Sigmund Freud Killed Virginia Woolf

Depending on your vantage point, Sigmund Freud’s legacy resides somewhere between father of modern psychology and misogynistic addict. As a professional in the field of psychology and a person who benefits from mental health services, I can’t wholly deny his additions to the field. As a feminist, however, my lens considers Freud from a more toxic and destructive angle. This destruction can be seen in his often-overlooked relationship with Virginia Woolf; a relationship that seemingly killed the depressed writer.

Everyone knows Woolf as a brilliant yet tortured writer who committed suicide. When others speak and write of Woolf, it’s often made to sound as if taking her life was her destiny. Frequently, she is discussed in a way that link her painful internal life with her work. People presume her suffering is what allowed her to create. It’s never been a popular notion that creating was what aided Woolf in managing her demons, and perhaps extended her life longer than we know. Woolf lives in our psyche as a morose figment of the Victorian era constructed by century’s worth of folklore and speculation. It has been less explored and under glorified how Woolf spent a great deal of her life trying to discern her psychology and pinpoint the origins of her pain in an attempt to heal.

In 1939 Woolf began a deep dive into her past experiences and family dynamics as…