VIRGINIA WOOLF - FAMOUS BIPOLAR WRITER
English novelist, Adeline Virginia Woolf was an essay writer, publisher and diarist. She was born on January 25th 1882 in London. Virginia became a famous feminist and wrote short stories for publication in the newspapers at the time. She made significant contributions to the growth of the London literary society. Virginia was also a member of the Bloomsbury group. Her works were famous and won the hearts of many. She is considered one of the greatest people to have brought innovation to the English Language. She is also regarded as the major lyrical novelist in the English language.
Virginia was educated at home by her parents; her father was an editor, critic and biographer while her mother was a model for photographers. She was taught English Literature and the classics. Virginia began professional writing in 1900. Her first works were publication in the Times Literary Supplement. She published her first novel The Voyage Out, in 1915. Virginia published novels and other literary works that attained popular success. She experimented with stream-of-consciousness and a lot of psychology in her writing works. However, after the Second World War, her reputation declined. Virginia quickly regained her lost glory by doing more of Feminist criticism.
Virginia’s work was criticized by her critics who were many in number. Some argued that her work does not appeal to the emotions and lack ethical importance to common people. Some also agued her work was targeted at the upper and middle classes of the English intellectual. Her work was also criticized for being anti-Semitism, because she portrayed Jewish characters as dirty and physically rebellious. There were also many other kinds of criticisms about her work.
Virginia was suspected to have had bipolar disorder, though there is no direct information to that effect. Despite her immense success, Virginia had emotional and psychological problems. She had periodic mood swings which affected her social life and her work. She suffered bouts of depression, the last which led to her death. Her first depressive moment came at age 13 when her mother died suddenly. Her problem was compounded by the death of her sister 2 years later. Virginia was devastated and suffered a series of nervous breakdowns. Virginia’s type of depression was an advanced bipolar disorder.
She had another depressive session when her father died. She broke down and was admitted to a mental institution for a short while. She suffered another depression afterwards, that was more severe than the previous ones. She could not continue with her work or do any other thing any longer. She drowned herself in a river near her home.
Her depression was attributed to sexual abuse she and her sister suffered in the hands of her step brothers.
Virginia was married to Leonard Woolf, a Jew in 1912. The couple wrote a lot of material together and established the Horgath Press, which published the works of Virginia as well as that of others. Virginia was also known to have had a love relationship with Sackville-West.