Virginia Woolf’s 136th Birthday: Google Doodle Honours English Modernist Writer

Google doodle paid tribute to famous English author Virginia Woolf on her 136^th birth anniversary. Woolf was one of the modernist writers of the 20^th century known for her non-linear writing style. The doodle shows a lady in bun surrounded by falling autumn leaves, a theme which was seen prominently in her writing. Some of her classic works include Mrs. Dalloway (1925), 'To the Lighthouse' (1927), 'A Room of One's Own' and 'Three Guineas.'

Woolf came from a prosperous family background but did not have a happy life. In fact, she suffered from several bouts of depression. Her father, Leslie Stephen was a historian. So she was surrounded by a lot of literature and similar interest people who came to visit her father. This fueled Virginia’s interest of becoming a part of contemporary intellectuals later in life. But she did not have very pleasant years of growing up. She and her sister were treated lower to her brothers and this stark difference was seen in her feminist writings later on. In her autobiographical book, she mentions of facing sexual abuse from her half-brothers.

Woolf lost her mother when she was just 13 years. this affected her mental health and she suffered from early depression. She later lost one of her half-sisters. But the death of her father in 1904, was a complete breakdown. She even tried to commit suicide but was admitted for treatment. After her recovery, Woolf found her solace in writing. She was married in 1912 and her first novel ‘The Voyage Out' was published in 1915. She rose to prominence with her literary works becoming famous around the World War time. The modernist writer introduced the technique of ‘stream of consciousness.’ She along with her husband ran a publishing house Hogarth Press.

While she indulged in writing, it was period of the world wars. In the early stage of the World War I, her house was bombed, which only affected her mental state even more. On 28^th March 1941, she left her house, went to a nearby river and drowned herself. The state of affairs around had deeply affected her and she did not want to continue with her ill-health, driving her to commit suicide. Soon after her death, her last novel 'Between The Acts' was published.

Today, her books are studied by literature students as examples of classic modernist writings. Her non-linear pattern of writing is not easy to understand but it is a perspective to observe. To quote her own words from her last novel, “Books are the mirrors of the soul,” Woolf’s left an impression on the literary world.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 25, 2018 10:18 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).