The Woolf letters for Thursday

Just so you know, I have flagged two Virginia Woolf letters for you to read.  They are in a folder from the MacCarthy Mss. collection.  They are relatively short and are written in Woolf's clear and elegant hand, so they should be easy for you to read and to transcribe, if you wish to transcribe them.   Dr. Irmscher and I decided not to post digital copies, as they likely will not photograph well, and they are well worth visiting in the reading room just so you can see Woolf's handwriting, 

 

I will save my presentation of background material for Thursday.  For now, all you need to know is that Mary (Molly) MacCarthy was a close personal friend of Woolf's. 

 

Here are a few questions to consider as you read the letters.  Where in the letters do you see evidence of Woolf the writer?  Where in the letters do you see evidence of Woolf in a more private aspect?  Please take some notes of your evidence.

 

I continue to be fascinated by the public/private tension that we have been discussing in our class.  These beautifully written letters are at the same time intensely personal.  They illustrate a tension that pervaded Bloomsbury as a group, as we will discuss on Thursday.

 

Deborra