--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [On Virginia Woolf] Craving to be set…" description: "\"“[On Virginia Woolf] Craving to be set free from her egomania by something or someone stronger and altogether dissimilar from herself, she speculated e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/719/michael-holroyd-71430_set-free_on-virginia-woolf-craving-to-be-set-free_1113132.jpg" --- # \[On Virginia Woolf\] Craving to be set free from her… ![“[On Virginia Woolf] Craving to be set free from her egomania by something or someone stronger and altogether dissimilar from herself, she speculated endlessly upon the unknown: and for her the unknown was frequently the commonplace.” quote by Michael Holroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/719/michael-holroyd-71430_set-free_on-virginia-woolf-craving-to-be-set-free_1113132.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/719/michael-holroyd-71430_set-free_on-virginia-woolf-craving-to-be-set-free_1113132.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/719/michael-holroyd-71430_set-free_on-virginia-woolf-craving-to-be-set-free_1113132.jpg) > ““\[On Virginia Woolf\] Craving to be set free from her egomania by something or someone stronger and altogether dissimilar from herself, she speculated endlessly upon the unknown: and for her the unknown was frequently the commonplace.”” Michael Holroyd ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Woolf sought escape from self‑obsession by obsessing over the unknown, which she often treated as ordinary. **In simple terms:** She tried to flee ego by focusing on the unfamiliar. Key Takeaway Explore unfamiliar ideas to break self‑centered patterns. Themes self‑exploration ego unknown creativity Mood reflective introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - personal growth - academic study Key Concepts existentialism psychology literary analysis Questions to Reflect On - How does treating the unknown as ordinary affect personal growth? - What practices keep the unknown fresh and inspiring? A Different Perspective The unknown can become mundane, limiting its transformative power. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Egomania](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/egomania/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [There is something so hopeful about a diary, a journal, a new notebook, which Joan Didion and Virginia Woolf both wrote about. A blog.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-koppel/there-is-something-so-hopeful-about-a-diary-a-journal-a-new-notebook/) [Lily Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-koppel/) > [“Virginia Woolf said, speaking from the perspective of the writer, that there’s no such thing, objectively, as a good or a bad novel, there’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-kavenna/virginia-woolf-said-speaking-from-the-perspective-of-the-writer-that/) [Joanna Kavenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-kavenna/) > [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 > [“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. It's the Virginia Woolf, room of one's own concept, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/i-ve-always-loved-my-own-little-office-spaces-no-matter-what-they/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [I fell in love with Virginia Woolf in college. I especially admire how well she writes about daily life, how she captures so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/i-fell-in-love-with-virginia-woolf-in-college-i-especially-admire-how/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [I'd studied English literature at university, but I was also far more enamored with Virginia Woolf, Katherine Mansfield, and James Joyce. 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 > [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/) > [“Reading Virginia Woolf will change your life, may even save it. If you want to make sense of modern life, the works of Virginia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goldman/reading-virginia-woolf-will-change-your-life-may-even-save-it-if-you/) [Jane Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goldman/) ## More by Michael Holroyd > [Between history and the novel stands biography, their unwanted offspring, which has brought a great embarrassment to them both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-holroyd/between-history-and-the-novel-stands-biography-their-unwanted/) Michael Holroyd > [I think that when one is dead one should be a little bit bolder, so that the rest of us may have some record…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-holroyd/i-think-that-when-one-is-dead-one-should-be-a-little-bit-bolder-so/) Michael Holroyd > [Inthehistorian'sview biography isa kindoffrogspawn it takes ten thousand biographies to make one small history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-holroyd/inthehistorian-sview-biography-isa-kindoffrogspawn-it-takes-ten/) Michael Holroyd Explore all 4 Michael Holroyd quotes ## More Egomania quotes > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [To be a critic, you have to have maybe three percent education, five percent intelligence, two percent style, and 90 percent gall and egomania…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-crist/to-be-a-critic-you-have-to-have-maybe-three-percent-education-five/) [Judith Crist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-crist/) > [Keep costs low and spirits high, and the people of Southwest Airlines will keep LUV in the