Authors:

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

Virginia Woolf Quotes - Page 17

All Quotes Adventure Age Aging Art Beach Beauty Belief Bitterness Blame Bones Chaos Character Charity Children Communication Consciousness Country Creativity Criticism Darkness Death Desire Difficulty Diversity Doubt Duty Dying Earth Effort Essays Feelings Feminism Fighting Flying Freedom Friendship Funny Genius Giving Goodness Growing Up Happiness Hate Hatred Healing Heart Heaven History Home Honesty House Human Nature Hurt Illness Imagination Independence Inspiration Inspirational Intimacy Joy Judging Language Life Literature Love Lust Lying Madness Memories Moon Morning Motivational Nature Pain Passion Past Peace Perception Personality Philosophy Pleasure Praise Quality Reading Reality Reflection Running Sadness Safety Silence Silver Singing Skins Sleep Solitude Soul Spring Stress Style Suffering Tea Time Today Tragedy Travel Truth Vision Waiting Wall War Water Weed Wine Winter Writing

The beauty of the world, which is so soon to perish, has two edges, one of laughter, one of anguish, cutting the heart asunder.

The beauty of the world, which is so soon to perish, has two edges, one of laughter, one of anguish, cutting the heart asunder.

Happiness, Beauty, Laughter

Virginia Woolf (2007). “Selected Works of Virginia Woolf”, p.573, Wordsworth Editions

more and more I come to loathe any dominion of one over another; any leadership, any imposition of the will.

Power, Dominion, Imposition

Virginia Woolf (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Virginia Woolf (Illustrated)”, p.4295, Delphi Classics

She fell into a deep pool of sticky water, which eventually closed over her head. She saw nothing and heard nothing but a faint booming sound, which was the sound of the sea rolling over her head. While all her tormentors thought that she was dead, she was not dead, but curled up at the bottom of the sea.

Sea, Water, Sound

Virginia Woolf (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Virginia Woolf (Illustrated)”, p.299, Delphi Classics

It seemed to her such nonsense-inventing differences, when people, heaven knows, were different enough without that.

Differences, People, Heaven

Virginia Woolf (2016). “To the Lighthouse”, p.7, Tyché

Whatever may be their use in civilized societies, mirrors are essential to all violent and heroic action.

Mirrors, Essentials, Use

Virginia Woolf (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Virginia Woolf (Illustrated)”, p.2634, Delphi Classics

[Ulysses is] the work of a queasy undergraduate scratching his pimples.

Funny, Pimples, Insult

Human beings have neither kindness, nor faith, nor charity beyond what serves to increase the pleasure of the moment.

Kindness, Character, Charity

Virginia Woolf (2012). “Mrs. Dalloway - Broadview Edition”, p.89, Broadview Press

If you insist upon fighting to protect me, or 'our' country, let it be understood soberly and rationally between us that you are fighting to gratify a sex instinct which I cannot share; to procure benefits where I have not shared and probably will not share.

Country, Sex, Fighting

Three Guineas pt. 3 (1938)

But then anyone who's worth anything reads just what he likes, as the mood takes him, and with extravagant enthusiasm.

Likes, Enthusiasm, Mood

Virginia Woolf (2007). “Selected Works of Virginia Woolf”, p.32, Wordsworth Editions

Where the Mind is biggest, the Heart, the Senses, Magnanimity, Charity, Tolerance, Kindliness, and the rest of them scarcely have room to breathe.

Heart, Tolerance, Mind

Virginia Woolf (2007). “Selected Works of Virginia Woolf”, p.501, Wordsworth Editions

Now begins to rise in me the familiar rhythm; words that have lain dormant now lift, now toss their crests, and fall and rise, and falls again. I am a poet, yes. Surely I am a great poet.

Fall, Toss, Poet

Virginia Woolf (2015). “The Waves”, p.51, Booklassic

I am reading Henry James...and feel myself as one entombed in a block of smooth amber.

Block, Reading, Amber

And you wish to be a poet; and you wish to be a lover.

