The Waves by Virginia Woolf (Book Analysis)

This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of The Waves by Virginia Woolf. It provides a thorough exploration of the novel’s plot, characters and main themes, as well as a useful discussion of the use of stream of consciousness in Modernist fiction and the influence of photography on the literary movement as a whole. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.

This clear and detailed 46-page reading guide is structured as follows:

• Biography of Virginia Woolf
• Presentation of The Waves
• Summary of The Waves
• Character study
  • Bernard
  • Susan
  • Louis
  • Rhoda
  • Neville
  • Jinny
  • Percival
• Analysis of The Waves
  • Time and photography
  • Woolf’s stream of consciousness

About The Waves

The Waves is widely regarded as Virginia Woolf’s most experimental novel. Told from the perspective of six friends, whose lives orbit and shape each other, The Waves is a lyrical rumination on the effects of time and age on individuals and their relationships alike. As the six protagonists move through childhood, adolescence and middle age, eventually reaching the twilight of their lives, Woolf’s poetic prose illuminates the tangled passions and heartaches that drive them, even as the waves of the sea beat a ceasing, unchanging rhythm against the shore.

About Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf was one of the most influential figures of interwar English literature. She was born in London in 1882 and died in Sussex in 1941. She was a pioneer of the literary movement of Modernism, wrote a variety of essays, short stories and novels, and founded her own publishing house with her husband in 1917. Her best-known works include Mrs Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, Orlando and The Waves. She was plagued by mental health troubles throughout her life and committed suicide in 1941, at the age of 59.