I find Woolf's writing philosophy similar to that of Montaigne. She, of course, is famous for the writing style termed "stream of consciousness" which she used in most of her novels. He, I think, writes in a similar way but rather than place the reader in the minds of various characters as Woolf does, Montaigne's "character" is himself.
In her essay on Montaigne, Woolf calls him "this great master of the art of life." She writes that Montaigne's essays are "an attempt to communicate a soul" and that he is one of the few writers who succeeded in "drawing [himself] with a pen." In fact, she feels that he is the only one who gave an entire picture of himself, including his vagaries, imperfections and confusions--those things we often try to hide from others behind our social masks.
Both writers are aware of the fact, as Woolf says, that "this soul, or life within us, by no means agrees with the life outside us." Thus Woolf gives us characters in 3-D: We see them from the outside perspective of others as well as from their own interior thoughts, moment by moment. We know them intimiately and often feel empathy--we have known and experienced life in such a similar way. In his essays, Montaigne, master of the art of life, gives his readers the same vicarious experience.
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