---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Suddenly I heard Virginia’s voice calling…"
description: "\"“Suddenly I heard Virginia’s voice calling to me from the sitting room window: “Hitler is making a speech.” I shouted back, “I shan’t come. I’m plantin..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/659/leonard-woolf-44322_communication_suddenly-i-heard-virginia-s-voice-callin_3027390.jpg"
---

#  Suddenly I heard Virginia’s voice calling to me from the…

![“Suddenly I heard Virginia’s voice calling to me from the sitting room window: “Hitler is making a speech.” I shouted back, “I shan’t come. I’m planting iris and they will be flowering long after he is dead.” quote by Leonard Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/659/leonard-woolf-44322_communication_suddenly-i-heard-virginia-s-voice-callin_3027390.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/659/leonard-woolf-44322_communication_suddenly-i-heard-virginia-s-voice-callin_3027390.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/659/leonard-woolf-44322_communication_suddenly-i-heard-virginia-s-voice-callin_3027390.jpg)

> ““Suddenly I heard Virginia’s voice calling to me from the sitting room window: “Hitler is making a speech.” I shouted back, “I shan’t come. I’m planting iris and they will be flowering long after he is dead.””

[Leonard Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-woolf/)

## About This Quote

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

Uses a surreal scene to juxtapose wartime rhetoric with personal peace, emphasizing resilience and hope.

**In simple terms:** Even in dark times, personal hope persists.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate personal peace amidst chaos.

Themes

war peace hope resilience artistic expression

Mood

poetic reflective optimistic

Type

literary aphorism

When to use this quote

- wartime diaries
- creative writing
- personal meditation
- gardening

Key Concepts

existentialism humanism

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you maintain hope during crises?
- What personal actions reinforce your resilience?

A Different Perspective

May romanticize suffering.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hitler/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/)

## Related quotes

> [“Umit suddenly heard the music all around him, and the fragrance of Masum passing by him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-doctor/umit-suddenly-heard-the-music-all-around-him-and-the-fragrance-of/)

[Raj Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-doctor/)

> [“cleared the back side of the fortress and was about to start on the left side. Then suddenly, we heard a monstrous groan that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-the-noob/cleared-the-back-side-of-the-fortress-and-was-about-to-start-on-the/)

Steve the Noob

> [So I was reading a book and my mom was watching tv last night, suddenly I heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beca-rebeca/so-i-was-reading-a-book-and-my-mom-was-watching-tv-last-night/)

Beca Rebeca

> [Suddenly I heard the words of Christ and understood them, and life and death ceased to seem to me evil, and instead of despair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/suddenly-i-heard-the-words-of-christ-and-understood-them-and-life-and/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [“Suddenly I heard a tapping, as of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-roberts/suddenly-i-heard-a-tapping-as-of-someone-gently-rapping-rapping-at-my/)

[C.J. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-roberts/)

> [Our cause is just. Our union is perfect. ... With hearts fortified ... we most solemnly, before God and the world, declare that... we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/our-cause-is-just-our-union-is-perfect-with-hearts-fortified-we-most/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/life-is-not-easy-for-any-of-us-but-what-of-that-we-must-have/)

[Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/)

> [“Go. Go right now, and as soon, and as often as you can. Keep going.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/go-go-right-now-and-as-soon-and-as-often-as-you-can-keep-going/)

[Clarissa Pinkola Estés](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/)

> [Life's greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/life-s-greatest-rewards-are-reserved-for-those-who-demonstrate-a/)

[Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/)

> [Defeat is simply a signal to press onward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/defeat-is-simply-a-signal-to-press-onward/)

[Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/)

> [Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/persistence-and-determination-alone-are-omnipotent/)

[Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/)

> [Remember, slow and steady wins the race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ieyasu-tokugawa/remember-slow-and-steady-wins-the-race/)

[Ieyasu Tokugawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ieyasu-tokugawa/)

> [Analysis is a glittering opportunity for training: it is just here that capacity for work, perseverence and stamina are cultivated, and these qualities are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-polugaevsky/analysis-is-a-glittering-opportunity-for-training-it-is-just-here/)

