“ Indeed there has never been any explanation of the ebb and flow in our veins—of happiness and unhappiness. ”
Virginia Woolf, Jacob's Room (1922). copy citation
| Author | Virginia Woolf |
|---|---|
| Source | Jacob's Room |
| Topic | happiness unhappiness flow |
| Date | 1922 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/5670/pg5670-images.html |
Context
“So have we for the matter of that, thought Jacob, crumpling the Daily Mail in his hand. He would go into Parliament and make fine speeches—but what use are fine speeches and Parliament, once you surrender an inch to the black waters? Indeed there has never been any explanation of the ebb and flow in our veins—of happiness and unhappiness. That respectability and evening parties where one has to dress, and wretched slums at the back of Gray's Inn—something solid, immovable, and grotesque—is at the back of it, Jacob thought probable. But then there was the British Empire which was beginning to puzzle him; nor was he altogether in favour of giving Home Rule to Ireland.”
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Meaning and analysis
