Beautiful+Passages

Throughout __Jacob's Room,__ I could not help but notice some of the rich, beautiful passages. Granted, there are many to choose from, but I found one to be particularly striking.

The beginning of Chapter Five describes a scene on an omnibus: "The proximity of the omnibuses gave the outside passengers an opportunity to stare into each other's faces. Yet few took advantage of it. Each had his own business to think of. Each had his past shut in him like the leaves of a book known to him by heart; and his friends could only read the title" (page 62 in my edition). What makes this passage beautiful is not only its description but its relevance to every day life. Even back when __Jacob's Room__ was written, people commuted and mostly minded their own business. All people know who they are inside [hence the past embedded in us]; only our true friends know how to read us. [I love that.. it fits in perfectly with the book analogy!]

The above idea about people minding their own business reminds me of the movie "Sliding Doors" in which a woman named Helen (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) has had a rough day at work and just barely catches the train. She is sitting quietly, trying to read, when an outgoing man tries to strike up a conversation. James comments: "Funny how nobody talks on the tubes, isn't it? Confined spaces, everybody shuts down. Why is that?" I wonder that question, originally described my Woolf, as well. 1201906606

Although I’ve never seen the movie, “Sliding Doors,” that scene sounds like it carries the same message as Woolf’s passage in Jacob’s Room. AWr, I agree that the passage’s applicability to everyday life makes it beautiful. I love stuff like that in books or movies. I don’t think our “books” are meant to be shared with everyone. People can look at the cover and read the title, but only those closest to our hearts get to catch of glimpse of what it written on the pages. Woolf is not my favorite writer, I have to admit, but when she puts passages such as the one that you described in her writing, she just seems to be more likable to me. “Oh yes, human life is very tolerable on the top of an omnibus.” This is a quote that follows a few sentences later. What is Woolf getting at? Although people don’t open up and share themselves during the ride, is closing yourself off from the rest of the world and just minding your own business for a little while comforting? The end of that paragraph confuses me. “Jacob, getting off his omnibus, loitered up the steps, consulted his watch, and finally made up his mind to go in. ... Does it need an effort? Yes. These changes of mood wear us out.” What is Woolf saying here? As people in this great big world, you and I and even Jacob, we all need to protect ourselves and constantly make decisions as to how we are going to conduct ourselves in an appropriate manner given the setting that we are in. I guess this can tire us out; that’s maybe why it’s so nice to be able to be with our true friends. They think our cover is beautiful no matter what, they admire our title, and no matter which pages we decide to show, they accept us just the same.1201908308

That passage stood out to me too when I read it. i definately like it as well, but I interpreted it a little differently. I understood the Viriginia Woolf was almost critisizing human nature. I felt like she was saying that there are people all around us, but for whatever reason we don't feel we can open up to them. That we sit on the omnibus surrounded by people, but instead we isolate ourselves. But I didn't feel like Woolf was saying this was necessariy a bad thing, just a human nature thing. We can trust our friends with our past, but we don't trust strangers. That can be a good or bad thing. You don't always want to trust strangers, especially if that stranger turns out to be a rapist murderer, but we don't want to make hasty judgements either. I guess society has dictated an acceptable way to act, where you stay silent when surrounded by strangers, right or not. That is why it's tolerable atop the omnibus. Not a perfect way to live, but a tolerable way. Changes of mood are exhausting. Woolf is telling the truth there. No matter how small. It's exhausting. 1201910537

I feel that Woolf was describing human nature as well. I think she was talking about how we are presented with numerous chances to get involved with others, but we choose not to for whatever reason - be it insecurity, fear, or something else. Plus, we are so wrapped up in our own matters that occupy our thoughts and lives, so we feel we do not have the room for others' issues. Also, I would like to add that I do not think everyone knows who they are inside like AWr says. Not everyone have themselves figured out, and many spend much of their lives trying to find out. They simply know where they've already been (their past). Also, Woolf doesn't quite say that our close friends understand us. This makes sense especially if we don't even understand ourselves. Our friends can only scratch the surface of who we really are - that's why Woolf says they can, "...only read the title." What stood out to me was the "shut" part, because it is a recurring word, like in the other topic about the darkness shutting down after a motor car. Do you think it could deal with how little control we have in our lives over our lives? 1201912048