air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kelleher/keep-costs-low-and-spirits-high-and-the-people-of-southwest-airlines/) [Herb Kelleher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-kelleher/) > [“Man’s development requires his capacity to transcend the narrow prison of his ego, his greed, his selfishness, his separation from his fellow man, and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/man-s-development-requires-his-capacity-to-transcend-the-narrow/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [I've found that many of the greatest ideas surface in bars because that's where many people cultivate inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kelleher/i-ve-found-that-many-of-the-greatest-ideas-surface-in-bars-because/) [Herb Kelleher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-kelleher/) > [Patton's personality was a complex one - he was obsessed with glory, but behind the ivory-hilted pistols, the egomania, the forbidding scowl, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/patton-s-personality-was-a-complex-one-he-was-obsessed-with-glory-but/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [I forgive all personal weaknesses except egomania and pretension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kelleher/i-forgive-all-personal-weaknesses-except-egomania-and-pretension/) [Herb Kelleher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-kelleher/) > [Orson Welles was a force of nature, who just came in and wiped the slate clean. And Citizen Kane is the greatest risk-taking of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/orson-welles-was-a-force-of-nature-who-just-came-in-and-wiped-the/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [Nothing is more important than my egomania!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara/nothing-is-more-important-than-my-egomania/) [Clara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara/) > [To give advice to a man who asks what to do with his life implies something very close to egomania. To presume to point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/to-give-advice-to-a-man-who-asks-what-to-do-with-his-life-implies/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [… that sour blend of loneliness and lust for recognition, shyness and extravagance, deep insecurity and self-intoxicated egomania, that drives poets and writers out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/that-sour-blend-of-loneliness-and-lust-for-recognition-shyness-and/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [This requires a level of delusion/egomania usually reserved for popes and drag queens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/this-requires-a-level-of-delusion-egomania-usually-reserved-for-popes/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [“Immortality entails not invincibility.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-mostafa/immortality-entails-not-invincibility/) [Ahmed Mostafa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-mostafa/) > [Your employees come first. And if you treat your employees right, guess what? Your customers come back, and that makes your shareholders happy. Start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kelleher/your-employees-come-first-and-if-you-treat-your-employees-right-guess/) [Herb Kelleher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-kelleher/) > [... we performers are monsters. We are a totally different, far-out race of people. I totally and completely admit, with no qualmsat all, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leontyne-price/we-performers-are-monsters-we-are-a-totally-different-far-out-race-of/) [Leontyne Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leontyne-price/) [Browse all 27 Egomania quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/egomania/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“[On Virginia Woolf] Craving to be set free from her egomania by something or someone stronger and altogether dissimilar from herself, she speculated endlessly upon the unknown: and for her the unknown was frequently the commonplace.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Holroyd" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-holroyd/on-virginia-woolf-craving-to-be-set-free-from-her-egomania-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Egomania" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-holroyd/on-virginia-woolf-craving-to-be-set-free-from-her-egomania-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/719/michael-holroyd-71430_set-free_on-virginia-woolf-craving-to-be-set-free_1113132.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/719/michael-holroyd-71430_set-free_on-virginia-woolf-craving-to-be-set-free_1113132.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/719/michael-holroyd-71430_set-free_on-virginia-woolf-craving-to-be-set-free_1113132.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[On Virginia Woolf] Craving to be set free from her egomania by something or someone stronger and altogether…” — Michael Holroyd", "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": "Michael Holroyd", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-holroyd/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“[On Virginia Woolf] Craving to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-holroyd/on-virginia-woolf-craving-to-be-set-free-from-her-egomania-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-holroyd/on-virginia-woolf-craving-to-be-set-free-from-her-egomania-by/#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 } } ] } ```