Divided by Flesh and Pen: Teaching Medieval Manuscripts Through Virginia Woolf

Abstract

Despite the complexity of her written work, Virginia Woolf occasionally sought to “teach” the reader, as Sheila Heti’s new edition of How Should One Read A Book? reveals. Moreover, Woolf was keenly interested in the Middle Ages. This essay uses an unpublished story of Woolf’s to explore new possibilities in the teaching of medieval English literature. A syllabus, outlined at the center of this essay, details assignments that invite students to read and write across genres, disciplines, and time periods, taking up Woolf’s notion of what this author calls the “mystical manuscript,” or the text that comes alive in the mind. Through the fictional diary of Joan Martyn, Woolf explores the limits of the archive when it comes to access and representation. She guides both instructor and student through vivid scenes of public reading and domestic storytelling, suggesting that the keepers of manuscripts are often located far from the locked library.