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
To whom can I expose the urgency of my own passion?…There is nobody—here among these grey arches, and moaning pigeons, and cheerful games and tradition and emulation, all so skilfully organised to prevent feeling alone.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a sense of isolation and the struggle to share one's deep passion in a world that seems designed to distract from true feelings.
Virginia Woolf's quote reflects the inner conflict of an individual who feels surrounded by a society that encourages conformity and superficiality, making it difficult to express genuine emotions and passions. The imagery of 'grey arches' and 'moaning pigeons' evokes a sense of dreariness, contrasting with the vibrant 'cheerful games' that mask deeper feelings of solitude and longing for connection.
Themes
PassionIsolationSocietySelf-ExpressionEmotions
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about loneliness in modern society, this quote can emphasize the struggles of individuals feeling unheard.
More from Virginia Woolf
All quotes →Death is woven in with the violets,” said Louis. “Death and again death.”)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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