WOOLFING # 36

“(…) I was just thinking about her death. That's always been such a strong image: going to the river with your pockets full of stones."

Florence Welch – on VW’s death

Virginia Woolf left us 75 years ago. As soon as her pockets were full of stones so as she could drown ‘till death, her pain came to an end. However, her legacy as a novelist and intellectual still remains with us after this period.

One of VW’s latest influences is Florence Welch, lead singer and composer from Florence + The Machine. Ceremonials (the band’s second album) brought one of the most powerful songs about Virginia’s tragedy: “What the Water Gave Me” is not only inspired by Woolf’s suicide, but also shows the importance of Frida Kahlo’s painting to Welch’s song-writing…

Frida Kahlo - "Lo Que el Agua Me Dió" (1938)

“WHAT THE WATER GAVE ME”

(Florence Welch & Francis "Eg" White)

Time it took us

To where the water was

That’s what the water gave me

And time goes quicker

Between the two of us

Oh, my love, don’t forsake me

Take what the water gave me

Lay me down

Let the only sound

Be the overflow

Pockets full of stones

Lay me down

Let the only sound

Be the overflow

And oh, poor Atlas

The world’s a beast of a burden

You’ve been holding up a long time

And all this longing

And the ships are left to rust

That’s what the water gave us

So lay me down

Let the only sound

Be the overflow

Pockets full of stones

Lay me down

Let the only sound

Be the overflow

‘Cause they took your loved ones

But returned them in exchange for you

But would you have it any other way?

Would you have it any other way?

You couldn't have it any other way

‘Cause she’s a cruel mistress

And a bargain must be made

But oh, my love, don’t forget me

When I let the water take me

So lay me down

Let the only sound

Be the over flow

Pockets full of stones

Lay me down

Let the only sound

Be the overflow

So lay me down

Let the only sound

Be the overflow

Pockets full of stones

Lay me down

Let the only sound

Be the overflow

We really hope that Virginia Woolf may rest in peace after having an intense life characterised by genius, pain and sorrow…

WOOLFING # 22

"A vida é como um sonho; É o acordar que nos mata."

Virginia Woolf 

WOOLFING # 21

Em 28 de Março de 1941, Virginia Woolf decidiu encerrar seus 59 anos de angústia e sofrimento ao vestir um belo casaco de pele, encher os bolsos de pedras e se atirar nas frias águas do rio Ouse.

Certa de que teria um terceiro colapso nervoso - nos outros dois, chegou a tentar o suicídio -, estava receosa de que jamais iria se recuperar de mais uma crise. Não conseguia mais escrever e estava receosa com os desdobramentos da Segunda Guerra Mundial, que já tinha bombardeado Londres e tinha destruído a residência do casal Woolf em 1940.

O suicídio foi, ao contrário do que muitos acreditam, foi o seu maior ato de coragem. A carta de despedida endereçada ao marido Leonard Woolf retrata com exatidão o sofrimento de Virginia:

Dearest,

I feel certain that I am going mad again. I feel we can't go through another of those terrible times. And I shan't recover this time. I begin to hear voices, and I can't concentrate. So I am doing what seems the best thing to do. You have given me the greatest possible happiness. You have been in every way all that anyone could be. I don't think two people could have been happier 'til this terrible disease came. I can't fight any longer. I know that I am spoiling your life, that without me you could work. And you will I know. You see I can't even write this properly. I can't read. What I want to say is I owe all the happiness of my life to you. You have been entirely patient with me and incredibly good. I want to say that — everybody knows it. If anybody could have saved me it would have been you. Everything has gone from me but the certainty of your goodness. I can't go on spoiling your life any longer.

I don't think two people could have been happier than we have been.

 V.

Neste vídeo, a atriz Louise Brealey faz uma leitura dramatizada da carta de Virginia Woolf: