Natalie B.

Hello! I am a Native English speaker and have many years of experience with writing, proofreading, and editing. I can provide an A receiving research paper from Oxford University. Below is an excerpt: "A bit of background is required before continuing further into the discussion. Sylvia Plath said, “When you are insane, you are busy being insane––all the time. When I was crazy, that was all I was .” Woolf’s bouts of illness made her act in accordance with Plath’s quote. She would avoid writing, or could not write, at the heights of her episodes . Many scholars believe she had manic-depressive disorder, or Bipolar II as it is often referred to today. This meant she went through a series of episodes of either mania or hypo-mania. During this state, people have elevated moods, increased energy (sometimes seen as excessive speaking with an obvious increased speed), and in Woolf’s situation, a lack in eating patterns. Hermione Lee describes Woolf beautifully; she says, “Virginia Woolf was a sane woman who had an illness ”. It is simple to look at Woolf and only see her as the author who died by suicide. However, she was a woman who passionately created a career that gave her a creative outlet for her feelings and imagination. The imagination stems from external influences, as well as the subconscious. If Woolf’s work is reviewed autobiographically, the character’s experiences are given breath and a connection to readers immediately establishes itself. The sadness, happiness, frustration, and confusion are all anchored to a real person that lived outside of fiction. As imagination and illness are discussed in tandem throughout this piece, it must be stated that creativity and psychosis are not synonymous, though the examples may seem to suggest the link . Woolf’s childhood is part of the key to understanding her some of the insecurities found in her characters. Her books made her reality turn real . In her journals, she says she “can reach a state where I seem to be making things happen as if I were there . Woolf’s pieces are not fiction to her; they are her reality that connects readers to the author personally." If wanted, I can provide the full doc to you, which includes all citations.