The book “A Room of One’s Own” by Virginia Woolf is made based on her lecture at The British Women’s Colleges of Girton and Newnham. That fact makes clear that the target of this book is women or female writers. What I think, at first, regarding this literature is that it seems very organized but it is also very difficult to find out her point because her explanation is quite oblique and indirect. Even though the difficulty, what I learned from this book is that she wants to let women know that they need to move for the change of the society for female writers.
There are two things she keeps emphasizing and suggesting to readers in the book. One thing is that women need to have a room of their own, and the other is to have enough money for life. In other words, to be a better writer, the material elements like circumstances are the most important than any other things like a talent. It sounds controversial but very realistic and practical. She supports her suggestion giving examples one by one.
First, Woolf gives an example about women’s status in the past time, and explains why men tried to be over women that time in a psychological way. Men got self-confidence when they were above the half of people. The half of people was supposed to be women because men were doing more important works like wars and making money. It was the reason why women couldn’t have a chance to show their talent that time. The society was not suitable for women did something.
Also, through the experience of her life, she serves readers that money is important. Woolf shows how her mind changes from when she doesn’t have money to when she has enough money. She says that she wasn’t able to think anything besides works which was a typical life for most women that day. But she explains that after receiving legacy from her aunt, many internal things of her, such as her characteristic and thought, changed. She became generous and was able to think more widely and freely. It is a good supporting idea that material thing unveils the hidden talent.
One of examples I got impressed is that she depicts that making a spider web is like writing a literature. “Often the attachment is scarcely perceptible; Shakespeare’s plays, for instance, seem to hang there complete by themselves. But when the web is pulled askew, hooked up at the edge, torn in the middle, one remembers that these webs are not spun in midair by incorporeal creatures, but are the work of suffering human beings, and are attached to grossly material things, like health and money and the houses we live in..” This quote also supports her idea that all literatures comes from the circumstance, so we cannot ignore it.
Also, the story about the Shakespeare’s sister describes well what she wants to talk about. She makes up the Shakespeare’s sister who has a great artistic talent and shows readers how her talent is wasted because of the bad circumstance. Woolf gives a very detailed description of the life of the Shakespeare’s sister comparing Shakespeare, so she gains the sympathy from readers who are mostly women. This sympathy leads women to change the society. That is what Woolf tries to talk from the beginning.
“A Room of One’s Own” is convincing women to change the society with an indirect way like giving many examples without saying the point clearly. Even though the point is not clearly appeared, it can be more effective that people realize something by themselves rather than that someone teaches them directly.
By Jungju Lim (JJ)
I think you did a good job outlining the main points of this essay/lecture and breaking it down. It is an interesting point that Virginia Woolf makes when she attempts to explain the importance of having financial means. I feel like most writers try to demean the importance of money and signify that it doesn’t matter. But Virginia uses the evidence of her own financial struggle to help readers identify with her point. It makes sense to me that when one is financially struggling their mind is not open and free because they are always worrying about work and their next paycheck. When financial security is established, then they can be free to go with new ideas and where their heart desires, with no regard for the money.
When we discussed some of the ironies in class today, there was one thing I found while looking this over that wasn’t mentioned. At the end of Chapter Two she debates about the importance of men in the capital earning positions versus the importance of the positions of women raising children and taking care of the home. She writes, “Is it better to be a coal-heaver or a nursemaid; is the charwoman who has brought
up eight children of less value to the world than, the barrister who has made a hundred thousand pounds? it
is useless to ask such questions; for nobody can answer them.”
I think it is very ironic that the entire chapter previous to this statement begins with a quest to find “an essential oil of truth” in the British museum, and the rest of the chapter is spent vigorously searching for this “truth”. Meanwhile, ironically, she later laments that most of the things which are sought in this explorative journey are questions that cannot be answered.
I think you make some great points. In you’re last paragraph you say Woolf speaks indirectly and I see why you would say that. But from my point of view, I think she is very direct. It takes plenty of directness for a woman of her time to speak on a subject centered on gender equality. The form in which Woolf writes, however, is measured to a certain extent.
Because she is a woman, Woolf must watch her words. Women are often labeled as emotional. If Woolf were to risk saying outright what is on her mind she may be labeled an irate feminist and lose all credibility. Instead Woolf make a smarter decision. She uses logic and writes in the form of anecdotes to express her feelings about society
The best example of this is the story of Judith Shakespeare. Right away she proves her cleverness because the protagonist of this story could have been any Jane Doe. But Woolf chose to relate this anecdote to the most famous name in literature. Then Woolf goes on to detail the events of Judith’s life as they would have occurred if she’ too possessed the same talent as her brother. Judith ends up dead by her own hand. This is as direct as Woolf can get without being emotional
Although hypothetical, Judith’s story proves to us that a woman with the same talent as Shakespeare, of his own blood would never have reached his level of fame. A woman with such ambition would only end up committing suicide. Such a clever way to put it! Woolf could have said as I would have, “women are oppressed and this patriarchal society is driving us to put a bullet in our brains!” But that’s why she’s Virginia Woolf and is known today for her role in the fight for equality.
Cindy
I think you point out the main idea of this article. I also think it is more likely an essay than just a lecture.
Woolf is talking about a “room” for women, where they can discover their own strengths and weaknesses and one where they can exercise their freedoms, particularly that of being able to express themselves and to compose literary marvels.
Woolf examines the difficulties that women face due to lack of money and how this impacts not only their general lives, but also their ability to pursue their desired courses. She claims that “women have always been poor, not for two hundred years merely, but from the beginning of time” and goes on to describe the hardships she faced when she was attempting to make a few pounds “by cadging odd jobs” . She then goes on to describe the sense of independence that possessing one’s own money can bring and asserts “I need not flatter any man; he has nothing to give me” . The statement is a declaration of financial and psychological freedom of women borne from not having to depend on a man for money.
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