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The Legacy by Virginia Woolf

Analysis: The story is told int the third person.
Ironies:
1. Gilbert Clondon thinks that Angela is trustworthy, she says everything about her life and Gilbert says
that "She had been the soul of candour." But she has got a secret, she deceives her husband and he
does not know until he reads the legacy.
2. In the legacy, Angela writes that she is proud of being his wife and she describes how handsome
Gilbert is although she thinks so, she deceives Gilbert.
Conflicts:
Angela's internal conflicts:
1. Angela is in conflict with herself. She has an affair with B.M., she loves him even she commits suicide
after his death, but she does not divorce Gilbert. Although she loves B.M., she goes on living with Gilbert.
She can't decide what she will do.
2. Angela is in conflict with herself. Although she can't be enough courge to divorce Gilbert, she commits
suicide for the sake of B.M. 
Angela's external conflict: Angela is in conflict with environment. Although she wants to divorce Gilbert,
she can't divorce. Maybe she thinks that after people comment about her. At the same time Gilbert is a
famous politician that's why she does not reveal her secret. If everybody learns her secrets they condemn
her. 
Characterization:
Angela: Angela is pratogonist and round character. She is having an affair because she was not happy
with her husband. Her husband , Gilbert Clandon is so busy that he does not spend time with Angela.
Angela's marriage is unhappy. She has an affair with B.M., they are lover and theyare happy. Angela can
talk to him and they can spend time together. At the end of the story, B.M. commits suicide because
Angela does not divorce her husband. After B.M. commits suicide.
Gilbert Clandon: Gilbert Clandon is pratogonist and round character. He is too busy with his own life.
Angela describes that Gilbert is handsome and how proud she is to be his wife. Thus, Gilbert thinks that
he is a very distinguished-looking man but he is a self-centered man, unable to focus his attention an
anyone but himself. He thinks that her wife is unintelligent for conversation. When he read in her diary
about her discussions wiht B.M. and thinks to himself "To discuss and understand something is very
difficult for her" But then he learns his wife deceives him. He is probably upset out of pride, that his wife
has an affair, rather than at the fact that his wife lills himself because he does not pay attention to her and
their marriage. he is upset because when somebody learns that his wife deceives him, bad things
happen.
Sissy Miller: Sissy Miller is Gilbert Clondon's secretary and is sister of B.M. She does not know her
brother and Angela are lover. After she reads the diary, she learns that they are lover.
Gönderen Dilek Boyrazzaman: 21:18:00

Virginia Woolf - The Legacy (Overview)

When a wife dies and leaves her husband her
diary, all is possible. In Gilbert Clandon's case, the
legacy his wife leaves him is much more than
he could ever have imagined. 

Virginia Woolf signs an exceptional short story

which questions the foundations of marriage,
people's need for communication by any means
possible and their inclusion in a mutually beneficial
partnership. When one reneges on that contract,
the other will seek new outlets to grow, as
personal development in any marriage is
inevitable. If that development isundertaken
without any consideration for one's spouse, then
problems willunavoidably ensue.

The Legacy is a straightforward tale of

love, loneliness, secrets, independence and sorrow
that should make readers wonder about the state
of their intimate relationships. Interspersed
with clues that lead to the overwhelming
conclusion, this story places readers in almost the
same shoes as its main character, Gilbert Clandon,
and like voyeurs, they peek over his shoulder as
he's reading his wife's fifteen volumes of private
scribblings to see what this successful
politician's wife has to say about her life and
death. 

Before making use of the following notes for

assignments, discussions or simply to check my
take of Woolf's story, read the story here. 
 Virginia Woolf (picture by George Charles Beresford, Wikipedia)

Virginia Woolf – The Legacy

Life

 1882-1941, English
 one of the most influential Modernist
writers
 one of the first to experiment with
stream-of-consciousness technique
 her works are hailed as feminist works
 suffered from depression, mental
breakdowns, psychotic episodes (now
experts say she suffered from bipolar
disorder), attempting suicide a number of
times before succeeding in 1941 (she
 placed stones in the pockets of her
overcoat and drowned in a river near
her Sussex home)
 most famous for To the Lighthouse, Mrs
Dalloway, Orlando, The Waves, and the
non-fiction book on the disempowerment
of women over time A Room of One’s Own
Setting

 6 weeks after Angela’s death

 in Angela’s drawing room
 London (reference to Whitechapel,
Piccadilly, Tower of London, the East End)
 modern age (reference to cars)
 setting inside the setting: diary places a
story inside the story, creating a
flashback (place = same; time changes)
Plot

