While the headline could have been lifted straight from The Onion, The Independent seems to be in utter, deadpan seriousness with an article that exclaims: "Seventy years on, Woolf reveals a new character: There was more to the Bloomsbury novelist than her bohemian lifestyle, it has emerged."
Yes, they are talking about Virginia Woolf.
And did this striking revelation that Woolf wasn't just some offbeat British hippie "emerge" by reading To the Lighthouse? Or, say, Mrs. Dalloway? Maybe Orlando or Jacob's Room or A Room of One's Own or Three Guineas? Or by considering the substantive legacy of Hogarth Press, which she founded and which published T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land?
Oh, no.
... an in-depth re-examination of her work by leading academics concludes her novels are far more sophisticated than previously thought – with subtle political and classical references woven into the text. It also reveals that Woolf, despite her claim that she had "never been to school", was educated to degree level. Academics are now calling for her to be viewed in the same light as the great modernist writers, such as T S Eliot and James Joyce.
Why, thank you "academics!" Thank you for telling us that Woolf, who died seventy years ago this month, might actually be kind of a good writer!
Of course, this article is too ridiculous to stop reading now. Let's see what other insights are in store for us:
The public perception of Woolf has been shaped by an early biography by her nephew Quentin Bell and by Woolf's own comments about her lack of formal education. In fact, she attended lectures at King's College London, in subjects such as history, German, Greek and Latin, and although she never got a degree, there is evidence to suggest she may have sat exams.
That's a relief. If I didn't know this, I would have thought Woolf was some kind of an idiot. Now I don't have to be ashamed to read her novels in public!
Thanks to @Jennymcphee for the link
About the Image: Painting of Virginia Woolf by her sister, Vanessa Bell, from 1934.
Wha?
My perception of Virginia Woolf has always been one of a super-intellectual. I can't imagine anyone thinking differently if they know anything about her at all or read her work.
Posted by: Liam | March 10, 2011 at 02:48 PM
Right?! I am so confused about how this article could exist without any sense of irony. It comes THISCLOSE to saying the only reason she is remembered is because she dated women. To laugh or cry?
Posted by: Anna Clark | March 10, 2011 at 04:23 PM
like. who's afraid of virginia woolf????
Posted by: Chris | March 10, 2011 at 09:02 PM
indeed. apparently, more people are afraid than we thought.
Posted by: Anna Clark | March 11, 2011 at 02:40 AM
Oh, GOd. And "The Independent" wrote that, not some random tabloid or free paper that you pick up at the tube station...
Posted by: Stefania | March 25, 2011 at 05:52 PM