We are writing the year 1882. England is ruled by a monarchist system, the division in different social classes is as set as the common certainty that a man can only love and be together with a woman, and that men are the rightful rulers of the world. 

In this year and time, a girl will be born in a rich and educated family in London. What probably no one could have predicted on the day she was born was that this little bundle of skin and bones would one day become one of the most important authors of the 20th century and an icon of the feminist movement. 

But, let’s start from the beginning. Adeline Virginia Stephen grew up in a family of intellect, homeschooled in her family home, her studies disturbed from time to time by acquaintances with the heads of the British intellect. But, she would also encounter the dark sides of life while growing up. 

Most probably sexually abused by her siblings and suffering under the early death of her mother, she experienced her first mental breakdown at only 13 years. 

Still, she fought her way through her teenage years and became a young woman, already unable to always oversee the injustice women experienced in that time.

In the following years, she lived together with her siblings, teaching in a school and writing. Seeing the work of her father as an author, she always dreamed of becoming one herself one day. In 1905 she published her first articles for several newspapers. Her political opinions were heavily influenced by weekly meetings with a group of dissidents. In the „Bloomsberry Group“, she had the opportunity to express her views much more freely than was customary at the time, especially as a woman.

In 1912, Virginia Stephen got married. Her betrothed was the journalist and writer Leonard Woolf. Even though she openly told him to not feel physical affection for him and accepted his proposal only after 4 months while suffering under serious depressive episodes, she always described her marriage as happy. Leonard Woolf would become one of her biggest supporters, aiding her also through her depressions, that even lead to a suicide attempt in the same year as their marriage. 

After publishing her first novel “Voyage out“ in 1915, Virginia and her husband also founded their own publishing house in 1917. Their lives continued with years of writing, publishing, and Virginia battling with her mental health. 

In 1922, a new chapter of life started for Virginia. She encountered Vita Sackville-West, the wife of a diplomat. The two women fell in love and spent years in a close and profound relationship with each other, often separated by distance but closely connected through written correspondence. Both their husbands were aware of the love between their wives. This underlines the very uncommon lifestyle the before mentioned had, especially for the time they were living in. 

Virginia processed her love for Vita in her novel “Orlando”, later described as the longest love letter in the world. 

Through the years, she published many renowned novels and articles that already met admiration during her lifetime, but especially beyond. However, her very progressive ideas were also the cause of misunderstanding and resentment in the strict society she lived in. 

Virginia’s battles with depression continued, especially after finishing a book she often suffered under long depressive episodes. 

On 28th March 1941, she committed suicide. Her letter left for her husband Leonard starts with the words: “Dearest, I feel certain that I am going mad again.“ 

This day marks the end of a life filled with love as well as suffering and depression, but also the departure of a great artist and a revolter against the societal standards of her time. Virginia Woolf’s essay “A room of one’s own“ became an important element of the feminist movement in the 1970s, but not only that: she also changed the literary world by being one of the pioneers of the use of the stream of consciousness as literary device. 

Lea Schwegmann

Sources: 

Lemo Biographie – Virginia Woolf
Wer war Virginia Woolf? Wir stellen euch die Autorin vor!
Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain