Virginia Woolf, Jacob's Room

Anna Snaith (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Birmingham Newman University), Louise McDonald (Birmingham Newman University), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

First circulation or publication Oct 1922

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Jacob's Room

is a novel about masculinity and war. A pacifist herself, Woolf dealt in so many of her novels with both the traumatic effects of war on individuals, families and nations, and the social and psychological causes of war. Written after the First World War,

Jacob's Room

is set in pre-war England, but the surname of the protagonist, Jacob Flanders, points immediately to the inevitability of his death in war. The name suggests the wasted lives of young soldiers, as well as the act of memorialisation, through the image of the poppy. Woolf was also engaged in her own private elegies. Critics have noted various autobiographical inspirations for Jacob: Woolf's much-loved brother Thoby, who died in 1906 of typhoid after a holiday in Greece, as well as Woolf's friend, the poet Rupert…

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1746 words

Citation: Snaith, Anna. "Jacob's Room". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 March 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4374, accessed 10 May 2024.]

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