抄録
Critics have regarded Flush as a minor work and have dismissed it as such. This disregard is closely related with two misunderstood motives for writing Flush, which are : originally, Virginia Woo If intended Flush as a "joke" for "distraction" after The Waves, her most experimental work ; in addition, she aimed to write a biography of the Brownings under the name of their dog, Flush. This article attempts to reconsider what motivated her to write Flush. The affairs of the Brownings were well known, especially thanks to the popular drama The Barrens of Wimpole Street (1930). Though Virginia Woolf went to the theatre, she was disappointed with the play. She decided, therefore, to make "it hit harder" by bringing out Flush as a hero, instead of the Brownings. However, Virginia Woolf seems little interested in any biographical data on Flush. She calls Flush a "joke" because she coaxes her readers to laugh though they expect to read a biography of a dog. She sincerely questions what a biography should be, or how to describe a life, which is her obsessive concern. Her belief that Flush can embody her creative vision is the most convincing motive for writing Flush. Although Flush always remains silent while observing what is going on around him, he once betrays his ambition to write just as the poet. Flush is one of Woolf's familiar artist figures who try to bring forth words from silence, or express what is not yet expressed. Therefore, Flush is not an exceptional minor work, but one definite example of Woolf's writings.
