Virgina Woolf’s essay A Room of One’s Own is an account of Woolf’s Opinion of women’s literature during the 1920’s. Women’s oppression in the literary world is the theme of the essay, and this is made clear due to Woolf’s feminist tone throughout.
Although Woolf does come across as a feminist in the essay her message is not to bash male authors by any means, she is simply outlining women’s role in literature and seemingly making the reader aware of their situation during this time.
Not only is Woolf reviewing women’s literature but the actual ability to create an art form of any kind. She states that women are unable to do so as they have not had the options perhaps that male authors and scholars have received.
The opportunities of education, publication, experiences through travel to write about, and furthermore a simple writing space to create literature, hence the title A Room of One’s Own. Women’s roles were more important at home, than out making any kind of money or getting an education in the 1920’s, so chances of becoming a success through literature was extremely unlikely.
In conclusion my first read of Virgina Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own was enjoyable as It gave a first hand account of some of the pressures women had to go through in the 1920’s. Woolf affectively delivers her opinions, seemingly as a feminist although her thoughts never overpowered me, which was nice. The part on Shakespeare’s sister was particularly interesting because it was intriguing to think if Shakespeare was a female would she have got the similar recognition that he did?
1 comment:
I agree with Liam in that women did not have the same experiences as men did. They weren't as prevalent in high education, didn't travel as many men did, etc. They were more often seen at home, doing typical "cult of domesticity" thing. Cooking, cleaning, washing, looking after kids. So at the time, it might not seem that a woman's literature would have nothing by domestic things, and that would not be entertaining literature. Woolf's argument is very just, as modern women do have more to write about, and give a new and fresh aspect to things.
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