The Waves

Exact facsimile of 1931 Edition. The Waves is considered Woolf’s most experimental work, and consists of soliloquies spoken by the book’s six characters: Bernard, Susan, Rhoda, Neville, Jinny, and Louis. Also important is Percival, the seventh character, though readers never hear him speak in his own voice. The soliloquies that span the characters’ lives are broken up by nine brief third-person interludes detailing a coastal scene at varying stages in a day from sunrise to sunset. As the six characters or voices speak Woolf explores concepts of individuality, self and community. Each character is distinct, yet together they compose a type of gestalt about a silent central consciousness.