On Being Ill With Notes from Sick Rooms by Julia Stephen

What does it mean to be ill, both physically and mentally? In this essay, Virginia Woolf explores the phenomenon of illness as a central topic in literature. In this short essay, she explains her opinion on why illness should be a key aspect of literature, just like love, death, and other themes. She thought that within illness there is a kind of freedom, the freedom to act unapologetically and to return, in some ways, to a childlike state. This essay was really interesting and offered many new perspectives and ideas. Furthermore, the historical context is also very interesting, as the essay was written after Woolf experienced a mental crisis. Because of this, it provides additional insight and helps explain why she was so convinced that illness should play a bigger role in human reality and, therefore, in literature.