The Waves by Virginia Woolf (1931)
The Waves is a novel by Virginia Woolf that follows the lives of six friends from childhood to adulthood. The novel is composed of nine soliloquies, each from the perspective of a different character. The characters are Bernard, Susan, Rhoda, Neville, Jinny, and Louis. The novel begins with the six friends as children, playing together in a garden. As they grow older, they experience the joys and sorrows of life, including love, death, and the search for identity. They also grapple with the idea of time, and how it affects their lives. The novel is divided into three sections. In the first section, the characters are children, and they explore the world around them. In the second section, they are young adults, and they experience the joys and sorrows of life. In the third section, they are older adults, and they reflect on their lives and the passage of time. The Waves is a novel about friendship, identity, and the passage of time. It is a lyrical and poetic exploration of the human experience.
By Virginia Woolf · First published 1931 · Genre: Modernist Literature, Fiction, Psychological Fiction · 76,802 words
First lines
The sun had not yet risen. The sea was indistinguishable from the sky, except that the sea was slightly creased as if a cloth had wrinkles in it. Gradually as the sky whitened a dark line lay on the horizon dividing the sea from the sky and the grey cloth became barred with thick strokes moving, one after another, beneath the surface, following each other, pursuing each other, perpetually.
What this Textopian page supports
The Waves is listed on Textopian as a novel by Virginia Woolf, dated 1931 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Novel
- Author: Virginia Woolf
- Date: 1931 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Modernist Literature, Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Literary Fiction
- Length: 76,802 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2,139 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Waves by Virginia Woolf
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering The Waves?
- How does this novel by Virginia Woolf fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
- Where does Modernist Literature first become important in the reading?
Similar titles
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- Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
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Genres
- Modernist Literature — The Waves is a modernist novel written by Virginia Woolf, a prominent modernist author. The novel is characterized by its experimental narrative structure, stream of consciousness writing, and its focus on the inner lives of its characters.
- Fiction — The Waves is a work of fiction, as it is a novel written by Virginia Woolf that is not based on real events or people.
- Psychological Fiction — The Waves is a psychological novel, as it focuses on the inner lives of its characters and their psychological states.
- Literary Fiction — The Waves is a literary novel, as it is a work of fiction that is written in a sophisticated and complex style and focuses on themes such as identity, relationships, and the human condition.
Tags
'now · 'the · Experimental Novel · bernard · blue · body · day · door · eyes · feel · green · hand