Jinny
A girl who never stops moving, loves dresses and parties, and lives through her body and the next person who crosses the room to her.
She wants to be singled out by the next person who comes through the door, without ever being tied to one.
The book
The Waves
Virginia Woolf
Who they are in the book
Spoiler-freeJinny is quick, bold and physical. She lives in the present moment and does not dream. She goes from lover to lover, and faces growing old with powder and courage. Herbert Marder notes that her name echoes Ginny, Leslie Stephen's pet name for his daughter Virginia.
How Jinny Is Portrayed
- The kiss in the hedgeOn pages 11 to 12 she sees leaves moving in a hole in the hedge and runs, frightened. She finds Louis standing still behind it, wonders if he is dead, and kisses him.
- Fiery wordsOn page 20 the Latin words in the lesson look yellow and fiery to her. She wants a fiery yellow dress to wear in the evening.
- The long glassOn pages 43 to 45 she hates the small mirror on the stairs that cuts off heads. She runs up to the long glass, sees herself whole, and says she never stops moving and does not dream.
- Winning at tennisOn pages 48 to 49 she wins her game and lies panting on the ground. She begins to wish that one person will come and single her out.
- A grand partyOn pages 109 to 111 she arrives powdered and ready and says this is her world. She dances with a man whose name she does not know.
- Standing in the doorOn pages 130 to 131, at the farewell dinner, Susan watches everything stop when Jinny stands in the doorway. The waiter stops, and the diners look up.
Past thirty, Jinny still collects facts about strangers at parties and follows whoever signals to her. In the Piccadilly Underground station she catches sight of herself and sees that she is no longer young. She powders her face, swears she will not be afraid, and marches on.
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