 Angela Clandon stepped off the curb in

Piccadilly and was killed by a car 6 weeks
prior to the beginning of the story
 her husband, Gilbert Clandon, is waiting
for Angela’s secretary, Sissy Miller, to give
her a pearl brooch Angela left for her
 (among other things she left to various
people)
 to him, she has left what he calls “nothing
in particular”, her green leather-bound
diary (15 volumes)
 Sissy arrives and after giving her the
brooch he asks if there’s any way he can
help her in future
 she offers her help if he needs it at any
time with a meaningful look in her eyes
which he takes to mean she has a secret
passion for him
 Gilbert reads his wife’s diary 
 volume 1:
 a) she’s proud to be his wife
b) 1st year he was running for
Parliament: she’d toured his
constituency with him, was
overcome by the applause he
received
c) trip to Venice: went on holiday
after his election; ate ices at
Florians; she was eager to learn
because according to Gilbert she
was “still such a child” and
according to Angela “terribly
ignorant”, which Gilbert says was
one of her charms
 volume 2 
  back in London: she was anxious to
make a good impression on important men 
  Gilbert remembers her “making a
conquest” of his chief, Sir Edward
  dinner at the House of Commons
  evening party at the Lovegroves:
Lady Lovegrove asks her if she realizes the
responsibility she has as Gilbert’s wife
  later volumes:
 Gilbert = more absorbed in his work,
has a minor post in government
   she = more alone, no children, is sure
Gilbert will become Prime Minister one day
  she begins to work in the East
End after plucking up the courage to ask for
Gilbert’s permission
 he can’t understand why she
would want to work there since she has her hands
full taking care of him and the house
 she wants to help there
because she feels useless, idle 
 he hated clothes she wore to
Whitechapel every Wednesday
  appearance of the letters B.M.
 Gilbert first supposes it’s a
woman; then doesn’t feel threatened even when
he sees initials refer to a man
 Angela tries to convince B.M.
he’s wrong about the upper class; calls him
narrow-minded
 she invites him to dinner; he
shakes hands with Minnie the parlormaid (Gilbert
scoffs at this)
 they both go on outings
together (Tower ofLondon) + discuss politics,
society, etc.
 B.M. talks badly of Gilbert
(Angela has scratched the name out of her diary):
this is the point where the relationship changes
from platonic to more personal; he tells her about
his childhood
 gives her Marx to read 
 comes to dinner at the
Clandon’s: “Luckily, I was alone.” (that night,
Gilbert was giving a speech at the Mansion House
dinner)
  volume 15 (last volume)
 at dinner B.M. presses her to make a
decision: “He threatened that if I did not …”, rest
of diary page covered with “Egypt” (we assume he
asked her to elope)
 Angela writes him a letter, which goes
unanswered
 “He has done what he threatened.”
 “Have I the courage to do it too?”
  Gilbert understands she killed herself
(“He could see her in front of him.”)
  Gilbert calls Sissy Miller: she tells him
B.M. was her brother, asks if she can explain
anything
 
Characters
 Angela Clandon
 thinks of everyone and everything (left her
affairs in order before committing suicide, marked
what she wanted people to have)
 she was “a genius for sympathy”
 loved beautiful things that came with
status + living in luxury: had rings, necklaces,
brooches
 had a passion for little boxes: could imply
she was a person who kept secrets
 enjoyed having a distinguished husband
 adored Gilbert at first 
 naïve according to Gilbert
 innocent, shy, docile, submissive: blushes
to ask her husband’s permission to volunteer to
help others
 trapped in an upper class milieu that hides
the real world from her: she despises herself for
living in such luxury when she hears how B.M.”s
mother worked as a charwoman
 changes as a character
 becomes resolute, mistress of her own
fate
 draws away from Gilbert’s ‘education’
and learns about the world from B.M. 
 from devoted wife to assumed
adulteress
 her suicide is for her an act of bravery and
resolve

