Skip to content

Books Quote by Virginia Woolf

“And he went on reading. His lips twitched. It filled him. It fortified him. He clean forgot all the little rubs and digs or the evening, and how it bored him unutterably to sit still while people ate and drank interminably, and his being so irritable with his wife and so touchy and minding when…” quote by Virginia Woolf
Download Open image
““And he went on reading. His lips twitched. It filled him. It fortified him. He clean forgot all the little rubs and digs or the evening, and how it bored him unutterably to sit still while people ate and drank interminably, and his being so irritable with his wife and so touchy and minding when they passed his books over as if they didn’t exist at all. But now, he felt, it didn’t matter a damn who reached Z (if thought ran like an alphabet from A to Z). Somebody would reach it—if not he, then another. This man’s strength and sanity, his feeling for straightforward simple things, these fishermen, the poor old crazed creature in Mucklebackit’s cottage made him feel so vigorous, so relieved of something that he felt roused and triumphant and could not choke back his tears. Raising the book a little to hide his face, he let them fall and shook his head from side to side and forgot himself completely (but not one or two reflections about morality and French novels and English novels and Scott’s hands being tied but his view perhaps being as true as the other view), forgot his own bothers and failures completely in poor Steenie’s drowning and Mucklebackit’s sorrow (that was Scott at his best) and the astonishing delight and feeling of vigour that it gave him.””

Virginia Woolf

About This Quote

Source Novel: The House of Mirth by Virginia Woolf, 1925

The passage shows how immersive reading can temporarily transport a person away from personal anxieties, providing emotional relief and a sense of connection to larger human struggles.

In simple terms: Reading can lift us from our worries and make us feel alive.

Key Takeaway

Seek moments of deep reading for emotional reset.

Themes

literature empathy escape emotional catharsis

Mood

contemplative melancholic hopeful

Type

literary reflective inspirational

When to use this quote

  • stress relief
  • personal reflection
  • academic study of literature
  • therapy sessions

Key Concepts

psychology of immersion narrative empathy human condition

Questions to Reflect On

  • How does literature change your perception of personal pain?
  • Can immersion in stories replace real‑world action?
A Different Perspective

Reading may not solve underlying problems, only offers temporary respite.

2.1 out of 5 (8 ratings)

More by Virginia Woolf

Explore all 1,872 Virginia Woolf quotes

More Books quotes

Browse all 59,485 Books quotes