[Lev Polugaevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-polugaevsky/)

> [“He knew that she took life as it came, opposed her tough-fibered mind to whatever obstacles there might be, fought on with a determination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/he-knew-that-she-took-life-as-it-came-opposed-her-tough-fibered-mind/)

[Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/)

> [If I had to select one quality, one personal characteristic that I regard as being most highly correlated with success, whatever the field, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-devos/if-i-had-to-select-one-quality-one-personal-characteristic-that-i/)

[Richard DeVos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-devos/)

## More by Leonard Woolf

> [“One must be crucified on one’s own private cross.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-woolf/one-must-be-crucified-on-one-s-own-private-cross/)

[Leonard Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-woolf/)

> [The grinding of the intellect is for most people as painful as a dentists drill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-woolf/the-grinding-of-the-intellect-is-for-most-people-as-painful-as-a/)

[Leonard Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-woolf/)

> [Leonard Woolf in a letter to Lytton Strachey said he hated John Maynard Keynes "for his crass stupidity and hideous face".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-woolf/leonard-woolf-in-a-letter-to-lytton-strachey-said-he-hated-john/)

[Leonard Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-woolf/)

> [Anyone can be a barbarian; it requires a terrible effort to remain a civilized man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-woolf/anyone-can-be-a-barbarian-it-requires-a-terrible-effort-to-remain-a/)

[Leonard Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-woolf/)

> [The grinding of the intellect is for most people as painful as a dentist's drill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-woolf/the-grinding-of-the-intellect-is-for-most-people-as-painful-as-a-2/)

[Leonard Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-woolf/)

> [Life is not an orderly progression, self-contained like a musical scale or a quadratic equation... If one is to record one's life truthfully, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-woolf/life-is-not-an-orderly-progression-self-contained-like-a-musical/)

[Leonard Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-woolf/)

> [At the best and even unexpurgated, diaries give a distorted or one-sided portrait of the writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-woolf/at-the-best-and-even-unexpurgated-diaries-give-a-distorted-or-one/)

[Leonard Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-woolf/)

> [You can't love by desiring an extremely vague desire of a very vague moon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-woolf/you-can-t-love-by-desiring-an-extremely-vague-desire-of-a-very-vague/)

[Leonard Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-woolf/)

[Explore all 9 Leonard Woolf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-woolf/)

## More Communication quotes

> [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/)

[Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/)

> [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/)

[John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/)

> [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/)

[Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/)

> [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/)

[Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/)

> [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/)

[Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/)

> [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/)

[Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/)

> [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/)

[Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/)

> [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/)

[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/)

> [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/)

[Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/)

> [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/)

[Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/)

> [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/)

[Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/)

> [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/)

[Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/)

> [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/)

Yoram Wind

> [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/)

[Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/)

[Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Suddenly I heard Virginia’s voice calling to me from the sitting room window: “Hitler is making a speech.” I shouted back, “I shan’t come. I’m planting iris and they will be flowering long after he is dead.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Leonard Woolf"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-woolf/suddenly-i-heard-virginia-s-voice-calling-to-me-from-the-sitting-room/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Communication"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-woolf/suddenly-i-heard-virginia-s-voice-calling-to-me-from-the-sitting-room/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/659/leonard-woolf-44322_communication_suddenly-i-heard-virginia-s-voice-callin_3027390.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/659/leonard-woolf-44322_communication_suddenly-i-heard-virginia-s-voice-callin_3027390.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/659/leonard-woolf-44322_communication_suddenly-i-heard-virginia-s-voice-callin_3027390.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Suddenly I heard Virginia’s voice calling to me from the sitting room window: “Hitler is making a speech.” I…” — Leonard Woolf",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Leonard Woolf",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-woolf/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Suddenly I heard Virginia’s voice calling...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-woolf/suddenly-i-heard-virginia-s-voice-calling-to-me-from-the-sitting-room/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-woolf/suddenly-i-heard-virginia-s-voice-calling-to-me-from-the-sitting-room/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
