Meaningless Existence in Virginia Woolf's Kew Gardens
"Kew Gardens," by Virginia Woolf, is skillfully developed and written in such a manner as to be jammed full of images, ideas, and possibilities. One of the many ideas found in the story is the presentation of human existence as meaningless, random, and haphazard. Indeed, throughout the story, many images, words, and even plot structure support the fact that the lives of the characters of the story are lives without meaning or direction. Woolf presents the reader with characters whose lives are noticeably blurry and unfocused, undefined and haphazard, lived without direction, and full of distraction and interruption. The characters' lives are lived in a haze, with meaningful existence eluding them. Evidence for this idea can be found throughout the story, both in the descriptive words Woolf uses and in the structure of the story.
The reoccurrence of the image of haze, or of hazy things, throughout the story provides a powerful beginning point. As the first set of characters exits the story, they are "soon diminished in size among the trees" and "half transparent as the sunlight and shade swam over their backs in large trembling irregular patches" (30). They are not seen as sturdy, solid human beings. The theme of haze is continued as Woolf discusses the "ponderous" elderly woman who first gazes at the flowers in the oval garden and "saw them as a sleeper waking from a heavy sleep sees a brass candlestick reflecting the light in an unfamiliar way" (33). Intangible images are further seen in the experience of the younger man who watches as "the mist very slowly rose and uncovered" (34) shapes which were at first indistinguishable. Finally, "one couple after another . . . w...
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...he realities of their lives or purposefully set a direction for their lives? How often had they settled for something other than what they truly desired in exchange for something less satisfying (if they ever even knew what they wanted in the first place)? Which of them had allowed themselves to be "drawn on" by whatever forces that were intentionally or unintentionally at play in their lives? Which of them had ever fought to achieve clear communication and understanding within their relationships? Which had struggled to see reality through the haze? Did any of them steel themselves against distractions? Unfortunately, from the evidence presented in the story, a reader would have to conclude that none of them attempted any of the above possibilities.
Work Cited
Woolf, Virginia. A Haunted House and Other Short Stories. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1944.
The Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys have been extensively settled centered around the nearby towns of Keremeos, Oliver and Osoyoos . The Okanagan-Similkameen region’s census population, as of 2006, was 79475(((1))) people, has the fastest growing population rate of any other river valley in Canada, and has seen a 137% increase in population in the last 30 years. Some of the borders of the proposed area touch existing private land used in agriculture and ranching operation.
characters felt the need to settle down in life and both saw the image of
Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, Brief Edition (2nd Edition) (2 ed., pp. 413-429). New York: Longman.
Today, in the contemporary United States, there are many different influencers to a person’s health, such as poverty and/or unemployment. However, education is the most important influence on health because without a good, thorough education, people are less likely to have access to health care, be able to afford health care and they are more likely to live shorter lives. A lack of education makes poverty and unemployment more likely, which obviously have a negative effect on a person’s health.
She describes the September morning as “mild, benignant, yet with a keener breath than the summer months.” She then goes on to describe the field outside her window, using word choice that is quite the opposite of words that would be used to describe a depressing story. She depicts the exact opposite of death, and creates a feeling of joy, happiness, and life to the world outside her room. After this, she goes into great detail about the “festivities” of the rooks among the treetops, and how they “soared round the treetops until it looked as if a vast net with thousands of black knots in it had been cast up into the air”. There is so much going on around her that “it was difficult to keep the eyes strictly turned upon the book.” Descriptions like these are no way to describe a seemingly depressing story about a moth, but by using these, joyful descriptions, Woolf connects everything happening outside to a single strand of energy. These images set a lively tone for the world around her, and now allow her to further introduce the moth into the story.
The valley is described as a “desolate” place where “ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills into grotesque gardens”. (21) Ashes that dominate the area take the shape of natural greenery. The term “grotesque gardens” uses alliteration, with juxtaposition; to highlight the odd pairing of ashes and greenery. Ashes are associated with death while ridges and “gardens” represent the potential to flourish and grow in the promise and ideal of equality as in “the trees that had made way for Gatsby’s house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams.” (143) The trees that once stood here were able to speak to man’s dreams, which allude to America, the land able to speak to man’s dreams and capacity for wonder. All this is replaced by grey ash that suffocates the inhabitants, restricting them to their social class. This presents a bleak image of hopelessness that surrounds the valley.
...mans, it is in our nature to find an easy solution for a problem. In many cases it is a means of escaping, and finding something better. For these four characters, the illusions they used to get out of the stresses of normal life, become their lives. Instead of dealing with issues with their spouses and getting what they want in life they blur themselves to reality. It becomes a question of when is reality too much to handle? For these characters reality was too much to handle the minute they got scared. The second the future was in jeopardy, or their reputation was on the line. This is not unlike society today. People are desperate for approval and will seek this by any means. Without approval from others we cease to exist or be content. And for many contentment is also something that must be achieved.
Woolfe, Virginia. A Room of One's Own. The Norton Anthology English Literature. 8th ed. Vol. F. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2006. 2092-155. Print.
This article gives an insight on the current trends on gene therapy because it offers critical analysis of gene therapy both at the beginning to the current state. It also explores the position of patients who underwent gene therapy so as to ascertain whether this therapy has been successful or not. This helps in establishing the reason why this mode of therapy has been gaining slower acceptance than it initially
While she is buying flowers for her party, Mrs. Dalloway has an existential crisis regarding the meaning of life and the inevitability of death. She reflects on the atmosphere of the London streets and her old suitor Peter Walsh as she reads some lines from Shakespeare’s Cymbeline. Mrs. Dalloway’s existential crisis demonstrates situational irony since the concept of life and death is quite deep and complex, yet she seems to live a shallow life consisting of throwing parties and picking which flowers to buy. Although she is contemplating her own mortality, Woolf’s word choice, such as “consoling,” suggests that death is positive and liberating, applying a light tone to a dark situation, adding to the irony. Mrs. Dalloway describes the trees,
The controversy arises from both the techniques and aims of gene therapy. Gene therapy attempts to correct the "deleterious effect(s) of a genetic disorder"(Wheale & McNally, 212) through the replacement or repair of defective genes in human cells. The basic technique of such therapy involves either replacing the activity of a defective gene with a previously dormant gene or inserting genetic material into defective cells(212). The danger of such therapy is due to risks inherent in the techniques. Scientists, for example, may not fully and accurately...
'To the lighthouse' is held together by the use of motif, the unexpected difficulties that these motifs represent are as Margaret Drabble puts it 'tightly woven'. Woolf's use of stream of consciousness, would unravel at the seams with its constant shifts, without the static image of the lighthouse or the painting, the story would just be a jumbled collection of thought processes.
Kelley, A. V. (1973). To the Lighthouse. The Novels of Virginia Woolf: Fact and Vision (pp. 114-143). Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press.
Woolf, Virginia. To the Lighthouse. 1927. New York: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1951. pp 131-133.
Woolf, therefore, takes advantage of the lyrical short stories’ structure to create a liminal space that both breaks through barriers to form a unified, impressionistic world and to emphasize the imposing negative aspects of such a transitory structure. As a result, Woolf prompts the reader to question whether the liminal space created within the short story is positive in its ability to unite nature and human or negative in its apparent unsustainability. Regardless, the form and structure of the short story are pivotal in Kew Gardens. Without the liminal space of the short story, it is questionable if Woolf could have succeeded in creating the unstable, yet peaceful, world in Kew Gardens.