Curiosity and Clarity
Updated: Oct 24
Notes on Virginia Woolf - a little research spiral after reading
Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency, by Olivia Laing (2020) and ‘Proust was a Neuroscientist’ by Johan Lehrer (2007) then listening to ‘A Room of One’s Own’ by Virginia Woolf then watching Virginia Woolf's Night and Day by Tina Gharavi (2026)
A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf 1929
Searching for a space where she can write and finding that the environment is against her for no other reason than she is a woman
Noticing that there is a system
It’s a good way to see how far we have come, no?
She noticed that men seem to write a lot about women but women don’t write about women or men
(Perhaps that was why I wrote about masculinity in 2025….Connection with algorithmic thinking here)
I am drawn to science and maths because I like clarity and am curious.
So much that I have read, heard, watched and learnt, seems aligned with what she is saying here.
NTS: find out more about Vernan Lee on aesthetics
I see she mentions not only the Isle of Man but also the Manx Cat which she wonders about. How it came to be without a tail. Is it by natural variation or human intervention? I think the answer may have been revealed as both now.
She also mentions a visit to Girton which flags another note of familiarity in my brain… Could she have known my great (x3) Aunt Louisa?? Better check that one out…
The connection:
So Louisa Lumsden was one of the first 5 women to study and pass the Tripos at Girton College Cambridge …
1869
The first five students
The first five students arrived in Hitchin in October 1869. They were (left to right in the photo) Emily Gibson, Sarah Woodhead, Isabella Townshend, Rachel Cook (seated) and Louisa Lumsden (seated). Three would become the first women to pass Tripos examinations, which they sat on exactly the same terms as men: Sarah in Mathematics and Louisa and Rachel in Classics. As they were not allowed to receive the Cambridge BA, Girton awarded them the College Degree Certificate. (University of Cambridge website)
1928
‘Virginia Woolf visits Girton and Newham’
Since its inception Girton has often hosted important women writers and cultural figures. In October 1928, Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) was invited by the students of Newnham and Girton to visit and give talks at each College.
At Girton, accompanied by Vita Sackville-West (1892–1962), she was the guest of a student Society, ODTAA (One Damn Thing After Another) and spoke to a group of its members in the Reception Room.
Some remembered Virginia as goddess-like, others recalled her sensitive hands and untidy grey bob. The redrafted paper she read at the Colleges was subsequently published as A Room of One’s Own, one of the 20th Century’s most influential reflections on gender politics. (University of Cambridge website)
Probably more to say about the book here but in the meantime…I watched another film, based on her novel Night and Day
Virginia’s Night and Day, by Tina Gharavi
‘Based on Virginia Woolf’s funniest novel, Night & Day is an un-romantic comedy about the passionate astronomer, Katharine Hilbery who does everything she can to avoid romantic love and marriage.
Her bold challenge to Edwardian patriarchy is set against the suffragette movement and advances in science and technology.
Fun and contemporary in tone, this refreshing film showcases a star-studded ensemble of humorous performances’ - Picture House synopsis
Feeling both validation and empathy for how women must have felt then and also anyone who is different to the 'norm' - attributed by Patriarchy (when you know you know, elephant in the room) Were these people real? Can this be true? Watching the film unfold and seeing how characters are shaped and developed I think about how the writers and directors work with the original story by Virginia and interpret it for now and yet it doesn’t seem that much changed.
I watched this after a week of feeling the same anger at the inequalities that still exist and I can’t believe what is there before my eyes.
Have we gone back in time?
Instances where decisions are being made that defy any logic that I can fathom which leaves only the thought that there are hidden reasons for decisions.
That these instances are still happening in environments where students are encouraged to believe the opposite is true is I suppose, the paradox of life.
Truth, that’s a good one…
The quote in the film.. spoken by Katherine’s mother at the book launch of her own biography, nicely titled 'The Elephant in the Room' which took her a long time to write and she had to negotiate it’s existence with her husband and yet she was presented as a formidable woman herself. Yet she played a role of naivety in order to get what she wanted. In the end her husband gave her his editor to placate her and so her book was published.
The quote:
“Truth isn’t singular. No one owns it. Everyone has their own version of it.”
“Everyone’s truth is the house they live in.”
Not sure if this was from Virginia or the writer of the film but it resonated for sure, or as one of my students said ‘tickled my brain'. Particularly because when I have said this before as an explanation to someone in a conversation they laughed and told me there was only one truth… yes that happened in 2026!
We are in a ‘post truth era’ and yet people cling onto an old version of it which they prefer inspite of all the evidence to the contrary. Absurd isn’t it…
As a side note...
I found the quote via a transcript which was found by AI when I searched for the person who said it, to make sure I correctly quoted it, the source for the quote was this:
Turns out there is a website for film transcripts....who knew!
Not sure about the ethics of this site, as it’s not stated who was the original author of the line but it is the best I can do for now. Obviously I assume the sentiment is that of Virginia Woolf herself but credit to the others who may have interpreted her ideas and apologies if I have not referenced you correctly.
Probably should say something here about Lehrer and Liang but amongst other things, the tenuous link is that they both 'tickled my brain'* to want to know more about Virginia Woolf.
maybe more on those later...
Notes:
Night and Day by Virginia Woolf
You can read the book ‘Night and Day’ on-line here:
A Room of One’s Own, by Virginia Woolf
You can listen to a recording of the book here:
Virginia Woolf's Night and Day by Tina Gharavi (2026)
Girton College Cambridge
*credit to one of my students who used this phrase to describe the feeling when she discovered connections in her research
Comments