River Ouse

In 1895 and 1915, Virginia Woolf suffered nervous breakdowns and died by suicide on March 28, 1941. She took her own life by drowning herself in the River Ouse near Monk's House, her pockets filled with stones. She left a suicide note for her husband, in which she wrote that she felt that she was going crazy again, hearing voices, that she could no longer cope, that she was a burden to her husband, and that she therefore did what was best.

In 2023, DSL (De Standaard der Letteren) paid attention to this literary giant and the relationship with her husband Leonard Woolf.

"The man who married Virginia Stephen in 1912 is depicted by some as her guardian angel or overprotective caregiver, and by others, in other times, as an absolute control freak, 'jailer' and therefore also a murderer.

Anyone who reads Virginia's farewell letters clearly feels her gratitude. 'I don't think two people could have been happier than we have been?

Very early in their relationship, Leonard and Virginia opted for a marriage of convenience in the positive sense of soulmates: a sexless relationship in which Leonard did everything he could to resolve her psychological problems and keep her life and work on track."

De Standaard