Death of Virginia Woolf's Father

Virginia Woolf's father, Leslie Stephen, passed away, which had a profound impact on her mental health. This event marked a turning point in her life, leading to a severe emotional crisis. Following her father's death, Woolf experienced a significant breakdown, culminating in an incident where she threw herself out of a window. This act resulted in her being briefly institutionalized, where she was treated under the supervision of George Savage, a prominent psychiatrist and a friend of her father's. Woolf's recovery involved time spent at the home of Violet Dickinson, a friend of her family, which provided her with a supportive environment during her healing process. This traumatic experience was compounded by the subsequent death of her brother, Thoby, which Woolf described as the beginning of a 'decade of deaths' that profoundly affected her and marked the end of her childhood. The emotional turmoil stemming from these losses influenced her literary work and her perspective on life, shaping her future writings and her exploration of themes such as grief, loss, and mental illness.