Share & Save
Meaning
Woolf is saying that women were often not able to speak or be recognized under their own names, so many of their ideas and writings were left unattributed. The quote points to a long history in which women’s work was hidden behind anonymity. It also suggests that when history says “Anonymous,” it has often meant a woman whose identity was suppressed.
When It Was Said
Not documented yet.
Who It Was Said To
Not documented yet.
Historical Context
Not documented yet.
Source
Not documented yet.
Original Language & Translation
Originally said in English.
Did They Really Say It?
This quote is attributed to Virginia Woolf, but no source was found on Wikiquote.
Did You Know?
Virginia Woolf was an English modernist writer who lived from 1882 to 1941.
About Virginia Woolf
English writer, 20th-century modernist author
Virginia Woolf was an English writer and a major modernist author of the 20th century. She is especially known for helping to pioneer stream of consciousness narration in fiction. Her work helped shape modern literature through its formal experimentation and attention to inner thought. She is remembered above all for the narrative technique she helped develop, which became influential in later writing.
More from Virginia Woolf (406 quotes) →Other sayings from Virginia Woolf
- “Among the tortures and devastations of life is this then—our friends are not able to finish their stories.”Virginia Woolf
- “I rejoice to concur with the common reader; for by the common sense of readers, uncorrupted by literary preju…”Virginia Woolf
- “... All who have brought about a state of sex-consciousness are to blame, and it is they who drive me, when I…”Virginia Woolf
- “She could have wept. It was bad, it was bad, it was infinitely bad! She could have done it differently of cou…”Virginia Woolf
More History quotes
- “During Uthman's caliphate, a Muslim embassy was sent to China to establish diplomatic relations”Firas Alkhateeb
- “The Medicare Part D prescription drug bill, which might be the most corrupt piece of legislation in history,…”Al Franken
- “I think people should take mythology much more seriously, because it tells us an awful lot about the history…”Jan Siegel
READ THE SOURCE
Books by Virginia Woolf
A Room of One's Own
An essay on women and writing.