Viviane Forrester's Biography of Virginia Woolf
A review of Viviane Forrester's biography of Virginia Woolf, published by Éditions Albin Michel. Forrester meticulously examines Woolf's life and work, challenging the legendary narrative surrounding her. The biography delves into Woolf's complex relationships, including her ambivalent love/hate bond with her father Leslie Stephen, her husband Leonard Woolf's misogyny and antisemitism, and Woolf's own antisemitic remarks targeting Leonard. Forrester also explores Woolf's struggles with depression, her suicide by drowning, and the influence of the Bloomsbury Group. The review highlights Forrester's thorough research, using correspondence and testimonies to uncover hidden aspects of Woolf's life, such as the incestuous atmosphere with her father and the family's antisemitism. The work is framed as a necessary corrective to the mythologized view of Woolf, emphasizing the interplay between her life and her literary output, which includes novels like "To the Lighthouse" and "The Waves."
Key facts
- Viviane Forrester authored a biography of Virginia Woolf titled 'La Violence du calme'.
- The biography is published by Éditions Albin Michel.
- Forrester examines Woolf's relationships, including with her father Leslie Stephen and husband Leonard Woolf.
- Woolf was a member of the Bloomsbury Group and co-founded Hogarth Press.
- Forrester reveals Leonard Woolf's misogyny and antisemitism.
- Woolf herself expressed antisemitic views about her husband and Jewish people.
- The biography covers Woolf's depressions, mental health crises, and suicide by drowning.
- Forrester argues that Woolf's work is not a direct reflection of her life but a meditation on language and time.
Entities
Artists
- Virginia Woolf
- Viviane Forrester
- Leslie Stephen
- Leonard Woolf
- Marcel Proust
- Franz Kafka
- James Joyce
- Louis-Ferdinand Céline
- William Faulkner
Institutions
- Éditions Albin Michel
- Hogarth Press
- Bloomsbury Group
Locations
- London
- England
Sources
- artpress —