Was Virginia Woolf's quote in the film 'The Hours' actually said by her?

Question

In the film, Virginia Woolf says in a voiceover: 'To look life in the face, always to look life in the face. To love it, for what it is, and then to put it away. Leonard, always the years between us. Always the years, always the love, always the hours'

I would just like to know if Virginia Woolf actually said any of this in real life, or if it was just made up for the film.

thankyou!

x*x

Answer 1

I don't know for sure...............

she was a prolific writer and these could have been her words.

"To look life in the face" "and then to put it away" may have been a metaphor for a photograph. Her aunt was Julia Margaret Cameron. Virgina Woolf wrote a mocking play about Julia Margaret Cameron called Freshwater.

You may be able to get confirmation about your quote from the link below.

Link :  http://www.virginiawoolfsociety.co.uk/

Link :  http://www.michaelhoppengallery.com/arti...

Answer 2

She wrote it, did not say it.

Answer 3

It is an extract from one of the suicide notes she wrote to her husband Leonard. There are three letters, two to Leonard and one to Vanessa Bell (her sister). They are in the manuscript collection of the British Library. Technically she wrote (rather than said) the words but you have to allow for a bit of artistic licence.