Essay Questions

Why is Eleanor taking the responsibility of taking care of her family?

Eleanor is a young lady who has made a difficult decision to look after her large family because her father is always absent. Besides taking care of her critically sick mother, Eleanor is also taking care of her six siblings. The father who is supposed to provide for the family is secretly having an affair with another woman. Therefore, his absenteeism is forcing Eleanor to look after the entire family.

How does the death of Mrs. Pargiter affect Delia?

In the novel, The Years, Virginia Woolf, has portrayed that people grieve differently. When Mrs. Pargiter dies, Delia remains in repudiation because she is not ready to accept that her mother is no more. Her siblings accept the death of their mother and move on with life but Delia is stuck in grief and emotions. The reader learns that people react differently when their loved ones die. Delia's way of processing grief is very different from that of Eleanor and the other siblings.

What does Eleanor mean when she says, “It was better to die, like Eugenie and Digby, in the prime of life with all one's faculties about one?”

Throughout the novel, the reader comprehends how Eleanor witnesses the death of various characters including her mother, Digby, and Eugene among others. She says these words to compare her mother's death with that of Eugene and Digby. Unlike her mother who was terminally ill and aged, Eugene and Digby die while physically strong and productive. She also looks at his father who has lived for many years but is having poor health. Therefore, she thinks that it is better to die young when physically strong.