Where exactly did this transition take place? Leonard said “it is not the goal, not the destination, not the arrival which is interesting, but the journey”. Therefore, let’s examine a major part of what I believe influenced this journey from the Old Victorian London Literary World to the New London Literary World of Bloomsbury.
Leonard also spoke of how he and Virginia “failed the entrance examination to literary London”. They had been invited to dine with a well-known novelist, and so they went “dirty and disheveled from painting”. However, to their surprise, there were many distinguished writers dressed in full formal attire. One could imagine the embarrassment that they both felt as Leonard confessed “we had both disgraced ourselves in literary London”. In my opinion, this presents Literary London as simple or outdated. It was presented as a conventional “square” because of its do’s and don’ts inflicted by the Victorian era. They were fashionable in appearance, but unfashionable in their constraints.
The “square” above is a symbol of constraint which was presented in the Victorian London Literary World. It portrays a world where limited perspectives and ideologies were allowed. There were many codes that one had to comply with (codes of behavior, codes of dress, codes for everything one could think of) in order to be a part of this world.
Leonard and Virginia could not live with being “boxed” into those norms and ideologies of literature and more generally art. Therefore, in my opinion, it is probably here where the “web” of Bloomsbury, which I depicted in my presentation began to form. It eventually gave way to a more liberal and intricate form of the literary world. This new world was the London Literary World of Bloomsbury where life was simply presented as art!
The “web” above is a symbol of the freedom which was presented in the New London Literary World of Bloomsbury. It was a world where different ideologies and perspectives were woven together to portray life as art.
In Coming to London, I believe that Leonard Woolf subtly portrayed some of the influences which led to the formation of the Literary World of Bloomsbury.
I really like your representations of the different literary worlds. It is so creative and the pictures do a great job at reinforcing your point. I also agree with your assertions about Leonard Woolf's method of subtly explaining the experiences that lead him to Bloomsbury. His method was interesting, but I am curious as to why he didn't offer any information about Bloomsbury. Since Bloomsbury was a group of friends, I wonder if their private relationships are the reasons behind his reticence. Do you have any theories?
ReplyDeleteI really like the way you have used the "web" of bloomsbury knowledge to help tie everything together in a sense. The Bloomsbury Group and its members were engaged in so many intricately complicated relationships that sometimes it is hard to keep them all straight! Your representation does a very good job of clearly depicting that!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Your use of the square and web conveys your point well. Looking at the shift from the old literary world to the new, it brings to mind the old saying "The more things change, the more they stay the same." I can't help but compare Leonard's experiences to those of modern youths seeking to find thier own footing in the world. I think we can all admit that we don't exactly feel like walking the exact same paths as our parents did through life. Just as Leonard didn't fit into the Old Literary London, we don't fit into the square our folks are so comfortable living in. That's social evolution for you!
ReplyDeleteChristian, I think that Woolf was reticient because he was trying to protect Virginia.
ReplyDeleteSharia, your post was extremely interesting to me since I have researched Virginia for my presentation. I particularly like your use of the web as a metaphor to illustrate the complex relationships of the people within the Bloomsbury group.