In this short monograph, Bernard
Blackstone has managed to catch several of the fundamental themes and characteristics of
Virginia Woolf's writing and philosophy. It is the peculiar emphasis on the
DING-AN-SICH (although he doesn't use that term), the Thing-In-Itself, in her writing that he is most emphatic about. She wishes to exhibit a more feminine sensibility in her writing: one that is beyond lies,
falsehood, and hypocrisy, and is the truth (conceptual as it may be); yet deeper in reality, beyond all words, terms, concepts, or ideas. And it is this, he says, which Ms. Woolf strives for, and idealizes, to
some extent, those in her novels who have and experience this sort of perception -- children and artists, in particular. While Ms. Woolf was somewhat of a feminist, she drew back in horror from such social events as war. Her vision was an intensely personal one, an inner vision of such fragility it could scarcely be committed to words and have them do it justice.
This book has an excellent bibliography at end. There is much more to Mr.
Blackstone's opinions, and illustrations from her work, than I have been able to encompass here. It is well worth the trouble of obtaining this volume.