Virginia Woolf’s Difficult Life
Virginia Woolf was born into a life of high society and privilege. Her father, Sir Leslie Stephen, founded the Dictionary of National Biography. Her mother, Julia Stephen, was a model who posed for pre-Raphaelite painters and early photographers. Her great aunt was Julia Margaret Cameron, a noted photographer.
Woolf’s childhood was influenced by Victorian literary society. Visitors to her home included Henry James, William Thackeray and her godfather, James Russell Lowell. Woolf had two brothers, a sister and multiple step-siblings. She was home schooled by her parents while her brothers were sent away to school to be formally educated. Woolf resented this.
She determined at an early age to become a writer. Her most vivid memories were of summer holidays in St. Ives in Cornwall. These experiences informed her novel To The Lighthouse.
In 1891, Woolf’s mentally disturbed half-sister Laura was institutionalized. Four years later, when Woolf was 13, her mother died of rheumatic fever. Woolf said the loss was “the greatest disaster that could happen.” The family fell into deep mourning and Woolf had the first of many mental breakdowns. Her father’s grief was intense and all-consuming, forcing Woolf’s half-sister Stella to care for the family. Stella died of peritonitis in 1897.
