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
Here was a woman about the year 1800 writing without hate, without bitterness, without fear, without protest, without preaching. That was how Shakespeare wrote, I thought, looking at Antony and Cleopatra; and when people compare Shakespeare and Jane Austen, they may mean that the minds of both had consumed all impediments; and for that reason we do not know Jane Austen and we do not know Shakespeare, and for that reason Jane Austen pervades every word that she wrote, and so does Shakespeare.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the purity and honesty of Jane Austen and Shakespeare's writing, free from personal bias or agenda.
Virginia Woolf highlights the similarities between Jane Austen and William Shakespeare, emphasizing their ability to write authentically and without the influence of hate, bitterness, or fear. Woolf suggests that both authors mastered the art of expression, allowing their true selves to be felt in their works, leading to a profound connection with readers. She believes that this quality is what makes their literature timeless and impactful, despite the fact that many may not fully understand either of them.
Themes
WritingTruthAuthenticityLiteratureArt
In practice
Example use cases
During a literature discussion, you could say, 'As Virginia Woolf noted, both Austen and Shakespeare wrote without personal bias, connecting deeply with readers.'
More from Virginia Woolf
All quotes →Death is woven in with the violets,” said Louis. “Death and again death.”)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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