I can only note that the past is beautiful because one never realises an emotion at the time. It expands later, and thus we don't have complete emotions about the present, only about the past.
Virginia WoolfRead
I thought how unpleasant it is to be locked out; and I thought how it is worse, perhaps, to be locked in.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Being locked out symbolizes missed opportunities, while being locked in represents confinement and restriction.
In this quote, Virginia Woolf reflects on the dual nature of confinement, both external and internal. Being locked out can signify exclusion from experiences or opportunities, evoking feelings of isolation. Conversely, being locked in suggests a greater existential challenge, as it refers to self-imposed limitations or being trapped in one's own mind or circumstances. Woolf encourages us to consider the nuances of freedom and confinement in our lives.
Themes
ConfinementFreedomOpportunityIsolationPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about personal growth and overcoming limitations, one might quote Woolf to illustrate the struggle of feeling trapped.
More from Virginia Woolf
All quotes βDeath is woven in with the violets,β said Louis. βDeath and again death.β)
Virginia WoolfRead
He began to search among the infinite series of impressions which time had laid down, leaf upon leaf, fold upon fold softly, incessantly upon his brain; among scents, sounds; voices, harsh, hollow, sweet; and lights passing, and brooms tapping; and the wash and hush of the sea.
Virginia WoolfRead
I want to think quietly, calmly, spaciously, never to be interrupted, never to have to rise from my chair, to slip easily from one thing to another, without any sense of hostility, or obstacle. I want to sink deeper and deeper, away from the surface, with its hard separate facts.
Virginia WoolfRead
I do think all good and evil comes from words. I have to tune myself into a good temper with something musical, and I run to a book as a child to its mother.
Virginia WoolfRead
London perpetually attracts, stimulates, gives me a play and a story and a poem, without any trouble, save that of moving my legs through the streets... To walk alone through London is the greatest rest.
Virginia WoolfRead
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The feelings of my smallness and my nothingness always kept me good company.
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