 Gilbert Clandon
   politician
  over 50 yrs old, distinguished-looking
   has over-inflated ego / is self-centered:
 is only interested in reading about
himself, skips parts where he’s not mentioned
 his mind wanders to his future as he’s
reading his dead wife’s diary
 only remembers what he has said and
done: can’t remember what the house looked like
the night Angela had had B.M. over for dinner,
whether she had waited up for him, if the chairs
had been drawn close together
 thinks Sissy is secretly in love with him
 doesn’t realize what’s gone on around him
for years
 doesn’t regret not having had children:
believes his life has been full 
 still hopes to become important politically
(Prime Minister even)
 demeans his wife (infantilizes her):
 believes Angela’s life is made up of
trifles
 views her as naïve, a child, ignorant,
feeble-minded
 describes her handwriting as
“schoolgirl hand”
   controlling: 
 wants to see what she was writing in
her diary; she should ask for permission to
volunteer in the East End
 “If only she had discussed the matter
with him, instead of puzzling her poor little head
about questions that were much too difficult for
her to understand!”
  the ultimate snob:
 tells Sissy he hopes she has “other
clothes upon which a pearl brooch would not look
quite so incongruous.”
 “There were thousands of Sissy Millers
– drab little women in black carrying attaché
cases.”
 calls B.M. a “specimen”, formulates a
tidy opinion of him without even knowing him
 hated the clothes Angela wore to go to
Whitechapel
 sarcastically notes that B.M. “it
seemed, wasn’t used to parlourmaids” 
 concludes B.M. had “never done an
honest day’s work in his life”
 when he calls Sissy, he notes the
“cheap clock ticking on her mantelpiece”
  does he change? 
 the story ends with his epiphany, but
will he change his ways because of what he has
read?
  
 Sissy Miller
 Angela’s devoted secretary for many
years: “Angela had been much more to her than
an employer.”
 shared a special relationship with Angela:
she left Sissy a pearl brooch with inscription “For
Sissy Miller, with my love.” (see Symbolism section
below)
 she is the “soul of discretion; so silent; so
trustworthy, one could tell her anything…”
 she was in tears over Angela’s death
 sister to B.M.
 
 B.M. 
 Sissy’s brother
 Angela’s lover
 working class radical / Socialist /
revolutionary: hates the upper class but is open-
minded enough to fall in love with someone
belonging to the upper class
 opens Angela’s eyes to the world + the
plight of the working class
 mother was a charwoman: story of his
childhood makes Angela sick of her way of life
 commits suicide because Angela won’t
leave Gilbert to go off with him (we assume he has
asked her to flee to Egypt with him)
 
Point of view
 third person limited
 use of “he”
 we see Gilbert’s thoughts 
 stream-of-consciousness technique used to
divulge emotions and dialogue: 
 “It was like Angela to have
remembered even Sissy Miller …”
  “He knew, he said, that she would
value it. His wife had often worn it. . .. And she
replied, as she took it almost as if she too had
prepared a speech, that it would always be a
treasured possession. . .. She had, he supposed,
other clothes upon which a pearl brooch would not
look quite so incongruous. She was wearing the
little black coat and skirt that seemed the uniform
of her profession. Then he remembered-she was in
mourning, of course. She, too, had had her
tragedy-a brother, to who m she was devoted, had
died only a week or two before Angela. In some
accident was it? He could not remember-only
Angela telling him.”
 last part of her diary is all narrated
using stream-of-consciousness 
   1st person
 diary presents this narrative mode
 what we have is first person narration
from Angela’s point of view interpolated with
comments from Gilbert narrated in third person 
 it almost seems as if he’s telling the
st
story in 1  person if it hadn’t been for the words
“he” and “Gilbert”
 Woolf lets readers simultaneously see things
through his mind + through the diary how different
his wife becomes
 
Angela-Gilbert relationship
 parallel created between deterioration of their
marriage and 
   Gilbert’s increasing self-absorption
  Angela’s need for companionship + food
for thought (since Gilbert doesn’t have time to
show her the world, she is receptive to someone
else’s guidance)
 story superposed by diary shows development
of both characters
 Gilbert’s statements of certainty become
infinite questions
 Angela’s openness + candor become
secrets (i.e. she gains her independence/own
space)
 Woolf’s criticism: 
 men & women enter marriage on uneven
level (men are required to know more; women are
ornaments) which creates tensions when women
strive to learn or express their thoughts
 men & women generally enter marriage
not truly knowing each other; marriage =
contract/marriage of convenience
Tone
 ironic
   situational irony: 
 readers are told of Angela’s accidental
death ⇒ they realize she committed suicide
 readers + Gilbert see Angela’s
admiration at the start of her diary entries ⇒ she
died to escape him
  dramatic irony: 
 readers can see where Angela’s
relationship with B.M. is headed, but Gilbert
doesn’t: it’s ironic that the man he detests and
writes off turns out to be the one Angela died for
Suspense
 created by the story inside the story (diary
within the story itself)
 readers experience thrill of 
 slowly seeing the tale unfold before
them (as with any story read for the first time)
 seeing Gilbert realize the truth about
his wife’s affair and death
 time switch: diary creates a flashback =
readers have to wait until the end when the story
switches to the present to join the pieces together 
 quick pace adds to suspense
 Gilbert jumps from one volume to the
next: insignificant details are left out in this way,
Woolf cuts to the chase/gets to the juicy bits
 implied versus explicit details given to increase
reader’s anticipation
 initials “B.M.”
 bits that have been scratched out or scored
over
 we assume the scratched out name
was Gilbert’s
 “Egypt” written on a page leaves
readers with yet another implied clue
 
