I can only note that the past is beautiful because one never realises an emotion at the time. It expands later, and thus we don't have complete emotions about the present, only about the past.
Virginia WoolfRead
Talents of the novelist: ... observation of character, analysis of emotion, people's feelings, personal relations.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Virginia Woolf emphasizes the importance of understanding human emotions and relationships in novel writing.
In this quote, Virginia Woolf highlights the essential skills that a novelist must possess. She points out that the core talents include keen observation of character, deep analysis of emotions, and an understanding of personal relationships among people. This insight reflects her belief that a novelist must engage with the intricacies of human experience to create impactful literature.
Themes
NovelistEmotionCharacterRelationshipsObservation
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the craft of writing at a literary festival.
More from Virginia Woolf
All quotes βDeath is woven in with the violets,β said Louis. βDeath and again death.β)
Virginia WoolfRead
He began to search among the infinite series of impressions which time had laid down, leaf upon leaf, fold upon fold softly, incessantly upon his brain; among scents, sounds; voices, harsh, hollow, sweet; and lights passing, and brooms tapping; and the wash and hush of the sea.
Virginia WoolfRead
I want to think quietly, calmly, spaciously, never to be interrupted, never to have to rise from my chair, to slip easily from one thing to another, without any sense of hostility, or obstacle. I want to sink deeper and deeper, away from the surface, with its hard separate facts.
Virginia WoolfRead
I do think all good and evil comes from words. I have to tune myself into a good temper with something musical, and I run to a book as a child to its mother.
Virginia WoolfRead
London perpetually attracts, stimulates, gives me a play and a story and a poem, without any trouble, save that of moving my legs through the streets... To walk alone through London is the greatest rest.
Virginia WoolfRead
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