Wish, Lovers, Poet

Virginia Woolf (2005). “The Waves”, p.72, Collector's Library

We are about to part," said Neville. "Here are the boxes; here are the cabs. There is Percival in his billycock hat. He will forget me. He will leave my letters lying about among guns and dogs unaswered. I shall send him poems and he will perhaps reply with a picture post card. But it is for that that I love him. I shall propose a meeting - under a clock, by some Cross; and shall wait and he will not come. It is for that that I love him.

Dog, Lying, I Love Him

Virginia Woolf (2007). “Selected Works of Virginia Woolf”, p.665, Wordsworth Editions

What has praise and fame to do with poetry? Was not writing poetry a secret transaction, a voice answering a voice? So that all this chatter and praise, and blame and meeting people who admired one and meeting people who did not admire one was as ill suited as could be to the thing itself- a voice answering a voice.

Writing, Voice, People

Virginia Woolf (2012). “Orlando: A Biography”, p.306, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

The most important thing is not to think very much about oneself. To investigate candidly the charge; but not fussily, not very anxiously. On no account to retaliate by going to the other extreme -- thinking too much.

Thinking, Important, Too Much

Virginia Woolf (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Virginia Woolf (Illustrated)”, p.4424, Delphi Classics

It is curious how instinctively one protects the image of oneself from idolatry or any other handling that could make it ridiculous, or too unlike the original to be believed any longer.

Ridiculous, Curious, Protect

Virginia Woolf (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Virginia Woolf (Illustrated)”, p.2002, Delphi Classics

They lack suggestive power. And when a book lacks suggestive power, however hard it hits the surface of the mind it cannot penetrate within.

Book, Mind, Surface

Virginia Woolf (2007). “Selected Works of Virginia Woolf”, p.626, Wordsworth Editions

Chastity ... has, even now, a religious importance in a woman's life, and has so wrapped itself round with nerves and instincts that to cut it free and bring it to the light of day demands courage of the rarest.

Religious, Cutting, Light

Virginia Woolf (2007). “Selected Works of Virginia Woolf”, p.594, Wordsworth Editions

Anything may happen when womanhood has ceased to be a protected occupation.

Women, Occupation, May

Virginia Woolf (2007). “Selected Works of Virginia Woolf”, p.588, Wordsworth Editions

A million candles burnt in him without his being at the trouble of lighting a single one

Trouble, Lighting, Candle

Virginia Woolf (2007). “Selected Works of Virginia Woolf”, p.458, Wordsworth Editions

For this is the truth about our soul, he thought, who fish-like inhabits deep seas and plies among obscurities threading her way between the boles of giant weeds, over sun-flickered spaces and on and on into gloom, cold, deep, inscrutable; suddenly she shoots to the surface and sports on the wind-wrinkled waves; that is, has a positive need to brush, scrape, kindle herself, gossiping.

Sports, Weed, Wind

Virginia Woolf (1996). “Mrs Dalloway”, p.117, Wordsworth Editions

Communication is truth; communication is happiness. To share is our duty; to go down boldly and bring to light those hidden thoughts which are the most diseased; to conceal nothing; to pretend nothing; if we are ignorant to say so; if we love our friends to let them know it.

Communication, Light, Ignorant

Virginia Woolf (2013). “The Common Reader”, p.63, Lulu Press, Inc

Twice Flush had done his utmost to kill his enemy; twice he had failed. And why had he failed, he asked himself? Because he loved Miss Barrett. Looking up at her from under his eyebrows as she lay, severe and silent on the sofa, he knew that he must love her for ever. Things are not simple but complex. If he bit Mr. Browning he bit her too. Hatred is not hatred; hatred is also love.

Simple, Eyebrows, Hatred

Virginia Woolf (2013). “Flush”, p.37, Lulu Press, Inc

At 46 one must be a miser; only have time for essentials.

Time, Age, Essentials

Virginia Woolf (2003). “A Writer's Diary”, p.134, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

You May Also Like: