The Importance of Virginia Woolf

The legacy of one of the most influential female writers of the 20th century.

Virginia Woolf remains a misunderstood writer and woman.

Despite all the studies, essays, and literary analyses about her work, Woolf’s personal life weighs too heavily.

Everyone knows about her mental problems and suicide in 1941 when she waded into the River Ouse with her pockets full of stones.

However, when it comes to talking about her impressive literary legacy, it is not so much talked about anymore.

And it shouldn’t be.

Morbid interest in her personal life

Although some essays addressed Woolf’s personal life to explain its influence on her writings, there has been a tendency to sensationalism.

The British writer had the misfortune of suffering from manic-depressive psychosis, which today in psychiatry is commonly referred to as bipolar disorder. This terrible circumstance orbited other aspects such as her alleged lesbian relationships, the nature of her relationship with her husband, and, evidently, her suicide.

The problem with these investigations has to do with the use they are given to explain or not the work of Virginia…