Power and passivity in Vita Sackville-West's All Passion Spent

This article will analyse some philosophical implications in Vita Sackville-West's novel All Passion Spent (1931). Passivity constitutes the fil rouge of the novel; this article argues that the novel represents culture as opposed to reality and indicates passivity as an alternative, both gnoseological and ethical, to culture. The novel anticipates some key aspects of the Foucauldian concept of power-knowledge, though not mirroring it perfectly; by recognising the similarities with Foucault, this article argues that passivity is, in the novel, the only possible strategy of resistance to power. While several previous readings of All Passion Spent have dealt with the issue of power, they have focused on the difference in gender roles; I aim to show that the novel represents society as oppressive in itself and for everyone. Finally, I take into account the weaknesses of the resistance strategy suggested in the novel, addressing its elitism and the difficulties of escaping power structures.