Title

The Ecology of Virginia Woolf's London Scene.

Authors

Nash, Kate M.

Abstract

Virginia Woolf's The London Scene essays, published in 1931–1932 in Good Housekeeping , showcase her engagement with the contemporary life sciences, as expressed by Arthur George Tansley, Julian Huxley, and H.G. and G.P. Wells, among others. While Woolf embraces certain aspects of contemporary ecology, namely observing species in their habitats and material interconnectedness—elements that inform her essay writing—the series displays reservations about the field's imperial androcentric foundation. Through the trope of birds, Woolf unsettles this patriarchal framework, positing more polyvocal, cooperative networks of human and non-human exchange to her female middlebrow readers. Rethinking "nature," Woolf suggests, can destabilize social hierarchies and generate alternative political and economic futures.

Subjects

LONDON (England); WOOLF, Virginia, 1882-1941; ECOLOGY; FEMINISM; SOCIAL hierarchies

Publication

Journal of Modern Literature, 2024, Vol 47, Issue 4, p1

ISSN

0022-281X

Publication type

Academic Journal

DOI

10.2979/jml.00041