On Being Ill by Virginia Woolf
It’s no secret that Virginia Woolf is a favourite writer of mine; I’ve rambled on enough about her on the blog to make that abundantly clear. So whenever we have a club, I do cast around to see if there are any of her works that I can revisit (or indeed read for the first time!) as part of our reading week. Oddly, I don’t think I’ve managed this in previous club weeks, but when I did a little research about 1930, I discovered that an essay she first published in 1926 was issued as a standalone volume by Hogarth Press in 1930. I don’t currently own it, but was able to find a digital version of the original online (as it appeared ion T.S. Eliot’s “New Criterion”) – and fascinating reading it makes.
Woolf was, of course, well placed to discussed the pros and cons of being ill, having suffered recurring bouts of numerous ailments (both mental and physical) over the years. But any piece of work by her is never going to be straightforward, and her essay considers all manner of things relating to the problem of illness. In particular, she finds herself surprised that the subject is not dealt with seriously in literature, a thing she considers a failing. Certainly, the topic was one she featured in her own fiction, and I could name a number of novels and characters for whom illness is pivotal to their actions and indeed their lives in her books.
Parties, he said, bored him – such were English aristocrats before marriage with intellect had adulterated the fine singularity of their minds. Parties bore them; they are off to Iceland…
Woolf being Woolf, the prose ricochets off on all manner of tangents, which is part of the joy of reading her, and she considers the relationships between human beings, the tendency of people to behave so differently when ill, and how poetry is the ideal reading when one is poorly and a chunky novel is too taxing. She considers the effect of the physical body on the mind, and how we do not always get the sympathy we expect.
That illusion of a world so shaped that it echoes every groan, of human beings so tied together by common needs and fears that a twitch at one wrist jerks another, where however strange your experience other people have had it too, where however far you travel in your own mind someone has been there before you – is all an illusion. We do not know our own souls, let alone the souls of others.
Watching Woolf’s mind at play, ranging over all manner of topics, is always a pure delight, and reading this reminded me that I have several volumes of her essays crying out for my attention. Her prose is unique, completely individual, and her authorial voice unmistakable. Although I read her for the insights she brings, I also read her for the sheer joy of watching what she can do with the English language. “On Being Ill” was apparently a little neglected, although in recent year a new edition was brought out (which is now rather expensive….). Proof, if it was ever needed, that as well as being a genius of a prose writer, Woolf was also a stellar essayist. I really *should* dig out those essays… ;D
MarinaSofia
Oct 15, 2019 @ 07:22:23
She really was a fine essayist and reviewer and everything, really.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 15, 2019 @ 10:02:01
She was – I love every single bit of her writing!
Liz Dexter
Oct 15, 2019 @ 08:04:51
Aha – I have just managed to buy a Kindle edition for 50p so will try desperately to read and review this week – then I will have Joined In!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 15, 2019 @ 09:56:33
Yay! Look forward to seeing what it is! 😀
janetemson
Oct 15, 2019 @ 09:05:52
I’ve never read any Woolf. Perhaps an essay is the way to start. I also wish I was a member of the 1930 club 🙂
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 15, 2019 @ 09:56:20
Her essays are great, but I always recommend “Mrs. Dalloway” as a good place to start to get an idea of what her prose is like. It was my first Woolf and I love it to bits. And *anyone* can join in with the 1930 Club – you just have to read something from that year and post about it! Do join in if you can!! 😀
heavenali
Oct 15, 2019 @ 13:30:25
What a brilliant find. I have some Woolf essays tbr, I’m assuming this essay has not been included. But I see from Liz’s comment that it’s available on kindle. Marvellous.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 15, 2019 @ 13:39:00
Her essays are marvellous and I have a ridiculous amount lying around the house, and still didn’t have this one! What a prolific woman she was! 😀
Silvia
Oct 15, 2019 @ 14:10:52
Thanks for sharing this particular title. I love her in her essays more than anything else. I’ll have to read this one at one point.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 15, 2019 @ 14:32:12
Her essays are marvellous – you can watch her mind at play, and it can be breathtaking! 😀
chrisharding53
Oct 15, 2019 @ 16:32:52
I’ve read some of her essays, but not this one. So, thanks to Liz, I’ve just downloaded it on to the Kindle, and will read it forthwith!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 15, 2019 @ 19:02:58
Excellent! Happy to spread the Woolfian love!
Jane
Oct 15, 2019 @ 17:22:18
I haven’t read this one either and I should, either living with illness or trying to prevent it used up so much of her time and energy that I should think this really gave you some sense of insight?
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 15, 2019 @ 19:02:42
It certainly does to a certain extent, although if I’m honest Woolf tends to use her subjects as a springboard for all manner of musings and linguistic flights – which is one of the things I love about her! 😀
buriedinprint
Oct 15, 2019 @ 19:28:47
What a great idea, to go looking for specific works by favourite authors. I’ll definitely keep this in mind for other events! This isn’t an essay I’ve read, but I can see where it would be particularly interesting for Woolf aficionados! (How interesting that both Woolf and Atwood write a lot of essays but they are not the form which one thinks of first, when one thinks of them as a woman who writes.)
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 15, 2019 @ 19:30:49
It’s something I always do to start with, to see if I have something on the shelves, or if there’s something I haven’t read. And yes – both women are amazing essayists, which really should be more appreciated! 😀
Tredynas Days
Oct 16, 2019 @ 09:45:31
Her essays are excellent; I’ve posted on her Common Reader collection of literary essays, but have yet to start on others like this one. As you say, she’s a superb writer of prose non-fiction. I hadn’t thought of digging out a short work like this for the 1930 club – must do some digging to see if I can find anything to read quickly. Shame not to contribute.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 16, 2019 @ 11:18:20
They are, aren’t they – really, I think everything she writes is just marvellous. Short works are a great idea for the clubs, especially if a favourite author hasn’t done a longer one that year! 😀
Simon T
Oct 16, 2019 @ 10:22:23
It’s such an interesting essay! I read it at uni, but it’s also interesting how it has inspired other things – it comes up in the Jenn Ashworth book I reviewed recently, as well as Katherine Smyth’s brilliant All The Lives I Ever Lived.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 16, 2019 @ 11:17:08
It is, and how fascinating that it should inform those other works. I love how she takes her subject and goes off at tangents – such a wonderful writer!
WordsAndPeace
Oct 16, 2019 @ 16:43:31
wow, I had never heard of this one, thanks!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 16, 2019 @ 18:25:18
It’s fascinating! Mind you, I could read anything the woman wrote!
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madamebibilophile
Oct 17, 2019 @ 13:46:50
This sounds so interesting – but then everything she writes is interesting! Like you, I feel I should definitely make time to read her essays further…
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 17, 2019 @ 14:36:20
Yeah, she could make the most mundane topic fascinating. I should really start an essay reading project…. ;D
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