The Legacy (by Virginia Woolf) - Analysis

1- Where does the action take place? How do you know?

- London: Piccadilly, the East End (more precisely Whitechapel)
- in Angela and Gilbert´s house.

2- When does the action take place? What elements can help you to answer?
- The action is contemporary to Virginia Woolf (first half of the XXth century. the Modern Age)
- More precisely, the action takes place one day, six weeks after Angela´s death.

3- Characters: list them and write what you know about them

Sissy Miller Gilbert Clandon Angela Clandon B. M.

- Angela - Angela´s - Gilbert´s wife - He is dead. He

´secretary and husband - died 6 weeks died two weeks
friend - no children ago: she was before Angela:
- trustworthy (you - a prominent run over by a he may have
can trust her) (=important) car killed himself.
and discreet politician: a - younger than - He was Sissy´s
- B. M.´s sister conservatist (in Gilbert brother
favour of - She committed - We are not
capitalism and suicide: she sure, but we
the upper class) threw herself can suppose he
- in his fifties under a car. was Angela´s
lover = He
might have
been Angela´s
lover
- an intellectual
interested in
politics
(socialism)

4- Who do you sympathise with? Why?

Sissy Miller Gilbert Clandon Angela Clandon B. M.

- trustworthy - Although he - Her husband,

- working class was faithful to Gilbert, is
(she is a her, he was sexist: he thinks
secretary / an cheated on by women are
employee) Angela( he is a ignorant, he the
victim one to decide if
Angela gets a
job or not, he
thinks women
 should not have
power.
- Angela:
independent-
minded woman
- Angela was
neglected by
her husband
who took her
for granted
- a passionate
woman

5- Answer the following questions

1) From whose point of view is the story told? What is the consequence of such a literary
technique
The storu is told from Gilbert´s point of view. We discover the truth about his marriage little by little,
while he is reading Angela´s diaries.

2) At what point in the story did you grasp the full significance of Gilbert Clandon's legacy? Were
you quicker than Gilbert to understand what had happened?
Although we can guess that Angela and BM had an affair before Gilbert, we we really grasp the full
significance of Gilbert´s legacy at the very end of the short story: “He had received his legacy. She
had told him the truth. She had stepped off the kerb to rejoin her lover. She had stepped off the
kerb to escape from him.” (last words of the short story)

3) What puzzles Gilbert Clandon about the circumstances surrounding his wife's death?
He is puzzled by the fact that Angela had left a present for all the people that counted for her. For
example, Sissy miller got a brooch. He got Angela´s diaries.

4) What does Gilbert assume caused her death?

he assumes / supposes that she was not paying attention the traffic when started crossing a street
near picadilly in London. He supposes she was absent-minded, distracted.

5) How does Gilbert initially account for Sissy Miller's extreme distress when she enters the room?
What does he later remember about her?
He thinks she is upset because Angela´s death meant that she had lost her job (she was Angela´s
secretary). He later remembers that Sissy had lost her brother about two weeks before Angela´s
death.

6) Why does Gilbert feel that the brooch is a 'rather incongruous gift' for Sissy Miller?
- It would have been more useful to leave her some money as she has just lost her job as a
secretary.
- The brooch doesn´t go with Sissy´s personality and style: she wears dark, professional,
modest clothes.

7) Why does Sissy Miller extend an offer to help Gilbert?

 - “For his wife´s sake”:
- Maybe because Angela would have liked Sissy to offer her help to Gilbert
- Mayble it is only compassion
- Maybe because she is looking for a new employment.
- Sissy foresees (= prédit) that Gilbert will need her help to find out more about B.M.
after reading Angela´s diaries.

8) What does ''that first year' refer to? What was Gilbert trying to achieve then? Was he
successful?
- It the “first year” of their marriage and the beginnig of his political career during which Gilbert
got a minor post in Parliament.
9) Why did Gilbert particularly enjoy travelling with his wife, Angela?
- Gilbert enjoyed travelling with Angela because he says she was “eager to learn” and he
adds that she was “ignorant”. It shows that Gilbert feels superior to Angela (superiority
complex). That is very patronising.
10) What are Gilbert's career ambitions at age fifty?
- He wants to become Prime Minister one day.
11) Why did Angela Clandon want to do volunteer work in the East End of London? What was
Gilbert's response to her request?
- Because she was feeling useless and probably bored. Gilbert lets her do volunteer work but
he doesn´t like the fact that she dresses down like common people to go and do her
volunteer work. That is not the image he wants to have of his wife, the wife of an important
politician.
12) What two political ideologies are contrasted in the story?
- Capitalism/Conservatism and communism.
13) How does Gilbert Clandon expect his wife to behave throughout their married life?
- He wants her to be the wife of an important politician. He doesn´t want her to be
independent, to exist by herself. He wants her her to exist through him and his social status.
14) How does Angela Clandon change during the course of their marriage?
- First, she seems to love him and be proud of him
- Then, she probably felt abandoned, neglected by her husband who was too busy to be with
her.
- So, she started her volunteer job, met B.M. who showed her another side of men.
15) What is the relevance to the story's theme of the details Gilbert can and cannot remember
concerning the night of the Mansion House dinner?
He only remembers what he did (his speech) but he doesn´t remember what Angela did. He
realises that he has been self-centered, that he has taken his wife for granted.
16) What is Gilbert's attitude toward the working class? Explain your answer with examples from
the text.
Gilbert is a rich man who believes in the upper class supremacy over poor people. He believes in
the capitalistic system. As we can see when he gives his opinions about B.M, he despises
communism and liberalism: “one of those ‘intellectuals’ as they close themselves” or “Gilbert knew
the type and had no liking for this particular specimen”. He comes off as a narrow-minded person
who attributes his wrongs onto the working class, he’s a selfish and narcissistic man.

