The boundaries between humanity and nature: Rainfall in Virginia Woolf’s Between the Acts

Virginia Woolf’s final novel, Between the Acts, is often described as the culmination of her own eco-philosophy. ‘Nature’ clearly plays a part in Miss La Trobe’s pageant. The entire performance takes place outdoors on the Pointz Hall estate, where various sounds of nature – from the chirping of birds to the calls of cattle – interject into each scene. Towards the end of the performance, sudden rainfall interrupts La Trobe’s ‘Present Time’ act. Through this natural interruption, both artist and audience manipulate the meaning of the storm to fit their own apprehension of the ‘Present Time’. By exploring this moment in the text, I argue that Between the Acts illustrates the way artistic conceptions of nature remain inextricably linked to human experience. In Woolf’s novel, nature remains deeply resonant with human thought.