Themes
 marriage
 marriage of convenience: political image
for Gilbert, better social status for Angela
 development of spouses means after years
you don’t know who the other person is
 idea of partnership:
  at the start of the marriage, Gilbert +
Angela were partners who ‘helped’ one another
create a good image (each reached their
goal ⇒ Gilbert had a lovely wife he could show off
to his constituents and colleagues; Angela had all
the fine dresses, jewellery, trips a woman of her
social class could want and dazzled Gilbert’s
colleagues, e.g. old Sir Edward)
 Angela withdrew from the partnership
once she saw Gilbert do so as well
  he reneges on his duty to father
children
   he goes to dinners on his own
 Angela therefore turns to social work +
partners up with B.M. 
 conclusion: marriage as a partnership
is based on implicit or explicit mutual
understanding that both parties share experiences 
 when Angela can’t share, she has
her diary to turn to
 writing
 implies loneliness: Angela has no one to
share her innermost thoughts with so turns to
writing
 means of escape & companionship
 means of putting one’s thoughts in order
by formulating words to express them
 means of baring one’s soul to oneself: the
importance of the mirror
 diary acts as a reflection of herself: it’s
as if she is reading her mind when she records
memories that will be re-read by her (and
eventually someone else if she decides to share
her diary)
 diary as a mirror shows a person’s
need to see who they are (when you gaze at
yourself in the mirror, it’s to see how you look so
you can make minor adjustments)
 the keeping of a diary made Angela
turn within herself, see who she was and make
adjustments 
 suicide
 courageous act in Angela’s eyes: “Have I
the courage to do it too?”
 is suicide a victory or defeat for Angela?
  victory = 
 she escapes Gilbert
 her suicide is a statement about
what she thinks of being a successful man’s wife,
living a privileged life, having beautiful dresses,
accessories, meals, influential acquaintances
 has done sth without asking Gilbert
about it first
 the act itself is an affirmation of
her independence
   defeat =
 she dies: she doesn’t gain
anything 
 she took the coward’s way out 
 she doesn’t stand up to Gilbert
and society, but escapes it
 she doesn’t want to risk
staying alone/ doesn’t believe she will eventually
meet someone else and fall in love again
 she might not feel herself
worthy of being loved by someone else
 B.M.’s suicide
 too melodramatic: a revolutionary like
him would keep on fighting, strive to bring about
change
 the courageous thing would be to stick
to the plan of convincing Angela to leave her
husband
 how could he leave Angela behind with
the weight of his suicide on her conscience?
 his suicide can only be seen as a defeat
for him (based on the character clues we have of
him = the fighter gives in)
 
Symbolism
 pearl brooch
 in the 18th – 19th centuries:
 the Georgians and Victorians were
intrigued by the concept of mortality and the after-
life
 mourning brooches were first worn to
express bereavement
 later sweetheart brooches were given
to loved ones as keepsakes + symbols of affection
 the significance of pearls:
 pearls take many years to form and,
like Angela’s “passion for little boxes”, develop in
time in a small protective, shelled environment 
 being difficult to find, they were highly
valued 
 they symbolize wisdom gained from
experience, purity, integrity, loyalty
 diary
 the printed word when no words are able
to be said = it is a legacy
 has the utmost value since it is
bequeathed to someone; shows deceased’s
feelings regarding the heir
 diary = truth = freedom
 Angela’s only means of expressing her
thoughts were through the diary
 it was the only thing she kept from
Gilbert (the only reason they quarrelled, as Gilbert
noted) meaning it was the only thing Gilbert
couldn’t control
 what she wrote in the diary was the
truth of her existence
 she was free to write whatever she
wanted
 in the end, by giving the diary to Gilbert she
allowed him to see her for what she really was 
 alternative interpretation: diary is not
vindictive
 it’s a way for Angela to share with Gilbert
again ⇒ she is able to connect with him now, sth
impossible when she was alive (see above: theme
of marriage)
 though there is an element of bitterness
implied in it, it is Angela’s most prized possession
where she kept her innermost thoughts and
feelings: the fact that she left it to Gilbert and not
Sissy Miller says sth
 her diary is there to help make Gilbert a
better man: Angela is opening Gilbert’s eyes to his
narcissism, giving him the chance to see his faults
and correct them
 
