Virginia Woolf - Moving Beyond a Convoluted Memory of Her Parents Essay

Virginia Woolf - Moving Beyond a Convoluted Memory of Her ParentsWhy would I start with Julia Duckworth Stephen to get to Virginia Woolf? One answer is Virginias often quoted statement that we think back through our mothers if we are women (Woolf, A inhabit of Ones Own). Feminism is rooted not just in a response to patriarchy but also in the history of females and their treatment of each other. instigate of feminism is a reevaluation of the value of motherhood.But what does Virginias mother have to do with Virginias writing? I chose to look at the problem of hereditary pattern by starting with Julias first influences on Virginia, particularly her stories for children. I then move on to portraits of mothers in Virginias novels. This essay is not only closely Virginias task of overcoming the Angel in the House but moving past a confrontational and convoluted memory of a mother, into an orderly, whole escort of females working together.In talking about Virginia Woolf in the context of Julia Duckworth Stephen and feminism, I will start from the beginning of Virginia Stephens life. The idea of Mother is a basic, recognisable concept in probably even the most primitive human cultures. Infants start separation of self and other with the body of Mother, since an infant gains a sensation of continuity of being from his or her mothers attention. (Rosenman 12) From this definition of relationship-as-self, an infant finds her existence confirmed by feedback from her mother. In this manner, Julia is the first contact for Virginia with the rest of the world, and with altogether of womankind. Since Virginia will go on to have most of her important relationships with women, this is an important connection.What kind of connection was it? V... ...pie and Steele, ed. Julia Duckworth Stephen. Syracuse University Press. bracing York, 1987.Ingram, Heather, ed. Womens Fiction Between the Wars. Virginia Woolf Retrieving the Mother. St. Martins Press. New York, 1998.Johnsen, W illiam. Finding the FatherVirginia Woolf, Modernism, and Feminism. February 28, 2003. http//www.msu.edu/course/eng/492h/johnsen/CH6.htm April 16, 2003.Lee, Hermione. Virginia Woolf. Vintage Books. New York, 1996. Rosenmann, Ellen Bayuk. The Invisible Presence Virginia Woolf and the Mother-Daughter Relationship. Louisiana State University Press. Baton Rouge, 1986.Woolf, Virginia. Jacobs Room. Penguin. London, 1992.Mrs. Dalloway. Harcourt Brace. New York, 1981. To The Lighthouse. Harcourt Brace. New York, 1981.A Room of Ones Own. Harcourt Brace. New York, 1981.The Waves. Harcourt Brace. New York, 1981.