--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Virginia Woolf's writing is no more than…" description: "\"Virginia Woolf's writing is no more than glamorous knitting. I believe she must have a pattern somewhere.\" — Edith Sitwell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/297/edith-sitwell-8023_believe_virginia-woolf-s-writing-is-no-more-than_1166844.png" --- # Virginia Woolf's writing is no more than glamorous… ![“Virginia Woolf's writing is no more than glamorous knitting. I believe she must have a pattern somewhere.” quote by Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/297/edith-sitwell-8023_believe_virginia-woolf-s-writing-is-no-more-than_1166844.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/297/edith-sitwell-8023_believe_virginia-woolf-s-writing-is-no-more-than_1166844.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/297/edith-sitwell-8023_believe_virginia-woolf-s-writing-is-no-more-than_1166844.png) > “Virginia Woolf's writing is no more than glamorous knitting. I believe she must have a pattern somewhere.” [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She likens Woolf's prose to ornate knitting, suggesting it appears decorative but follows a hidden structure. **In simple terms:** Woolf's writing seems fancy but follows a pattern. Key Takeaway Look for underlying structure in complex writing. Themes literature style analysis Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary critical When to use this quote - reading academic criticism - creative writing workshops - literary analysis - teaching composition Key Concepts metaphor structure pattern Questions to Reflect On - What hidden patterns can you find in dense texts? - How does metaphor shape our view of literature? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify Woolf's depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Glamorous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glamorous/) [Glamorous Knitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glamorous-knitting-3364753/) [I believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-believe/) [Knitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knitting/) [Patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patterns/) [Virginia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virginia/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virginia-woolf/) [Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woolf/) [Woolf Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woolf-writing-3364751/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Glamorous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-glamorous-3364752/) ## Related quotes > [“The 1980s: feminism, postmodernism, sexual/textual politics While it might be tempting to generalise that Woolf ’s writing was being discussed almost in two separate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goldman/the-1980s-feminism-postmodernism-sexual-textual-politics-while-it/) [Jane Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goldman/) > [“The 1950s and 1960s: philosophy, psychology, myth There was considerable critical interest in Woolf ’s life and work in this period, fuelled by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goldman/the-1950s-and-1960s-philosophy-psychology-myth-there-was-considerable/) [Jane Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goldman/) > [Virginia Woolf, I enjoyed talking to her, but thought nothing of her writing. I considered her 'a beautiful little knitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/virginia-woolf-i-enjoyed-talking-to-her-but-thought-nothing-of-her/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [Like my hero Virginia Woolf, I do lack confidence. I always find that the novel I'm finishing, even if it's turned out fairly well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/like-my-hero-virginia-woolf-i-do-lack-confidence-i-always-find-that/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“When the shriveled skin of the ordinary is stuffed out with meaning, it satisfies the senses amazingly. - Virginia Woolf”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-kynock/when-the-shriveled-skin-of-the-ordinary-is-stuffed-out-with-meaning-2/) [Mitchell Kynock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-kynock/) > [“The other day I came across a book which illustrates in a rather droll way the extent to which Northern European women have taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-undset/the-other-day-i-came-across-a-book-which-illustrates-in-a-rather/) [Sigrid Undset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-undset/) > [I've always loved my own little office spaces no matter what they were like. 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That was my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-d-studied-english-literature-at-university-but-i-was-also-far-more/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [“I put the odds on a psychic deathmatch between Attila the Hun and Virginia Woolf at fifty-fifty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-bechdel/i-put-the-odds-on-a-psychic-deathmatch-between-attila-the-hun-and/) [Alison Bechdel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-bechdel/) > [“Isn’t it odd how much more one sees in a photograph than in real life? —VIRGINIA WOOLF”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dykstra/isn-t-it-odd-how-much-more-one-sees-in-a-photograph-than-in-real-life/) [Natalie Dykstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dykstra/) > [Virginia Woolf's literature really transformed my own ideas about how to formally represent the passage of time and how time affects us. Specifically, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lowery/virginia-woolf-s-literature-really-transformed-my-own-ideas-about-how/) [David Lowery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lowery/) > [Each had his past shut in him like the leaves of a book known to him by heart; and his friends could only read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/each-had-his-past-shut-in-him-like-the-leaves-of-a-book-known-to-him/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [“The beauty of the world…has two edges, one of laughter, one of anguish, cutting the heart asunder. —Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/the-beauty-of-the-world-has-two-edges-one-of-laughter-one-of-anguish/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [Virginia Woolf was one example. She was called the "Lover of 100 Gangsters."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-leone/virginia-woolf-was-one-example-she-was-called-the-lover-of-100/) [Sergio Leone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-leone/) ## More by Edith Sitwell > [The reason why Matthew Arnold, to my feeling, fails entirely as a poet (though no doubt his ideas were good - at least, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/the-reason-why-matthew-arnold-to-my-feeling-fails-entirely-as-a-poet/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [The great sins and fires break out of me like the terrible leaves from the bough in the violent spring. I am a walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/the-great-sins-and-fires-break-out-of-me-like-the-terrible-leaves/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [“Eccentricity is not, as dull people would have us believe, a form of madness. 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It is, I think, the power of looking forward, the firm belief that the future holds something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/what-is-the-special-privilege-of-youth-it-is-i-think-the-power-of/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [Rhythm is one of the principal translators between dream and reality. Rhythm might be described as, to the world of sound, what light is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/rhythm-is-one-of-the-principal-translators-between-dream-and-reality/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/winter-is-the-time-for-comfort-for-good-food-and-warmth-for-the-touch/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [Hot water is my native element. I was in it as a baby, and I have never seemed to get out of it ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/hot-water-is-my-native-element-i-was-in-it-as-a-baby-and-i-have-never/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [The aim of flattery is to soothe and encourage us by assuring us of the truth of an opinion we have already formed about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/the-aim-of-flattery-is-to-soothe-and-encourage-us-by-assuring-us-of/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [A great many people now reading and writing would be better employed keeping rabbits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/a-great-many-people-now-reading-and-writing-would-be-better-employed/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) [Explore all 85 Edith Sitwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. 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And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. 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