Virginia Woolf(1882—1941), growing up in a scholarly family and devoting herself to revolution and creation of novel writing, was the most significant authoress at that time. She was one of the British literary greats and the pioneers of feminism. With her mother' death, Virginia lived a lonely childhood, and she became taciturn and serious with her unsocial character all the time even she was already an adult. Though with good family background, she did not get standard education in school but indoors, so for a long time she got sexual harassment by her relatives which made her feel forcefully unsatisfied with the social discrimination again temporal femininity. Virginia was an elegant and pretty girl but did not get married until 30 when she agreed to marry Leonard Woolf who was one of her best friends. Leonard never doubted her love and offered her utmost help in her ordinary life and literary career. With the unconditional love from her husband, Virginia still got entire independence, and worked autonomously and even never had sexual intercourse till her death. It seems Virginia lived a happy life after getting married, but on the contrary, because of the indelible experience in her childhood — the death of father and mother, the ruin of the family, the inner injuries by her step—brothers, she had severe mental issues and got nervous breakdowns often. In this kind of grim state of mental condition, Virginia fought her whole life for her speaking right and identification as a woman. Meanwhile, her works strongly reflected the consciousness of death. It was because of, one the hand, the dysphoric and fearful feelings from being oppressed by the dominant male chauvinism at that time; on the other hand, her depression and frequent nervous breakdowns caused by her miserable childhood: 'Grieving started very early in Woolf' s life, which might be one reason why her writing offers us such a forceful riposte that it should, or could, be brought to an end.'(Roe&Sellers, 2001,8) Except the former two reasons, the theory of death instinct by Freud Sigmund a great psychologist is the most scientific one. He believes that all the creatures on earth after living a life (no matter long or short) have to be dead — the most original aim of life had influenced Virginia a lot. Virginia tried to kill herself so many times in her life, and in 1941she finally killed herself by drowning herself in the river. |
