Virginia Woolf in a different modernist scene: towards new readings of freshwater: a comedy

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2023.e92232

Keywords:

Virginia Woolf, Freshwater, Modernism, Theatre, Comedy

Abstract

This article aims to insert Freshwater: a Comedy (1923/1935), the only theatrical experiment penned by the English writer Virginia Woolf, into the debates around the modernist scene, which are mobilized by critical readings of her broad literary project. It is a consensus among scholars that Woolf’s oeuvre aligns aesthetics with politics, and that her modernist writings, as well as hoaxes and experimental performances, call into question absolute truths of Western thought, especially when it comes to imbrications of genre and gender in the critical transitions between terms such as “avant-garde”, “modernist” and “postmodernist” (GOLDMAN, 2004; WHITWORTH, 2010). However, Freshwater does not appear as an object of critical analysis in many of the studies dedicated to the works of Woolf. Thus, this article will show that the mentioned play can contribute to contemporary rereadings of modernism, especially if read as one of her avant-garde interventions, marked by the post-Victorianism (ELLIS, 2007) of her literary project.

Author Biography

Davi Pinho , UERJ

Professor Associado de Literatura Inglesa da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), onde também atua como membro permanente do Programa de Pós-graduação em Letras. É bolsista de produtividade da FAPERJ por meio dos programas JCNE e Prociência. É autor, editor, e ensaísta de/em diversos títulos da crítica woolfiana, bem como de/em livros das áreas de Literatura Comparada, Teoria da Literatura e Literaturas de Língua Inglesa. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3438-1895.  E-mail: davi.pinho@uerj.br

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Published

2023-08-22