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A review by ladygetslit
The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf
3.0
It’s always interesting to read the debut work of well-known classic writers. Virginia Woolf’s first novel, The Voyage Out, was published in 1915, while her last novel, [book:Between the Acts|46105], was published in 1941, the same year Woolf committed suicide. I’ve now read both ends of her work, as well as some from the middle; yet I still don’t feel I have a grasp on her.
[author:Virginia Woolf|6765] is known for her innovation in narrative style and use of stream of consciousness to delve into the emotions and psyches of her characters, and that’s definitely present in this novel, although to a less noticeable extent than her later works. There is very little plot here; few major events take place, although there are turning points in the characters’ consciousness. And while The Voyage Out purports to be a satire of the wealthy English travelers at the beginning of the twentieth century, interpretations of this necessarily vary.
For my part, I was much more interested in the coming-of-age story that follows Rachel Vincrace, a 24-year-old young woman. Raised by her matronly aunts in the countryside, Rachel is quite obviously inexperienced at the beginning of the novel. While she’s an accomplished pianist, Rachel isn’t very well educated, and her views of the world are obviously sheltered. She alternates between finding the older adults boring and wanting to ask them dozens of questions about their life experiences. Ultimately, through the influence of the various characters she meets, Rachel “grows up” at least as much as a young woman can be expected to grow up.
Perhaps this is my age speaking, but I found Rachel a very sympathetic character. I related to her feelings of isolation and loneliness; a lot of the story revolves around her deep desire to have intimate conversations with people, but her inability to achieve that due to societal conventions. The multi-focused third person narration reveals that characters are often thinking one thing (often the same thing as other characters) but say something totally different.
Additionally (and this might just be my personal interpretation) there’s a definite hint at depression under the surface of things, the sense that “I’m happy, but is this all that happiness is?” There were so many lines I highlighted because they practically jump off the page. Despite the century that’s passed since the book’s publication, I relate to Rachel’s feeling of disconnect and isolation; even with the internet, connecting with other human beings can be fraught with complications.
While I did find things I liked in this novel, it wasn’t a totally enjoyable read. Classic literature is always a little more involved reading, and Woolf’s jumping back and forth through characters’ heads has always grated on me. I also felt that the actual social commentary left something to be desired—either because I’m too removed from the time period to understand, or because Woolf had to edit herself carefully in order to publish the book. While she talks about women’s suffrage and various characters talk about women’s psyche, there are definitely a lot of antifeminist statements made by characters as well. Additionally, I thought there was going to be a lot more critique of colonialism, as the book takes place in South America. Aside from some description of the surroundings, I often forgot that these characters were on a resort at all. It wasn’t really about the physical journey, but the psychological one.
Ultimately, I had some issues with this. It took me a good 40% of the book to even care what was happening, and the parts not in Rachel’s voice were tedious. While I can appreciate Woolf’s genius, I much prefer her later work (namely [book:Orlando|18839]) to this first novel.
[author:Virginia Woolf|6765] is known for her innovation in narrative style and use of stream of consciousness to delve into the emotions and psyches of her characters, and that’s definitely present in this novel, although to a less noticeable extent than her later works. There is very little plot here; few major events take place, although there are turning points in the characters’ consciousness. And while The Voyage Out purports to be a satire of the wealthy English travelers at the beginning of the twentieth century, interpretations of this necessarily vary.
For my part, I was much more interested in the coming-of-age story that follows Rachel Vincrace, a 24-year-old young woman. Raised by her matronly aunts in the countryside, Rachel is quite obviously inexperienced at the beginning of the novel. While she’s an accomplished pianist, Rachel isn’t very well educated, and her views of the world are obviously sheltered. She alternates between finding the older adults boring and wanting to ask them dozens of questions about their life experiences. Ultimately, through the influence of the various characters she meets, Rachel “grows up” at least as much as a young woman can be expected to grow up.
Perhaps this is my age speaking, but I found Rachel a very sympathetic character. I related to her feelings of isolation and loneliness; a lot of the story revolves around her deep desire to have intimate conversations with people, but her inability to achieve that due to societal conventions. The multi-focused third person narration reveals that characters are often thinking one thing (often the same thing as other characters) but say something totally different.
Additionally (and this might just be my personal interpretation) there’s a definite hint at depression under the surface of things, the sense that “I’m happy, but is this all that happiness is?” There were so many lines I highlighted because they practically jump off the page. Despite the century that’s passed since the book’s publication, I relate to Rachel’s feeling of disconnect and isolation; even with the internet, connecting with other human beings can be fraught with complications.
Spoiler
And ultimately, it’s this sense of disconnect that seems to manifest as the physical illness that ultimately kills her, which opens up some interesting questions about women’s psychological and physical health.While I did find things I liked in this novel, it wasn’t a totally enjoyable read. Classic literature is always a little more involved reading, and Woolf’s jumping back and forth through characters’ heads has always grated on me. I also felt that the actual social commentary left something to be desired—either because I’m too removed from the time period to understand, or because Woolf had to edit herself carefully in order to publish the book. While she talks about women’s suffrage and various characters talk about women’s psyche, there are definitely a lot of antifeminist statements made by characters as well. Additionally, I thought there was going to be a lot more critique of colonialism, as the book takes place in South America. Aside from some description of the surroundings, I often forgot that these characters were on a resort at all. It wasn’t really about the physical journey, but the psychological one.
Ultimately, I had some issues with this. It took me a good 40% of the book to even care what was happening, and the parts not in Rachel’s voice were tedious. While I can appreciate Woolf’s genius, I much prefer her later work (namely [book:Orlando|18839]) to this first novel.