A cultural divide?

[damigella]

"here encountering the first knot in the smooth skein of her argument." (V. Woolf, Orlando: A Biography)
"the smooth skein of his imagination had encountered the first knot:" (my fic A Member Of The Wedding)

How come quotations from Gone With The Wind, The Muppet Show or The Little Mermaid (Disney, not Andersen) are immediately recognized while a sentence lifted almost verbatim from Virginia Woolf goes unnoticed? 
Maybe I should use precise quotations. Maybe it's a US/UK issue. Feedback appreciated.

Comments

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

I saw GWTW once, an I can't imagine doing that again. Admittedly the Italian dubbing didn't age well (it starts with Scarlett becoming Rossella and goes downhill from there).

"Maybe if that book were a particular favorite that I had read several times."
That's part of my problem, I'm a compulsive re-reader. Most of the books I like fit in that category (which means I also read very few books altogether).