[Vwoolf] A Semi-Transparent Envelope

[Edward Mendelson]

I have’t read any of the discussions or debates, but probably they all quote the 3 September 1928 (I haven’t checked the date, possibly wrong) diary entry, possibly relevant as a way of saying the same thing (in the sentence that begins “How dificult…”):

"That is one of the experiences I have had here in some Augusts; & got then to a consciousness of what I call 'reality': a thing I see before me; something abstract; but residing in the downs or sky; beside which nothing matters; in which I shall rest & continue to exist. Reality I call it. And I fancy sometimes this is the most necessary thing to me: that which I seek. But who knows—once one takes a pen & writes? How difficult not to go making 'reality' this & that, whereas it is one thing. Now perhaps this is my gift; this perhaps is what distinguishes me from other people; I think it may be rare to have so acute a sense of something like that—but again, who knows? I would like to express it too."

> On Aug 27, 2024, at 10:38 AM, Claire Battershill via Vwoolf <vwoolf at lists.osu.edu> wrote:
> 
> Dearest Woolfians, 
> 
> I hope this finds you well and enjoying the last days of August. 
> 
> I'm writing to ask if anyone could point me to some discussions and debates about the meaning of Woolf's frequently quoted passage about "life" from "Modern Fiction" (“Life is not a series of gig lamps symmetrically arranged’ but a luminous halo, a semi-transparent envelope surrounding us from the beginning of consciousness to the end”)? I know the 'gig lamps' have been variously defined (as spectacles by Julia Briggs, for instance); and this little bit is frequently quoted in relation to broader writings on consciousness, but I'd love to be pointed in the direction of further discussion and interpretation of this fascinating passage. I love for instance Jane Goldman's connection of the landscape of Skye to the image and the re-appearance of the phrase "semi-transparent" in her piece on the two postcards in the Miscellany. 
> 
> The halo, the gig lamps, the envelope...a lot going on! 
> 
> Thanks so much for your thoughts and any references you might share,
> Claire
> 
> Dr. Claire Battershill (she/her)
> Assistant Professor
> Faculty of Information & Department of English
> Wendy M. Cecil Professor at Victoria College
> University of Toronto
> 
> The University of Toronto operates on the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and I am grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.
> Book time with Claire Battershill <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://outlook.office.com/bookwithme/user/da0e7588e2f04045916dd0f5dc142641@utoronto.ca?anonymous&ep=pcard__;!!KGKeukY!327U0RX5Q3tFGBWAsJpaCqoBnyx7H8feyYl3J1yb9kTioc2tJGEpsF1ZhKH_y0N1WmQtEkxvVeDKxun-c476cjVwjjZ7nPdsXg$>_______________________________________________
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