For this final journal entry, I have selected the short story “Together and Apart” by Virginia Woolf. This short story is a nice eight pages long, and tells the story of a Miss Ruth Anning and Mr. Roderick Serle through an omniscient narrator. Mr. Serle and Miss. Anning were introduced for the first time by theri hostess Mrs. Dalloway. Shortly after their hostess left, Mr. Serle decides to join Miss. Anning at the window.
When Mr. Serle join Miss. Anning at the window, Miss. Anning glances up the sky hoping that she might be able to glean information from it, but soon realizes that she can’t and begins to initiate a conversation. This conversation begins to reveal that Miss. Anning what she lacks and possess as an individual. It is revealed to the readers that Miss. Anning lacks the energy needed for “talking with men, who frighten her”. The reader is then clued in that Miss. Anning has very few intimate friends, and out of those friends, even fewer are men. After reading further, the author shows that what Miss. Anning lacks in friends, she more than makes up for in material possessions.
This story in my opinion can be quite confusing as most of the “action” in this story takes place in Miss. Anning and Mr. Serle’s thoughts. Although on occasion, the author will retreat from the character’s thoughts and display a physical action, such as Mr. Serle uncrossing or crossing his legs, or the occasional dialog that is spoken aloud by the two characters. The most intriguing part of this story though is the things the author reveals about the characters through their thoughts.
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The reader is given a glimpse into the characters’ most inner thoughts, their frustrations, dreams, and most intriguing of all their inescapable feelings of being alone. Just by glancing at the surface, the reader might think that this story is superficial and very boring, but when taking a deeper look, the story is actually much deeper. This mere fact shows how accomplished the author is with her mastery of prose and storytelling.
This story’s setting is also something that I feel contributes to the greater depth of this story. The story takes place in a small room, which to the reader may seem quite artificial. But the setting intensifies the depth, and the revelations that the reader’s experience. By placing the characters’ in a small confined room, when the reader’s are transported into the thoughts and feelings of the characters, it gives off a more infinite feeling, showing that the thoughts and feelings experienced are much greater and stronger than the room in which they are confined to.
