Had To Go With My Girl – Virginia Woolf
Saturday, February 25th, 2012 by
Permalink for this paragraph 1 Even though our assignment changed for Friday and Virginia Woolf’s A Haunted House was no longer required, I still had to read her piece. I understand with Woolf people have a love/hate relationship, and I definitely have a love towards this phenomenal woman. I must say though while taking a feminist critical crack at A Haunted House, I was stumped. Bear with my analysis because I find it may be a little out there. I myself am still trying to put the pieces together. It is important to first note the ambiguities of the words “here” and “it.” For example, “Here we left it,” “It’s upstairs,” “They’re looking for it.” This repetition of these words emphasizes a significance making the reader question what exactly is being looked for and where was it last left. For me, in a feminist work any reference to a house draws up red flags to see if the text resembles a woman’s womb. A house associates as a perfect yonic symbol. In this case, if one were to draw this conclusion I believe in this case the house could be seen as a yonic symbol for the woman in the story. To me, haunted does not necessarily have to be “scary,” it could mean sick. Some further evidence within the text eluding to this being a sick or perhaps infertile explicit the use of the word empty, shadow. The line which tells, “The treasure buried.” I hate being quick to blame as saying the woman was infertile as in many times throughout history, if a woman were not able to conceive she were to blame and never the man. In this case, A Haunted House, if the woman was infertile her and her husband could be looking for the “buried treasure” of life which they had not found with the pleasures of bearing children. Ultimately, we see in the end this is the joy and love shared between two people.
Permalink for this paragraph 0 A few lines which really struck me, which I would like to point out are:
Permalink for this paragraph 0 Death was the glass; death was between us; coming to the woman first, hundreds of years ago, leaving the house, sealing all the windows; the rooms were darkened. He left it, left her, went North, went East, saw the stars turned in the Southern sky; sought the house, found it dropped beneath the Downs. “Safe, safe, safe,” the pulse of the house beat gladly. “The Treasure yours.
Permalink for this paragraph 0 Perhaps and strictly my own interpretation of this, after her husband found out she was barren he left her. This death more in a figurative sense killed her emotionally when he left and mentally as it tore her apart because she knew as a woman she could not fulfill her “roles.” This window came between her and her husband as she could see him leave, but she was stuck on the inside of her “Haunted House.” The last two lines get me though…I am still trying to figure out how the kind of connect with my little interpretation here. Any takers?
I agree about your love/hate relationship point. I never read Virginia Woolf in high school and heard bad things about her book The Lighthouse. Last year however I read A Room of Ones Own and recently read (and loved!) Mrs. Dalloway. I now have a completley different attitude about her.