Title
 word “legacy” mentioned twice in the story:
paragraph 3 & last paragraph
 creates a neat connection between
beginning and end which reflects Angela’s desire
for order (how she labelled all the tokens she had
left for those she cared about)
 the word is directly linked to the diary
(focal point of the short story)
 “To him, of course, she had left
nothing in particular, unless it were her diary… So
she had left it him, as her legacy.”
 “He had received his legacy. She had
told him the truth. ”
 what truths are legated to Gilbert?
 Angela hadn’t shared everything with him
as he believed
 Angela wasn’t so “terribly ignorant”
 her eagerness to learn was what drew her
to B.M. once Gilbert stopped paying attention to
her and spent more time worrying about his
political career (so the affair was Gilbert’s fault in
part)
 Angela’s “trifles” were an affair (where he
came out the cuckold)
 Angela found the lower-class people of
Whitechapel more worthy of attention, care and
respect than Gilbert, their marriage, their home
(i.e. Gilbert wasn’t the most important thing to
her; the lower class managed to get the better of
him)
 what started out as adoration for her
husband, ends with her terminating her life for
another man
 a man who seemed so beneath him
managed to be so alluring that Angela willingly
gave up her life to be with him
 Angela’s great love was B.M. & she
committed suicide to escape from living a life with
Gilbert (existence with him was so insufferable,
she had to escape)
  

Virginia Woolf - The Legacy (Overview)

When a wife dies and leaves her husband her

diary, all is possible. In Gilbert Clandon's case, the
legacy his wife leaves him is much more than
he could ever have imagined. 

Virginia Woolf signs an exceptional short story

which questions the foundations of marriage,
people's need for communication by any means
possible and their inclusion in a mutually beneficial
partnership. When one reneges on that contract,
the other will seek new outlets to grow, as
personal development in any marriage is
inevitable. If that development isundertaken
without any consideration for one's spouse, then
problems willunavoidably ensue.

The Legacy is a straightforward tale of

love, loneliness, secrets, independence and sorrow
that should make readers wonder about the state
of their intimate relationships. Interspersed
with clues that lead to the overwhelming
conclusion, this story places readers in almost the
same shoes as its main character, Gilbert Clandon,
and like voyeurs, they peek over his shoulder as
he's reading his wife's fifteen volumes of private
scribblings to see what this successful
politician's wife has to say about her life and
death. 
Before making use of the following notes for
assignments, discussions or simply to check my
take of Woolf's story, read the story here. 

Virginia Woolf (picture by George Charles Beresford, Wikipedia)

 Virginia Woolf – The Legacy
Life

 1882-1941, English
 one of the most influential Modernist
writers
 one of the first to experiment with
stream-of-consciousness technique
 her works are hailed as feminist works
 suffered from depression, mental
breakdowns, psychotic episodes (now
experts say she suffered from bipolar
disorder), attempting suicide a number of
times before succeeding in 1941 (she
placed stones in the pockets of her
overcoat and drowned in a river near
her Sussex home)
 most famous for To the Lighthouse, Mrs
Dalloway, Orlando, The Waves, and the
non-fiction book on the disempowerment
of women over time A Room of One’s Own
Setting

 6 weeks after Angela’s death

 in Angela’s drawing room
  London (reference to Whitechapel,
Piccadilly, Tower of London, the East End)
 modern age (reference to cars)
 setting inside the setting: diary places a
story inside the story, creating a
flashback (place = same; time changes)
Plot

