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Now I will walk, as if I had an end in view, across the…

“Now I will walk, as if I had an end in view, across the room, to the balcony under the awning. I see the sky, softly feathered with its sudden effulgence of moon. I also see the railings of the square, and two people without faces, leaning like statues against the sky. There is then a world immune…” quote by Virginia Woolf
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““Now I will walk, as if I had an end in view, across the room, to the balcony under the awning. I see the sky, softly feathered with its sudden effulgence of moon. I also see the railings of the square, and two people without faces, leaning like statues against the sky. There is then a world immune from change. When I have passed through this drawing room flickering with tongues that cut me like knives, making me stammer, making me lie, I find faces rid of features, robed in beauty.””

Virginia Woolf

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The passage reflects a moment of introspection where the narrator perceives a timeless, idealized realm beyond ordinary reality, contrasting it with the harshness of everyday language and social masks.

In simple terms: A fleeting vision of a perfect, unchanging world amid chaotic life.

Key Takeaway

Seek moments of stillness to see beyond surface.

Themes

introspection perception reality art beauty

Mood

contemplative melancholic

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

  • creative writing
  • mental health
  • artistic inspiration
  • philosophical contemplation

Key Concepts

modernism subjectivity symbolism

Questions to Reflect On

  • How can you capture moments of clarity?
  • What does “faces rid of features” symbolize for you?
A Different Perspective

The vision may be fleeting and hard to sustain in daily life.

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