“She could not resist recalling what Charles Darwin had said about her little book on the orchids of Burma” (p179). At Clarissa’s party, Aunt Helena converses only about India and Burma: a country along India’s southeast border. She explains to Peter Walsh how Charles Darwin, famous for his theory of evolution, had praised her work “on the orchids of Burma,” an accomplishment of very few people. Virginia Woolf includes the mentioning of Burma and Darwin to add depth to her novel, making it recognizable to the reader.
“Burma.” Wikipedia. 29 Sept. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burma
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but couldn't Woolf have included any major thinker? Why did she choose Darwin? Why choose a major figure of evolution.
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