 Angela Clandon stepped off the curb in

Piccadilly and was killed by a car 6 weeks
prior to the beginning of the story
 her husband, Gilbert Clandon, is waiting
for Angela’s secretary, Sissy Miller, to give
her a pearl brooch Angela left for her
(among other things she left to various
people)
 to him, she has left what he calls “nothing
in particular”, her green leather-bound
diary (15 volumes)
 Sissy arrives and after giving her the
brooch he asks if there’s any way he can
help her in future
 she offers her help if he needs it at any
time with a meaningful look in her eyes
 which he takes to mean she has a secret
passion for him
 Gilbert reads his wife’s diary 
 volume 1:
a) she’s proud to be his wife
b) 1st year he was running for
Parliament: she’d toured his
constituency with him, was
overcome by the applause he
received
c) trip to Venice: went on holiday
after his election; ate ices at
Florians; she was eager to learn
because according to Gilbert she
was “still such a child” and
according to Angela “terribly
ignorant”, which Gilbert says was
one of her charms
 volume 2 
  back in London: she was anxious to
make a good impression on important men 
  Gilbert remembers her “making a
conquest” of his chief, Sir Edward
  dinner at the House of Commons
  evening party at the Lovegroves:
Lady Lovegrove asks her if she realizes the
responsibility she has as Gilbert’s wife
  later volumes:
 Gilbert = more absorbed in his work,
has a minor post in government
   she = more alone, no children, is sure
Gilbert will become Prime Minister one day
  she begins to work in the East
End after plucking up the courage to ask for
Gilbert’s permission
 he can’t understand why she
would want to work there since she has her hands
full taking care of him and the house
 she wants to help there
because she feels useless, idle 
 he hated clothes she wore to
Whitechapel every Wednesday
  appearance of the letters B.M.
 Gilbert first supposes it’s a
woman; then doesn’t feel threatened even when
he sees initials refer to a man
 Angela tries to convince B.M.
he’s wrong about the upper class; calls him
narrow-minded
 she invites him to dinner; he
shakes hands with Minnie the parlormaid (Gilbert
scoffs at this)
 they both go on outings
together (Tower ofLondon) + discuss politics,
society, etc.
 B.M. talks badly of Gilbert
(Angela has scratched the name out of her diary):
this is the point where the relationship changes
from platonic to more personal; he tells her about
his childhood
 gives her Marx to read 
 comes to dinner at the
Clandon’s: “Luckily, I was alone.” (that night,
Gilbert was giving a speech at the Mansion House
dinner)
  volume 15 (last volume)
 at dinner B.M. presses her to make a
decision: “He threatened that if I did not …”, rest
of diary page covered with “Egypt” (we assume he
asked her to elope)
 Angela writes him a letter, which goes
unanswered
 “He has done what he threatened.”
 “Have I the courage to do it too?”
  Gilbert understands she killed herself
(“He could see her in front of him.”)
  Gilbert calls Sissy Miller: she tells him
B.M. was her brother, asks if she can explain
anything
 
Characters
 Angela Clandon
 thinks of everyone and everything (left her
affairs in order before committing suicide, marked
what she wanted people to have)
 she was “a genius for sympathy”
 loved beautiful things that came with
status + living in luxury: had rings, necklaces,
brooches
 had a passion for little boxes: could imply
she was a person who kept secrets
 enjoyed having a distinguished husband
 adored Gilbert at first 
 naïve according to Gilbert
 innocent, shy, docile, submissive: blushes
to ask her husband’s permission to volunteer to
help others
 trapped in an upper class milieu that hides
the real world from her: she despises herself for
living in such luxury when she hears how B.M.”s
mother worked as a charwoman
 changes as a character
 becomes resolute, mistress of her own
fate
 draws away from Gilbert’s ‘education’
and learns about the world from B.M. 
 from devoted wife to assumed
adulteress
 her suicide is for her an act of bravery and
resolve

 Gilbert Clandon
   politician
  over 50 yrs old, distinguished-looking
   has over-inflated ego / is self-centered:
 is only interested in reading about
himself, skips parts where he’s not mentioned
 his mind wanders to his future as he’s
reading his dead wife’s diary
 only remembers what he has said and
done: can’t remember what the house looked like
the night Angela had had B.M. over for dinner,
whether she had waited up for him, if the chairs
had been drawn close together
 thinks Sissy is secretly in love with him
 doesn’t realize what’s gone on around him
for years
 doesn’t regret not having had children:
believes his life has been full 
 still hopes to become important politically
(Prime Minister even)
 demeans his wife (infantilizes her):
 believes Angela’s life is made up of
trifles
 views her as naïve, a child, ignorant,
feeble-minded
 describes her handwriting as
“schoolgirl hand”
   controlling: 
 wants to see what she was writing in
her diary; she should ask for permission to
volunteer in the East End
 “If only she had discussed the matter
with him, instead of puzzling her poor little head
about questions that were much too difficult for
her to understand!”
  the ultimate snob:
 tells Sissy he hopes she has “other
clothes upon which a pearl brooch would not look
quite so incongruous.”
 “There were thousands of Sissy Millers
– drab little women in black carrying attaché
cases.”
 calls B.M. a “specimen”, formulates a
tidy opinion of him without even knowing him
 hated the clothes Angela wore to go to
Whitechapel
 sarcastically notes that B.M. “it
seemed, wasn’t used to parlourmaids” 
 concludes B.M. had “never done an
honest day’s work in his life”
 when he calls Sissy, he notes the
“cheap clock ticking on her mantelpiece”
  does he change? 
 the story ends with his epiphany, but
will he change his ways because of what he has
read?
 
 Sissy Miller
 Angela’s devoted secretary for many
years: “Angela had been much more to her than
an employer.”
 shared a special relationship with Angela:
she left Sissy a pearl brooch with inscription “For
Sissy Miller, with my love.” (see Symbolism section
below)
 she is the “soul of discretion; so silent; so
trustworthy, one could tell her anything…”
 she was in tears over Angela’s death
 sister to B.M.
 
