Female Mode of Urban Rambling in Virginia Woolf’s “Street Haunting: A London Adventure”

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Hacettepe Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi
Cilt: 42 Sayı: 1
Female Mode of Urban Rambling in Virginia Woolf’s “Street Haunting: A London Adventure”

Female Mode of Urban Rambling in Virginia Woolf’s “Street Haunting: A London Adventure”

Pages : 295-308

View : 68 | Download : 63

Publication Date : 2025-06-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This article explores Virginia Woolf’s 1927 essay “Street Haunting: A London Adventure” and its depiction of female flânerie in the city. It begins by observing the importance of place in literary studies and the shift towards a “spatial turn” in contemporary scholarship. The text then examines the role of the city in modernist literature, particularly in shaping its settings, narratives, and themes. It also overviews the main ideas of some of the pioneers of that “spatial turn” such as Henri Lefebvre and Yi-Fu Tuan. It is suggested that Woolf’s essay offers a unique perspective on flânerie as she navigates the city streets with a sense of introspection and emotional resonance. Woolf’s observations of urban landscape and encounters with strangers allow her to create a rich texture of potential narratives reflecting the complexities of everyday urban life. The present study also discusses Michel de Certeau’s theory of walking as a tactical-rhetorical act of resistance and meaning-making, and it highlights the relevance of de Certeau’s ideas to Woolf’s essay. The article proposes that, unlike the figure of the male flâneur, Woolf’s flânerie is not only about detached observation of the crowds and her surroundings, but also about authorship as she uses her affects and experiences in the city to inform her writing. Overall, Woolf’s portrayal of the flâneuse challenges traditional notions of public space and emphasizes the ways in which women’s experiences redefine the urban environment and its representations.
Keywords : Virginia Woolf, Michel de Certeau, aylak kent gezginliği, flanöz, şehir, modernist edebiyat, fenomenolojik mekân

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