Virginia Woolf’s Influential Forebears: Julia Margaret Cameron, Anny Thackeray Ritchie and Julia Prinsep Stephen

Dell uses the term "genetic instability" (3) to describe Woolf's modem condition. Because she regards Woolf's novels as texts that reveal elements of her genetic legacy, Dell is committed to showing readers how Woolf constantly "rewrites and reinvents her ancestors" (9)...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Woolf Studies Annual 2019-01, Vol.25, p.183-186
Main Author: Rosen, Jeff
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biographies
Cameron, Julia Margaret
Inheritances
Novels
Politics
Reviews
Woolf, Virginia
Woolf, Virginia (1882-1941)
Writing
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Dell uses the term "genetic instability" (3) to describe Woolf's modem condition. Because she regards Woolf's novels as texts that reveal elements of her genetic legacy, Dell is committed to showing readers how Woolf constantly "rewrites and reinvents her ancestors" (9) through her own autobiographical writing. [...]by "ambivalence" Dell means psychologically-conflicted, as in unsettled and unresolved; not contrary, as in oppositional or rebellious. Woolf's ancestors are constantly "knocking at the door" (20) for her attention; they are the unseen forces that urge her to explore "fluidities" (25, 36, 73) and "border-crossings" (20) between her writing and the women of her biological past. Because of their unavoidable influence, Woolf is inspired, even compelled, to "blur the boundaries" (87) and "bridge the gap" (73) between her Victorian past and her modern present.
ISSN:1080-9317