 B.M. 
 Sissy’s brother
 Angela’s lover
 working class radical / Socialist /
revolutionary: hates the upper class but is open-
minded enough to fall in love with someone
belonging to the upper class
 opens Angela’s eyes to the world + the
plight of the working class
 mother was a charwoman: story of his
childhood makes Angela sick of her way of life
 commits suicide because Angela won’t
leave Gilbert to go off with him (we assume he has
asked her to flee to Egypt with him)
 
Point of view
 third person limited
 use of “he”
 we see Gilbert’s thoughts 
 stream-of-consciousness technique used to
divulge emotions and dialogue: 
 “It was like Angela to have
remembered even Sissy Miller …”
  “He knew, he said, that she would
value it. His wife had often worn it. . .. And she
replied, as she took it almost as if she too had
prepared a speech, that it would always be a
treasured possession. . .. She had, he supposed,
other clothes upon which a pearl brooch would not
look quite so incongruous. She was wearing the
little black coat and skirt that seemed the uniform
of her profession. Then he remembered-she was in
mourning, of course. She, too, had had her
tragedy-a brother, to who m she was devoted, had
died only a week or two before Angela. In some
accident was it? He could not remember-only
Angela telling him.”
 last part of her diary is all narrated
using stream-of-consciousness 
   1st person
 diary presents this narrative mode
 what we have is first person narration
from Angela’s point of view interpolated with
comments from Gilbert narrated in third person 
 it almost seems as if he’s telling the
story in 1st person if it hadn’t been for the words
“he” and “Gilbert”
 Woolf lets readers simultaneously see things
through his mind + through the diary how different
his wife becomes
 
Angela-Gilbert relationship
 parallel created between deterioration of their
marriage and 
   Gilbert’s increasing self-absorption
  Angela’s need for companionship + food
for thought (since Gilbert doesn’t have time to
show her the world, she is receptive to someone
else’s guidance)
 story superposed by diary shows development
of both characters
 Gilbert’s statements of certainty become
infinite questions
 Angela’s openness + candor become
secrets (i.e. she gains her independence/own
space)
 Woolf’s criticism: 
 men & women enter marriage on uneven
level (men are required to know more; women are
ornaments) which creates tensions when women
strive to learn or express their thoughts
 men & women generally enter marriage
not truly knowing each other; marriage =
contract/marriage of convenience
Tone
 ironic
   situational irony: 
 readers are told of Angela’s accidental
death ⇒ they realize she committed suicide
 readers + Gilbert see Angela’s
admiration at the start of her diary entries ⇒ she
died to escape him
  dramatic irony: 
 readers can see where Angela’s
relationship with B.M. is headed, but Gilbert
doesn’t: it’s ironic that the man he detests and
writes off turns out to be the one Angela died for
Suspense
 created by the story inside the story (diary
within the story itself)
 readers experience thrill of 
 slowly seeing the tale unfold before
them (as with any story read for the first time)
 seeing Gilbert realize the truth about
his wife’s affair and death
 time switch: diary creates a flashback =
readers have to wait until the end when the story
switches to the present to join the pieces together 
 quick pace adds to suspense
 Gilbert jumps from one volume to the
next: insignificant details are left out in this way,
Woolf cuts to the chase/gets to the juicy bits
 implied versus explicit details given to increase
reader’s anticipation
 initials “B.M.”
 bits that have been scratched out or scored
over
 we assume the scratched out name
was Gilbert’s
 “Egypt” written on a page leaves
readers with yet another implied clue
 
