18th Annual Student Research Conference
Language & Literature
Bombs and Nets: Virginia Woolf and the Infancy of Humanity
Todd C. Ruecker♦
Dr. Bob Mielke, Faculty Mentor
In Three Guineas, Virginia Woolf declares that if we knew the truth about war then it might become a “tedious game for elderly dilettantes in search of a mildly sanitary amusement—the tossing of bombs instead of balls over frontiers instead of nets.” This paper analyzes how Woolf decries war in The Years and Three Guineas while reducing it to a product of a patriarchal society and a game of an infant humanity. While Woolf held great hope for humanity to grow up and move beyond war, the fresh memory of World War I and the looming shadow of World War II crushed her optimism and drove her to suicide.
Keywords: Virginia, Woolf, pacifism, war, game
Topic(s):English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 38-1
Location: VH 1304
Time: 2:15