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Virginia Woolf Mental Illness

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Virginia Woolf Imagine hearing voices that don’t actually exist. Imagine seeing the bodies that accompany these voices. Imagine searching for a way to cope. Finding a distraction, an escape, could become a coping mechanism. Virginia Woolf experienced both of these types of hallucinations, and she found her escape through writing. Woolf wrote through stream of consciousness writing. The reason she wrote in this manner is attributable to her mental illness. During Woolf’s lifespan, mental illness was not a topic often discussed. Doctors of the time diagnosed two types of “madness” in women: hysteria and neurasthenia. Doctors saved the diagnosis of neurasthenia for the middle and upper classes, but they essentially used no criteria other than …show more content…

5). At the beginning of the twentieth century, when Woolf lived, the views on treatment of mental illness began to evolve (Holtzman, par. 3). Throughout the nineteenth century, treatment of mental illness occurred through institutionalization, the act of separating the individual from society and their family, and placing them in an asylum or a hospital (Fane-Saunders, par. 1). Woolf lived during a time when an alternative to institutionalization had started to become available. This alternative, the rest cure, allowed the patient to stay at home with family, but on bedrest. The idea behind the rest cure was to build the nervous system back up through rest and food. This often led to overeating (Briggs, An Inner Life …show more content…

Depressive episodes consist of : a morose mood most of the day, diminished pleasure in activities, weight loss, insomnia, fidgeting, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness, thoughts of death or suicide, and diminished concentration (“Bipolar and Related Disorders” 67). Records of Woolf experiencing several of these episodes exist. The first occurred after her mother’s death in 1895. After this, periods of depression often plagued Woolf after the completion of a novel (Briggs, An Inner Life 38). These episodes came with the cessation of the hallucinations (Briggs “Virginia Woolf Meets Sigmund Freud” par. 21), but also of creativity (Carmango 70). Woolf once said of her novel To the Lighthouse “When it was written, I ceased to be obsessed with my mother. I no longer hear her voice; I do not see her…”(qtd. in Briggs, “Virginia Woolf Meets Sigmund Freud” par. 22). Woolf wrote through stream of consciousness and interior monologues (Pederson 405). Webster’s New World College defines stream of consciousness as “designating, of, or, using a narrative technique whereby the thoughts, precepts, etc., of one or more of the characters of a novel, short story, etc. are rendered in a direct, free-flowing manner.” This type of writing allows the writer to present the motives

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In ‘A Room of One’s Own’, Woolf explicates the patriarchal system which evokes male dominance over women making them inferior in every aspect. She writes about some real-life encounters of gender discrimination she faced while exploring her thesis that for a woman to write fiction, she must have intellectual as well financial freedom. She makes use of logos, ethos, and pathos to make her argument more appealing to the readers. According to Aristotle, ethos is the most compelling factor out of three mentioned above because it appeals to one’s ethics, morals, and values. Therefore it is important for a writer to establish credibility early in the text.

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Along with that, Woolf is the writer and speaker of her piece. In Woolf’s piece, she explains, “But to tell you my story--it is a simple one. You have only got to figure to yourselves a girl in a bedroom with a pen in her hand” (2). The two essays provide their audience with firsthand experiences they have had to maximize the understanding of the material. Douglas states, “I would then make the letters which I had been so fortunate as to learn and ask him to beat that” (1085).

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While mental institutions which hold the mentally ill continue to exist, they have greatly improved from the treatments administered in asylums. In modern times, there is increased amounts of accessibility to safe supportive treatments, like therapy, counseling, medication, etc. Modern mental institutions provide support and boarding for struggling individuals for differing periods of time, for a variety of disorders. The effectivity of mental institutions varies, “leading some historians…to wonder if ‘asylums,’ in the true sense of the word, might be still needed for the most vulnerable individuals who need supportive living” (“History of Psychiatric Hospitals • Nursing, History, and Health Care • Penn Nursing”). Asylum is defined as an institution which provides protections, shelter, and support to a group of individuals.

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Adding to the ever growing library of women, Virginia Woolf used her unique stream of consciousness style of writing to convey new ideas about gender roles and gender identity, paving the way for more women to find rooms of their own. One can only hope to influence generations of people with one’s writing, bringing about new conversations and ways of communicating. Eventually, Virginia Woolf committed suicide, ending her highly original career and perhaps echoing a point she makes in her own essay, “To have lived a free life in London in the sixteenth century would have meant for a woman who was a poet and playwright a nervous stress and dilemma which might well have killed her”

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The diction and tone in Woolf’s essay affects her message as it was melancholy and calm. The diction was clear and understandable to ensure that the audience could understand her message, rather than try and decipher large incoherent words. Woolf also uses many words with negative connotations, but takes a neutral attitude to the subject. At the beginning of the essay Woolf 's tone is very hopeful, but as the essay progresses it turns dark and somber. At the beginning Woolf used phrasing such as “ Pleasant morning” (Woolf 5) and “enormous energy of the world”(Woolf 24) .

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By using casual diction, simple sentences, and well-known allusions, Woolf is able to shift the audience’s attention from the gender of the

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In Virginia Woolf’s “Street Haunting”, the reader follows Woolf through a winter’s walk through London under the false pretense to buy a new pencil. During her journey through the streets of London, she is made aware of a number of strangers. The nature of her walk is altered by these strangers she encounters. Street Haunting comes to profound conclusions about the fluidity of individuality when interacting with other people. Woolf is enabled by the presence of others to subvert her individuality.

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The death of Edward’s mother, Queen Victoria, means the end of the Victorian age. Edward’s reign and rule was short i.e. (1901-1910), however for people who attended the period, it was completely different from its previous era. It was the beginning of a new era named “The Modern Age” or the world before and after the Great War. Throughout Woolf’s life, she had many periods of depressions, though also a love life with males and females. Critics like Eileen Barret and Patricia Cramer declare that Woolf has incorporated many of her own experiences in her fictional works.

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The study is designed to understand the different social issues related to different characters in the novel To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. It focuses on the Victorian and Modern marriages and highlights how the female characters are different from one another. Similarly, there are a lot of religious doubt, degrading women, and an unclear vision in the novel by one of the characters. However, there are deaths in the novel too. Similarly, it will focus on the two central women in the story.

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