, 17 October 1924
(This passage reminds me forcibly of the encounter between Clarissa and Peter Walsh when she's mending the dress - "We rambled easily.")
Lytton dined here the other night - a successful evening. Oh I was right to be in love with him 12 or 15 years ago. It is an exquisite symphony his nature when all the violins get playing as they did the other night; so deep, so fantastic. We rambled easily.
See you all back here in a week for Woolf in Winter!
PS - I just realized that I planned so poorly about my essay project - the Woolf posts will all be on Fridays, so I'll try to post about essays on Mondays instead. What a busy reading life!
Thanks so much for sharing these! I love the way she writes - and it is so interesting to read her own impressions of Mrs. Dalloway. I think she managed to pull all those ideas she mentioned together wonderfully well. Love the tipsy sailor image.
I'm struggling with the novel but enjoying it more now that I'm slowing way down as you (or someone) suggested. Looking forward to discussion next week.
I loved reading these excerpts. I hadn't ever read any of her diary entries but I agree that the tone is much more conversational - easier to decipher. I've been enjoying my adventure with Mrs. Dalloway but it has been slow. It isn't a novel for the gym or to be read before drifting off to sleep at night. It requires my full presence more than most novels.
Sarah: I'm glad you enjoyed them! I, of course, agree about Woolf having pulled together all the elements she talks about, but it's interesting to see what her doubts and difficulties were, as well as what she perceived as her strengths.
Rebecca: I'm glad you're enjoying it more having slowed down! Hopefully you'll find it worthwhile in the end. :-)
Lena: I agree - it's definitely a novel that claims one's full attention. I'm glad you enjoyed the diary snippets!
These are great passages, and they make me want to pick up Woolf's diary again. I read through the first volume, and haven't gotten any further. I love Woolf's novels, but just as much or even more I love her essays and other nonfiction. There's something about that conversational style that's truly wonderful.
Mrs. Dalloway is one of my favorite books. Each time I read it I love it more. I've read into the third volume of her diary and keep meaning to get back to it. I love when she writes about her writing. I'm looking forward to the Woolf discussion and finding out what all of reading it now think of it.
I love these. I need to read the diaries. I'm about halfway through Mrs. D and so, so loving it on second read.
Thanks for posting these. I'm struggling with the novel a bit and have actually put it on hold for a few days, while I finish Paris Peasant. Her diaries sound very fascinating.
Dorothy: I agree, her nonfiction is amazing. Her diaries are, of course, not the sort of ultra-condensed writing of her more polished work, but it definitely has its own, more laid-back charm.
Stefanie: It's one of mine too! (In case you hadn't guessed...) :-) I'm impressed with your dedication in starting with the first diary - I confess I just skipped straight to the most interesting bits, during the writing of Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse and Orlando. Cheers!
Amy: Yay, I'm glad you like these snippets and that you're digging Mrs. D on your second time through. The diaries are total comfort reading for me - I bet you'd love them too. :-)
EL Fay: I think the diaries are a nice mix of fascinating and mundane - it's kind of reassuring to remember that Woolf stressed about petty remarks her friends made, recorded the price of hats, etc. as well as writing all these books. I hope Mrs. D picks up for you after Peasant!
I absolutely LOVED Mrs Dalloway this time around (enough that I'm really hrming and hawing about how to write the review). It's really interesting to read about her struggling to write it - it makes you appreicate that you struggle to read it, you know? Some books SHOULD be a lot of work to read, I guess, because they are teaching you something new, instead of showing you what you already know. Both options are valid - books that show what you already know are certainly needed in the world - but its easy to be dismissive of books that are telling you something new, simply because they're hard, and in BAD literature hard usually means snooty and arrogant.
Jason: I'm totally with you on the difficulty of writing about, let alone "reviewing" Woolf. I'm going to talk about how difficult I find it in my own Mrs. Dalloway post - but I'm glad you loved the novel! (I was a little surprised when you posted several months ago that you have a spotty relationship with her, because she seems to me to be right up your alley.) I agree, it's fascinating to read about her struggles to write the book, for all the reasons you articulate. :-)
Emily, thank you for posting these! I must get my hands on her diaries and letters sometime. It's sad we don't have enough time to squeeze it in the readalong. I'm still a third of the way through Mrs D and loooving it. Like you and Jason, am going over in my head how to write about it. It's going to be so difficult.