Virginia Woolf's 'Great War' Against Appearances
A new edition of Virginia Woolf's novels has been released by Gallimard, edited by Jacques Aubert, featuring updated translations and critical commentary. This collection includes her debut novel, The Voyage Out (1915), which has restored sections that contemplate the 'Great War.' While the edition omits her essays, it emphasizes the ongoing relevance of Woolf's modernist perspective. Her works, particularly The Waves, are regarded as 'aeroliths' amidst conventional literature. The piece explores Woolf's 'moments of being,' uncovering concealed patterns in everyday experiences. Characters from Mrs Dalloway and To the Lighthouse exhibit themes of frivolity and madness, while Orlando and Flush aim for 'nothingness.' Woolf tragically took her life on March 28, 1941, in the River Ouse, leaving a final word from The Waves.
Key facts
- New Pléiade edition of Virginia Woolf's novels edited by Jacques Aubert
- Published by Gallimard in two volumes
- Includes The Voyage Out (1915) with restored passages from Melymbrosia
- Excludes Woolf's essays like The Common Reader and A Room of One's Own
- Woolf's 'Great War' defends intangible things against empirical perception
- Katherine Mansfield criticized Night and Day (1919) for ignoring World War I
- Woolf's modernism redefines realism through subjective impressions
- Woolf died by suicide on March 28, 1941, in the River Ouse
Entities
Artists
- Virginia Woolf
- Jacques Aubert
- James Joyce
- Marcel Proust
- William Faulkner
- Katherine Mansfield
- Gertrude Stein
- William Cowper
Institutions
- Gallimard
- Bibliothèque de la Pléiade
Locations
- France
- Europe
Sources
- artpress —