Maybe I should have been....but I wasn't. After reading In The Lady in the Looking-Glass: A Reflection, I must admit that I was pretty much left with the same feeling I had after reading many of the poets. What is she trying to tell me?
"The house was empty, and one felt, since one was the only person in the drawing-room, like one of those naturalists, who, covered with grass and leaves, lie watching the shyest animals . . . " (p. 1225). Is there actually someone in the house? Or is the mirror merely describing what is seen in its reflection? My first instinct was that the mirror was the narrator, yet later one I realized that some things being described could not have been reflected in the mirror; therefore it could have no knowledge of them.
Regardless of who is telling the story, Isabella Tyson, the owner of the house is described as 55-60 years old, never married, rich, and well traveled. As the reader I see her as living a satisfied life. The narrator then elicits my sympathy for Isabella when Woolfe writes, " . . . and yet, judging from the mask-like indifference of her face, she had gone through twenty times more of passion and experience than those whose loves are trumpeted forth for all the world to hear" (p. 1226). So she has loved, but her love has not left her happy...rather it has left her afraid to show emotion, least she be hurt again.
Woolfe's description of Isabella's reflection as she returns to the house is incredibly exciting. I could almost see how other things in the landscape were blocked by her as she came closer and closer. Finally, as she enters the room, we are told that Isabella is not the creature previously described from a distance. " . . . there was nothing. Isabella was perfectly empty. She had no thoughts. She had no friends. She cared for nobody" (p. 1228). I see a connection between Woolfe's analysis of Isabella and what she referred to as "The Angel in the House" in the excerpt from Professions for Women. She seemed to feel that this type of woman is left empty inside from giving so much to others.
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3 comments:
Wanda,
Good posting on Woolf. Your attention to the text and to your own thoughts and assumptions produces a readable and interesting commentary on this odd little text (I am not sure it is appropriate to call it a story).
And congratulations on having reached 20 blog postings faster than anyone else! I truly enjoyed reading your blog.
Wanda, very good comments about Isabelle and how she is somewhat dead on the inside from giving of herself in order to give to others.
Wanda I really enjoyed the title of your post! It caught my eye and made me want to read what you wrote! I thought you did a great job with your blog. I also found Woolf to be confusing at times. I liked the way you attempted to figure out the true meaning. I, too, did that in my blogs.
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