Reminiscences, Chapter 1 Summary and Analysis

"Reminiscences" was written early in Virginia Woolf's writing career, when she was deliberately setting herself a series of exercises and tests in order to develop her writing skills. One of these was to describe her childhood. Woolf's feelings for her sister Vanessa were among the most significant in her life. The complex web of relationships of the people that inhabited the home where most of "Reminiscences" is set is examined.

Woolf writes about the memories for her nephew, Julian, Vanessa's oldest child. Recollections of Vanessa by Woolf include her beauty, generosity and sensitivity, her practicality, her direct honesty, her artistic talent, and her determination to be a successful painter. These recollections lead into detailed recollections of Virginia and Vanessa's mother, Julia, who, Woolf writes, had married, borne three children (including Stella, who became Virginia's surrogate mother when Julia died...