Sounding Religion: Voice and the Power of Music in Virginia Woolf’s The Waves.

Abstract

Virginia Woolf’s understanding of music and religion, which is often misapprehended, has not been considered together despite their kindred presence in her work. This study examines the connection between music and religion that Woolf orchestrates through voices in her most innovative novel, The Waves, as an attempt to offer a more eclectic approach to apprehend Woolf’s aesthetic and religious vision in her writing. A thorough analysis on the author’s intentional compositional method of using—silent yet symphonic—voices unveils the religious significance of Woolf’s work which she evokes the divine through the power of music as she demonstrates human beings and the world as the work of art as well as the creators of the work of art. By reading, and listening to, the symphonic voices, the novel creates a beautiful, unconventional cathedral in one’s mind—a sacred space that offers a kind of religious experience to the reader.