The Artist as The Artist as Outsider in the Novels of Toni Morrison and Virginai Woolf

Toni Morrison & Virginia Woolf

The Artist as Outsider in the Novels of Toni Morrison and Virginia Woolf, Published by Greenwood Press, Author Lisa Williams

The Artist as The Artist as Outsider in the Novels of Toni Morrison and Virginai Woolf

On first consideration, Nobel prize winning African-American author Toni Morrison would seem to have little in common with Virginia Woolf, the British writer who challenged Victorian concepts of womanhood. But Woolf’s achievement and influence have been enduring, so much so that Morrison wrote her masters thesis on Woolf and William Faulkner. In that thesis, Morrison gives special attention to issues of isolation, and she notes that for Woolf, isolation brought a sense of freedom that the attached could never comprehend. This book examines the literary relationship between Woolf and Morrison.

In her own novels, Morrison redefined Woolf’s concept of isolation in terms of American racism. While Morrison’s female characters are clearly outsiders, they can nevertheless experience a sense of community that Woolf’s characters cannot. Woolf’s female characters, on the other hand, are often alienated because of their repressed erotic longing for women. Both Morrison and Woolf consider the severe obstacles the female artist must encounter and overcome before she can create art. This volume looks at the similarities that link Morrison and Woolf together despite their racial, ethnic, national, and historical differences, and it examines how differing structures of domination define their art.

Review

“The Artist as Outsider in the Novels of Toni Morrison and Virginia Woolf satisfies a longstanding need for a full-scale intertextual analysis of two twentieth-century literary giants. Lisa Williams brings together Morrison and Woolf for a penetrating look at the subtle differences and unexpected similarities in the writer’s artistic and cultural sensibilities. Showcased in a compelling comparison of seemingly far-flung texts is the timeless theme of the alienated artist, burnished and richly contextualized with contemporary critiques on race, gender, and culture. This splendid coupling of Woolf and Morrison will convince all students of literature to continue the practice of reading across cultures.”-Tuzyline Jita Allan, Professor, English Department Baruch College, City University of New York