The Mark on the Wall by Virginia Woolf. Short summary

5 seconds

Once seated in her chair, the woman turned her attention to the wall. The Englishwoman’s attention was drawn to the stain. Where it had come from and what it could mean to the owner of the house was unknown.

1 minute

Comfortably seated in her chair, the woman’s gaze shifted to the wall. She saw a stain on the wall. What the stain was and what had contributed to its appearance on the wall, the woman did not know. But instead of going over and examining the color of the stain and its specifics more closely, she settles into her chair as comfortably as possible and focuses her attention on the stain. Parallel to trying to remember the history of the appearance, the woman’s thoughts are visited by thoughts of lofty matters.

Focusing her attention on the spot, the woman first tries to remember how long ago she saw it. She remembers that the stain appeared on the wall in mid-January. Then the woman began to remember the details of the day that led to the stain.

It was snowing outside the window, and the British woman was drinking tea with her guest. The woman also smoked a cigarette at the same time. But at that moment the stain was already there. She remembered seeing it through the smoke from the cigarette. Then the outline of the scarlet banner over the castle flashed before her eyes.