Light On Dark Water

Virginia Woolf on Faith

In a letter to her sister:

"I have had a most shameful and distressing interview with poor dear Tom Eliot," wrote Woolf, "who may be called dead to us all from this day forward. He has become an Anglo-Catholic, believes in God and immortality, and goes to church. I was really shocked. A corpse would seem to me more credible than he is. I mean, there's something obscene in a living person sitting by the fire and believing in God."

I think something like this is behind much of the hatred of Christians and Christianity that shows itself in the political arena from time to time. 

This is quoted in Peter Hitchens' new book, which promises to be much superior to his brother Christopher's work. (Hat tip to Robert for the link.)

Maclin Horton

12 responses to “Virginia Woolf on Faith”

  1. Louise

    I am positively desperate to read Mr Hitchens’ books.
    I mean, there’s something obscene in a living person sitting by the fire and believing in God
    Wow! What on Earth would possess anyone to think like this? Staggering. I would have thought that happily sitting by a fire would be exactly the thing to make one believe in God (and be thankful).

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  2. Ryan C

    Dead to us all huh?
    And then her wrote the Four Quartets.

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  3. Ryan C

    He I mean. lol

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  4. Mac

    I always have thought V Woolf over-rated. I read a review a while back of a book about her relations with her servants, and there seemed to be some pretty funny stuff there.
    Louise, I guess her point wasn’t that sitting by the fire had anything to do with it one way or the other, but sort of a way of saying “In this day and age?!?”

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  5. Craig

    I’ve seen that quote from Virginia Woolf before. It would have been enough to put me off her (if Mrs. Dalloway had not already done so).

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  6. Mac

    I read To the Lighthouse many years ago and was pretty neutral about it. All I have now is a vague impression of pretty and somewhat gauzy writing. And nothing happening. That’s the extent of my acquaintance with Virginia Woolf. Oh wait, I also read Orlando. A complete waste of time, except maybe for those people obsessed with gender roles etc.

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  7. Sally Thomas

    Heh. “Dead to us.” Sometimes death is not the worst thing that can happen to you, especially that kind.
    And then there’s this.

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  8. Mac

    Oh, that’s wonderful. It’s too bad I read this comment at the end of my lunch break, because I really want to spend some time browsing that blog.

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  9. Sally Thomas

    It’s hilarious, like Cake Wrecks for fantasy book covers (not fantasy-book covers, mind you . . . ).

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  10. Mac

    I’m looking forward to it.

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  11. Ryan C

    For the record, I love “To The Lighthouse.” It’s contributed a lot to my worldview and ideas of art and life.

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  12. Mac

    I’m sure there’s much more to it than was apparent to my 20-year-old self. Wait, I was more like 25…never mind… I admit to being prejudiced against the whole Bloomsbury crowd, because of the way they’ve been over-hyped for the past 30-40 years.

    Reply

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