The Politics of Conquest in The Voyage Out
Virginia Woolf Season 2024-25: Woolf and Politics
Lecture 1
‘A virgin land behind a veil’: The Politics of Conquest in The Voyage Out (1915)
Woolf's first novel reimagines two familiar stories: the first is the marriage plot, and the second is the narrative of conquest. Her decimation of the marriage plot is bold and direct, culminating in the sudden death of her heroine before a wedding can even take place.
Woolf's deconstruction of the conquest narrative is more subtle but nonetheless radical. As her characters explore the once ‘virgin land’ of South America, their behaviours echo the process of colonisation and shed a satirical light on Britain's role in global politics. This lecture will explore how the opinions of Clive Bell, Leonard Woolf, and E. M. Forster on colonialism and the concept of civilisation informed Woolf's writing at the start of her career. It will also consider the influence of contemporary politics on her burgeoning anti-imperialism. Ultimately it will draw links between the fate of Woolf’s unmarried heroine and her treatment of a landscape, one that sees them both as ‘virgins’ subject to forces beyond their control.
Live online lecture and seminar with Karina Jakubowicz
Saturday 14 September 2024
£32.00 full price
£27.00 students and CAMcard holders
£27.00 members of the VWSGB
Virginia Woolf Season 2024-25: Woolf and Politics
Lecture 1
‘A virgin land behind a veil’: The Politics of Conquest in The Voyage Out (1915)
Woolf's first novel reimagines two familiar stories: the first is the marriage plot, and the second is the narrative of conquest. Her decimation of the marriage plot is bold and direct, culminating in the sudden death of her heroine before a wedding can even take place.
Woolf's deconstruction of the conquest narrative is more subtle but nonetheless radical. As her characters explore the once ‘virgin land’ of South America, their behaviours echo the process of colonisation and shed a satirical light on Britain's role in global politics. This lecture will explore how the opinions of Clive Bell, Leonard Woolf, and E. M. Forster on colonialism and the concept of civilisation informed Woolf's writing at the start of her career. It will also consider the influence of contemporary politics on her burgeoning anti-imperialism. Ultimately it will draw links between the fate of Woolf’s unmarried heroine and her treatment of a landscape, one that sees them both as ‘virgins’ subject to forces beyond their control.
Live online lecture and seminar with Karina Jakubowicz
Saturday 14 September 2024
£32.00 full price
£27.00 students and CAMcard holders
£27.00 members of the VWSGB
Virginia Woolf Season 2024-25: Woolf and Politics
Lecture 1
‘A virgin land behind a veil’: The Politics of Conquest in The Voyage Out (1915)
Woolf's first novel reimagines two familiar stories: the first is the marriage plot, and the second is the narrative of conquest. Her decimation of the marriage plot is bold and direct, culminating in the sudden death of her heroine before a wedding can even take place.
Woolf's deconstruction of the conquest narrative is more subtle but nonetheless radical. As her characters explore the once ‘virgin land’ of South America, their behaviours echo the process of colonisation and shed a satirical light on Britain's role in global politics. This lecture will explore how the opinions of Clive Bell, Leonard Woolf, and E. M. Forster on colonialism and the concept of civilisation informed Woolf's writing at the start of her career. It will also consider the influence of contemporary politics on her burgeoning anti-imperialism. Ultimately it will draw links between the fate of Woolf’s unmarried heroine and her treatment of a landscape, one that sees them both as ‘virgins’ subject to forces beyond their control.
Live online lecture and seminar with Karina Jakubowicz
Saturday 14 September 2024
£32.00 full price
£27.00 students and CAMcard holders
£27.00 members of the VWSGB