"Away and away the aeroplane shot...Einstein, speculation, mathematics, the Mendelian theory...aeroplane shot" (28).
A very peculiar thought is processed through this quote as the reader reads it from start to finish. Einstein is a well known man who had a strong determination to accomplish great things. He viewed his accomplishments as "mere stepping stones for the next advance" (Nobel Lectures). The Mendelian Theory is named after Greg Mendel and it consists of the first law of segregation. Virginia Woolf may have included these two famous people in her writing for many reasons. The way this quote is worded creates an amazing image in the mind; the light from the aeroplane is compared to a man's soul, and then Einstein and the Mendelian Theory come in. By Woolf comparing an aeroplane to numerous things, the point she is trying to make is that from a strong determination to achieve ones goals, the aeroplane was born. Mr. Bentley is standing there staring at the plane as it flies overhead, and Virginia Woolf has him thinking about everything that relates to the desire to create something so amazing.
"Albert Einstein." Nobelprize.org. 26 September 2009. 2009.
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/einstein-bio.html
"Mendel's First Law." Mendelian Genetics. 26 September 2009. 2000.
http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/instruct/mcclean/plsc431/mendel/mendel1.htm
Photo Credit: http://th.physik.uni-frankfurt.de/~jr/gif/phys/einst_6.jpg
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