Virginia Woolf Influences

Morris 1 A Room of One’s Own, Mrs. Dalloway, Orlando, and The Voyage Out are probably familiar titles to anyone who has studied classic literature. These were all written by Virginia Woolf, an innovative woman who left her mark on the literature of her time. Virginia revolutionized the essay and introduced many new concepts of writing. Although she struggled greatly with mental illness, she led an interesting and successful life. Virginia Woolf contributed many noteworthy literary works to society, although she was deeply troubled throughout her life.
Adeline Virginia Stephen, more widely known as Virginia Woolf, was born on the twenty-second of January in 1882 (“Virginia Woolf” Europe). She was the seventh child of a family of eight children. Her
Along with her friend and colleague of the Bloomsbury group, Lytton Strachey, they revolutionized the essay to be more for the reader, and more focused on telling the truth and less about dancing around uncomfortable topics (“Virginia Woolf” Europe). Virginia Woolf’s life was consumed by a struggle with mental illness. There is abundant evidence that her illness is genetic, many people in her family suffered from some degree of mental illness, most notably, a first cousin with severe mania who died in an asylum in his twenties (VIRGINIA WOOLF'S PSYCHIATRIC). She also endured much tragedy as a child. Her half-brothers George and Gerald Duckworth sexually abused her when she was six years old. The extent of this abuse is unknown, though many speculate that this lasted into her teen years. Many close family members died when she was growing up. When Virginia was around thirteen years old, her mother, who was forty-nine years old, died suddenly. Two years after suffering through this tragic loss and a nervous breakdown, her half-sister Stella died