Impressionisticnovel by Virginia Woolf, published in 1922. Experimental in form, itcenters on the character of Jacob Flanders, a lonelyyoung man unable to synthesizehis love of classical culture with the chaotic reality of contemporary society, notably the turbulence of World War I. The novelis an examination of characterdevelopment and the meaning of a life by means of a series of brief impressions and conversations, stream of consciousness, internal monologue, and Jacob'sletters to hismother. In zealouspursuit of classicism, Jacob studies the ancientsatCambridge and travels to Greece. He eitheridealizes or ignores the womenwho admire him. At the end of the novel all thatremains of Jacob's life are scatteredobjects in an abandoned room. (The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature )