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What she loved was this, here, now, in front of her; the fat lady in the cab. Did it matter then, she asked herself, walking towards Bond Street, did it matter that she must inevitably cease completely; all this must go on without her; did she resent it; or did it not become consoling to believe that death ended absolutely? but that somehow in the streets of London, on the ebb and flow of things, here there, she survived. Peter survived, lived in each other, she being part, she was positive, of the trees at home; of the house there, ugly, rambling all to bits and pieces as it was; part of people she had never met; being laid out like a mist between the people she knew best, who lifted her on their branches as she had seen the trees lift the mist, but it spread ever so far, her life, herself.

Virginia Woolf#7

LifeConnectionDeathMemoryPresent

About this quote

What does it mean?
The narrator reflects on living in the present moment and finds comfort in the idea that she lives on through people and places even after death.
In plain terms
Living now matters, and we survive through our connections to others and the world.
What can you take from it?
Find comfort in how your presence continues through others after you are gone.

Where it applies

  • facing mortality
  • reflecting on legacy
  • feeling isolated

Putting it to work

  • write about your impact
  • value daily interactions
  • accept change

Questions to consider

  • How do you see yourself living on in others?
  • What parts of you feel most permanent?

Another view

It assumes we leave a lasting mark, which may not feel true for everyone.

More from Virginia Woolf

  1. It was enemies one wanted, not friends.

    Permalink to quote #6
  2. But to go deeper, beneath what people said (and these judgements, how superficial, how fragmentary they are!) in her own mind now, what did it mean to her, thi…

    Permalink to quote #8
  3. But delightful though it is to indulge in righteous indignation, it is misplaced if we agree with the lady's-maid that high birth is a form of congenital insan…

    Permalink to quote #5

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