On Being Ill
Virginia Woolf observes that though illness is part of every human being's experience, it has rarely been the focus of literature - like the more acceptable subjects of war and love. We cannot quote Shakespeare to describe a headache. We must, Woolf says, invent language to describe pain. Illness...
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Virginia Woolf observes that though illness is part of every human being's experience, it has rarely been the focus of literature - like the more acceptable subjects of war and love. We cannot quote Shakespeare to describe a headache. We must, Woolf says, invent language to describe pain. Illness enhances our perceptions and, she observes, it reduces self-consciousness, it
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Format: ebook
Edition language: English
"We do not know our own souls, let alone the souls of others. Human beings do not go hand in hand the whole stretch of the way. There is a virgin forest in each; a snowfield where even the print of birds' feet is unknown. Here we go alone, and like it better so. Always to have sympathy, always to be...
Virginia Woolf's article "On Being Ill" is paired with her mother's guide to amateur nursing, "Notes From Sick Rooms." Hermione Lee and Mark Hussey provide wonderful accompanying essays on the context in which these pieces were written and the interesting ways in which reading them together assists...
Always good to read this book again each year. Virginia Woolf remains so brilliant and T.S. Eliot such a bore. I reference this because of his stupid diss of her submission per his request. Makes one hate editors in general. This is a book for all seasons. A brilliant piece of writing by one of my f...
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