Themes
 marriage
 marriage of convenience: political image
for Gilbert, better social status for Angela
 development of spouses means after years
you don’t know who the other person is
 idea of partnership:
  at the start of the marriage, Gilbert +
Angela were partners who ‘helped’ one another
create a good image (each reached their
goal ⇒ Gilbert had a lovely wife he could show off
to his constituents and colleagues; Angela had all
the fine dresses, jewellery, trips a woman of her
social class could want and dazzled Gilbert’s
colleagues, e.g. old Sir Edward)
 Angela withdrew from the partnership
once she saw Gilbert do so as well
  he reneges on his duty to father
children
   he goes to dinners on his own
 Angela therefore turns to social work +
partners up with B.M. 
 conclusion: marriage as a partnership
is based on implicit or explicit mutual
understanding that both parties share experiences 
 when Angela can’t share, she has
her diary to turn to
 writing
 implies loneliness: Angela has no one to
share her innermost thoughts with so turns to
writing
 means of escape & companionship
 means of putting one’s thoughts in order
by formulating words to express them
 means of baring one’s soul to oneself: the
importance of the mirror
 diary acts as a reflection of herself: it’s
as if she is reading her mind when she records
memories that will be re-read by her (and
eventually someone else if she decides to share
her diary)
 diary as a mirror shows a person’s
need to see who they are (when you gaze at
yourself in the mirror, it’s to see how you look so
you can make minor adjustments)
 the keeping of a diary made Angela
turn within herself, see who she was and make
adjustments 
 suicide
 courageous act in Angela’s eyes: “Have I
the courage to do it too?”
 is suicide a victory or defeat for Angela?
  victory = 
 she escapes Gilbert
 her suicide is a statement about
what she thinks of being a successful man’s wife,
living a privileged life, having beautiful dresses,
accessories, meals, influential acquaintances
 has done sth without asking Gilbert
about it first
 the act itself is an affirmation of
her independence
   defeat =
 she dies: she doesn’t gain
anything 
 she took the coward’s way out 
 she doesn’t stand up to Gilbert
and society, but escapes it
 she doesn’t want to risk
staying alone/ doesn’t believe she will eventually
meet someone else and fall in love again
 she might not feel herself
worthy of being loved by someone else
 B.M.’s suicide
 too melodramatic: a revolutionary like
him would keep on fighting, strive to bring about
change
 the courageous thing would be to stick
to the plan of convincing Angela to leave her
husband
 how could he leave Angela behind with
the weight of his suicide on her conscience?
 his suicide can only be seen as a defeat
for him (based on the character clues we have of
him = the fighter gives in)
 
Symbolism
 pearl brooch
 in the 18th – 19th centuries:
 the Georgians and Victorians were
intrigued by the concept of mortality and the after-
life
 mourning brooches were first worn to
express bereavement
 later sweetheart brooches were given
to loved ones as keepsakes + symbols of affection
 the significance of pearls:
 pearls take many years to form and,
like Angela’s “passion for little boxes”, develop in
time in a small protective, shelled environment 
 being difficult to find, they were highly
valued 
 they symbolize wisdom gained from
experience, purity, integrity, loyalty
 diary
 the printed word when no words are able
to be said = it is a legacy
 has the utmost value since it is
bequeathed to someone; shows deceased’s
feelings regarding the heir
 diary = truth = freedom
 Angela’s only means of expressing her
thoughts were through the diary
 it was the only thing she kept from
Gilbert (the only reason they quarrelled, as Gilbert
noted) meaning it was the only thing Gilbert
couldn’t control
 what she wrote in the diary was the
truth of her existence
 she was free to write whatever she
wanted
 in the end, by giving the diary to Gilbert she
allowed him to see her for what she really was 
 alternative interpretation: diary is not
vindictive
 it’s a way for Angela to share with Gilbert
again ⇒ she is able to connect with him now, sth
impossible when she was alive (see above: theme
of marriage)
 though there is an element of bitterness
implied in it, it is Angela’s most prized possession
where she kept her innermost thoughts and
feelings: the fact that she left it to Gilbert and not
Sissy Miller says sth
 her diary is there to help make Gilbert a
better man: Angela is opening Gilbert’s eyes to his
narcissism, giving him the chance to see his faults
and correct them
 
Title
 word “legacy” mentioned twice in the story:
paragraph 3 & last paragraph
 creates a neat connection between
beginning and end which reflects Angela’s desire
for order (how she labelled all the tokens she had
left for those she cared about)
 the word is directly linked to the diary
(focal point of the short story)
 “To him, of course, she had left
nothing in particular, unless it were her diary… So
she had left it him, as her legacy.”
 “He had received his legacy. She had
told him the truth. ”
 what truths are legated to Gilbert?
 Angela hadn’t shared everything with him
as he believed
 Angela wasn’t so “terribly ignorant”
 her eagerness to learn was what drew her
to B.M. once Gilbert stopped paying attention to
her and spent more time worrying about his
political career (so the affair was Gilbert’s fault in
part)
 Angela’s “trifles” were an affair (where he
came out the cuckold)
 Angela found the lower-class people of
Whitechapel more worthy of attention, care and
respect than Gilbert, their marriage, their home
(i.e. Gilbert wasn’t the most important thing to
her; the lower class managed to get the better of
him)
 what started out as adoration for her
husband, ends with her terminating her life for
another man
 a man who seemed so beneath him
managed to be so alluring that Angela willingly
gave up her life to be with him
 Angela’s great love was B.M. & she
committed suicide to escape from living a life with
Gilbert (existence with him was so insufferable,
she had to escape)
  
v