17) What is the role of B. M. in the story?

He’s the embodiement of deep love, he takes risks to see her lover. “B.M came unexpectedly after
dinner” we see how strong is their passion. As we can see when he passes, Angela commits
suicide, we can see the effect he had on her. He’s a revolutionary and a tragic lover (=self
destructive love). As the journal goes on, we can see how much of an influence he had onto her,
changing her mind.

18) How does Gilbert's limited point of view influence his perception of his wife, B. M., and Sissy
Miller? Give as many examples as possible.
From Gilbert’s point of view, he sees her as an ignorant object, he felt superior. He sees B.M as a
communist,but he doesn’t realize he has an affair with his wife. Sissi is simply his wife’s best friend.
He sees himself above them.

19) How much does Gilbert's understanding of the events change by the end of the story?
He found out about the true cause of her death: suicide by love’s grief, and not his love. She
suffered both emotionally, physically, and socially he saw her true colours.

20) Why is it ironic that Gilbert thinks of Sissy Miller as 'the soul of discretion; so silent; so
trustworthy, one could tell her anything, and so on.' What other examples of irony can you find that
arouse out of Gilbert's limited perceptions?
The irony is in the fact that that’s how she really is, she kept it to herself. When Sissy leaves, she
says “if by anytime there’s anything I could do to help you”. He thinks that she may have had a
passion for him. We suppose his legacy is her diary. He remembers her mourning her brother, but
actually it was her lover. “If only she had stopped for a moment, she would be alive now” which is
ironic because of her true intentions.

21) Do you feel sympathetic towards Gilbert Clandon? Explain your answer.
On one hand, I do feel sympathethic, being cheated on is a painful thing. He’s taken his
relationships for granted “he had scarcely noticed her”.
It’s hard to keep sympatethic at the same time because of his sexist tendencies, he put work above
her and he put his well being above hers. He relates everything to his job, he says: “he has been
given a minor post on the governement” his job has always been present even though his wife
coped with grief. He thinks everything is about him, he thinks Sissy has affection for him and that’s
just a signal of how big his ego was.

22) In your view, should Angela Clandon have confessed to what was going on while she was still
alive?
On the one hand, she didn’t know him as well, she would’ve lost her comfort and protection. Plus,
he could’ve gotten violent towards her, but that’s my point of view. On the other hand, she should
have confessed, she would be still alive, she would’ve gotten separated from her husband, and
could’ve kept on going with her life. She would’ve been happier with the man that belonged to her.
Besided, Gilbert’s grief would’ve been smaller, if he found out about the infidelity directly and,
without the obvious loss of her wife, the blow would’ve been softer for him.
23) What do you think a typical day in Angela's life was like before she began her volunteer work?
Contrast this with a typical day in Gilbert's life.

Angela Gilbert

- She used to be alone and lonely a lot -

- She would give orders to the servants -
- She used to take piano lesons in the -
morning -
- She used to read a lot. She used to love
“Madame Bovary”
- She would sit on the couch, think about
life while having tea
- She would go to Chinatown once a week
to get new China boxes for her
collection.

24) Why do you think Angela was so attached to B. M.?

He was the polar opposite of her husband: honest, considerate… He was a natural caretaker and a
mentor. He also brought new experiences in her lifestyle, which differed significantly from Angela’s.
It’s also important to remember that unlike Gilbert, he, could commit himself in the relationship,
giving away his time for her.

25) Do you think learning the truth about Angela and B. M. will affect Gilbert's future plans? Explain
your answer.
It will not since he only considered her as an object, the only part of him that’s suffered is his ego,
as far as everything else goes, it remains untouched. He’s still an ambitious character, even after
the death of his wife, he doesn’t lose focus.