Summary

In 1899, Virginia Stephen (later known as Virginia Woolf) catches moths with a lantern and describes the episode in her journal. Her father, Leslie, writes about the lives of famous Englishmen. The narrator discusses Cassandra, the “prophetess who did not hold her nightmares on her tongue” (47). They note that Virginia was, in a metaphorical sense, born “many thousands of years ago” (47) and lives “many lives” (48). Virginia’s sister suffers from an apparent nervous disorder. As a young girl, Virginia replaces the pages of a philosophy book with her own notes. Eventually, she studies Greek at Kings College. The narrator describes male Cambridge students celebrating when the administration affirms that women could not receive degrees. In 1905, Virginia publishes a book review that amounts to a “defence of women in fiction” (54).

The narrator briefly describes the romance between the painter Romaine Brooks and the writer Natalie...