Virginia Woolf the legacy

1. Introduction “The Legacy” by Virginia Woolf is one of the brightest and revolutionary stories that reveals a number of important aspects, such as problems with communication in a couple and difficulties in self-development of married women, from the absolutely new and progressive feminist perspective. Virginia Woolf is often called a voice of feminism of the 20th century because her stories present an alternative view on the perception of women in the society. The author exposes her female characters as individuals with a great and deep inner world, which is encouraging for reconsideration of existing regulations. Virginia Woolf sees women as people with immense potential, which is mostly difficult to open up due to public pressure and male dominance. Ultimately, Woolf’s female heroes come to a conclusion that their position in life and perception by others may be deceptive or totally misleading. Referring to the plot of “The Legacy”, the story tells about a married couple, where the main male character, Gilbert, lost his wife Angela, who commited a suicide 6 weeks ago. Before passing away, Angela left some things for closest people as a legacy. Gilbert wondered why his wife left him such an insignificant item as her diary. Angela’s husband read the diary and found out many aspects that he would never think about when she was alive. Gilbert learned about the wife’s feelings towards various questions, but the most striking discovery was that Angela had a lover, who was called B. M. With that man, Angela expressed herself and discussed topics that were considered to be male predominantly. Initially, Angela’s lover killed himself because she did not want to leave Gilbert, however Angela commits a suicide after some time as well. Examining “The Legacy”, it can be noticed that Gilbert could not acknowledge his fault in the wife’s fate until he read Angela’s private journal, but Virginia Woolf tries to clarify what is wrong in Gilbert’s behaviour although he was not a tyrant in the literal sense of the word. Still, the main feature which is worth attention is changing Angela’s consciousness, especially in the vision of her marriage with Gilbert. Angela was one of the females, who had a brilliant mind and thoughts, but hidden oppression by men around her probably extinguished this potential. The essay will focus on analysing Angela and her inner changes from the beginning to the end according to the diary which is the main mean of narration in “The Legacy”. 2. Plan of the main body 2. 1. Volume 1 of Angela’s Diary Angela was incredibly proud of being Gilbert’s wife, she enjoyed having a distinguished husband. His success in the career was bright, Angela admired it. She’d toured with Gilbert during his first year working in Parliament. Angela was overcome by the applause he received. She recalls the trip to Venice with Gilbert which was an exciting experience for her. Angela was eager to learn due to being “terribly ignorant” as she calls it. Gilbert believed that Angela’s ignorance is one of her charms and her desire to know something new is quite childish. Overall, Angela was incredibly excited and happy to be with Gilbert. 2. 2. Volume 2 of Angela’s diary. Angela writes more about moments that cause anxiety. She was worried about making a good impression on important men in London with whom Gilbert worked. Angela wrote about the evening party at the Lovegroves where Lady Lovegrove asks her whether she realises the responsibility of being Gilbert’s wife. 2. 3. Next volumes of Angela’s diary The period when these volumes were written in a crucial key period, which can be called turning point of Angela’s consciousness evolution. Gilbert became more absorbed in his work, thus, Angela was more often alone. She wrote about children that she wished to have, but probably Gilbert had other priorities, where there was not enough space for family. Obviously, Angela was bored, felt idle and useless, that is why she told Gilbert that she wanted to have a job of her own. She blessed him for being so kind and generous due to the fact that he made no objections for her to work. Angela went to Whitechapel to do some charity work, apparently. Her diary became full of notes about her job. Then Angela met B. M. Gilbert was not aware of her meetings with B. M. until Angela died and left her diary. She had arguments and discussions with B. M. about socialism, upper-classes, she read books by Karl Marx, for instance, that B. M. lent to her. It seems that Angela saw an opportunity to express herself and to be listened to as well. She realised that her personality was wider and went far beyond that merely being a wife of Gilbert. Perhaps, Angela was trapped in the luxury world of upper-classes, but after meeting with B. M. she saw another world that was hidden from her. 2. 4. The last fifteenth volume of Angela’s diary Angela suffered from the pressure of B. M. who encouraged her to make a decision and promised to commit suicide if she had not become his mistress. Eventually, B. M. killed himself, after which Angela asked herself if she had the courage to do it too. Angela’s suicide was an act of relief, bravery and protest. Her evolution from devoted and modest wife to a conscious and independent person has reached the apogee.