Dylan
T. Gough
gough_dylan@yahoo.com
English
201 002W
Professor
Leslie Jewkes
April
6, 2013
A Room of Ones Own
Women have not always had a say in what
goes on in this world. Men dominated politics, literature, art, and had most of
the wealth. “A Room of Ones Own” first published by Virginia Woolfe as a series
of lectures at women’s colleges in 1929, seeks to identify why men have
dominated the literature field in and around that time period. In this short
story, Virginia Woolfe uses a fictional character to identify three important
factors as to why women did not write fiction during the 1930’s. She states that women needed a room of
their own, money, and confidence.
In “A Room of Ones Own” Woolfe says that, “A women must have
money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction”. This is one of the most important
quotes in this story. Taking an in depth look at the story and the time frame
when this was written clearly gives an answer as to what Woolfe was talking
about. Louis Kronenberger from The New York Times states,
“Having so clearly indicated her argument, Mrs. Woolf even more clearly
proceeds to maintain and illuminate it. And in the course of doing so she
manages, however much she may pretend to limit her theme, to say a good deal
about the true nature of women and of fiction. She says little that has not
been said before; indeed, she sets out to prove a point that most intelligent
people accept as truistic; but seldom has the point been driven home more
cogently or embellished with wittier comment”.
There is no doubt that Woolfe almost jokingly writes this story. When
she went into the library to try and find any information on women and fiction
she finds books that are only written by “angry men” (Woolfe 1).
In
this short story Woolfe writes, “Call me Mary Beton, Mary Seton, Mary
Carmichael or by any name you please - it is not a matter of any importance”
(Woolfe 1). Why would Woolfe not want to apply this story directly to herself?
She knew that she just wanted to pose a question to women, to raise “prejudices
and passions” (Woolfe 1). Distancing herself from the story, to get the real
point out without promoting for her own interests was her intent. She writes a
personal criticism that doesn’t sacrifice her privacy; it ties the reader into a
first person narrator and creates the feeling of having a personal conversation
with her.
Women really didn’t have a name in the sense of
society during the 1930’s. They were expected to clean house and be good wives.
If women got married they usually had to quit their jobs and become enslaved to
a house to take care of children, clean, cook, and just about everything else
that needed to be done inside the home. When our “fictional” character Mary
Beton walks across the grass at her college a man stops her and tells her she
needs to walk on the path, basically saying only men can walk on the grass. “His face expressed horror and indignation.
Instinct rather than reason came to my help, he was a Beadle; I was a woman.
This was the turf; there was the path. Only the Fellows and Scholars are
allowed here; the gravel is the place for me” (Woolfe 1). She questions this at
the beginning of the story when she is looking at people through a restaurant
window. She notices people shuffling past each other with some kind of
superiority by means of wealth and rank. She goes on to say that the “human
imagination can create a sense of superiority over others” (Woolfe 1).
Women were fearful of men during this time. Men
were taking away women’s freedom of expression. That is why Woolfe states that
a woman must have a room of her own if she is to write fiction. A woman must
have her own room so she can write in peace, and be able to express in a “free”
environment. She can walk anywhere she would like inside this room. She can
think, meditate, ponder, wander, laugh, cry, and no man can tell her she can’t.
Woolfe believes that if a woman has her own room she will write well, and
produce literary works that make changes. Woolfe wrote standing up, so did many
other create novelists. They all had a room of their own, or a room outside of
their own, for Mary Beton it was at the riverbank.
Men wrote most of the literature during the
1930’s, and it was difficult for any woman to publish literature. This is why
Woolfe states that a woman must have money to be able to write fiction. Many
women did not have property rights, and were in a sense considered property
themselves if they were married. If women did publish literature it was
considered inferior to the works written by men, and men would consider it as
just an opinion. During this time women needed more money to publish than men
did. Woolfe is historically and culturally valid in regards to women needing to
have money to be able to publish literature. In the Journal of International
Women’s studies, Brigitte Bechtold says,
“The diaries are helpful in developing our
understanding that Woolf's socioeconomic thought does not merely attack male
patriarchy in favor of gender equality. They contain important examples showing
that Woolf despised social elitism among women as among men, and that some of
the role models for women in her essays and novels were actually played by men
in her life, notably young men who became emotionally and physically damaged in
war”.
This simple fact that Woolfe was not just attacking men gives absolute
credibility to the reason she wrote the story, which was to encourage women to
actually write, and step out of status quo. Woolfe knew that women were not
very confident and independent, therefore she stressed that women needed to
step out of their comfort zone.
It
is true that during this time a lot of women did not have the confidence to
create meaningful literary works. “Life
for both sexes—and I look at them, shouldering their way along the pavement—is
arduous, difficult, a perpetual struggle. It calls for gigantic courage and
strength. More than anything, perhaps, creatures of illusion that we are, it calls
for confidence in oneself” (Woolfe 1).
This quote states
that men make women out to be inferior and incapable to make themselves feel
more confident. Courage is needed in order to step out of comfort zones, and
challenge society. She mentions that material things will never be able to
bring confidence to someone. That one needs confidence and has to believe in
themselves.
If
women did not posses money or a room of there own, Woolfe believes that a woman
cannot write fiction. Also, if a woman does not possess confidence, the
literary work will lack meaning and power. The fact that men made women out to
be inferior and incapable of producing, forced women to be closed minded and
fearful. Woolfe was direct and blunt, not just attacking men, but exposing
women for what they can be. She points out the value of human expression, and
the importance of confidence in ones ability even during extreme obstacles.
Woolfe knew her work was up for interpretation, but she was clear that for a
woman to be able to write fiction, she needs money and a room of her own.
Works Cited
Bechtold, Brigitte. "Understanding
Virginia Woolfes Social Thought." More Than A Room and Three Guineas .
Bridgewater University, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
<http://www.bridgew.edu/soas/jiws/may00/bechtold.htm>.
Kronenberger, Louis. Virginia Woolfe
Discusses Women and Fiction. New York Times, Nov. Web. 10 Mar. 1929.
<http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/12/17/specials/woolf-room.html>.
Moran, Mickey. "Feminist Void."
1930s America. Department of History, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
<http://www.loyno.edu/~history/journal/1988-9/moran.htm>.
Thomas, Joe. Women Writers Such as
Virginia Wolfe Silenced in the 1930's. Yahoo, 27 Oct. 2006. Web. 25 Mar.
2013.
<http://voices.yahoo.com/women-writers-such-as-virigina-woolf-silenced-the-100324.html?cat=38>.
Woolfe, Virginia. A Room of Ones Own.
A Project Gutenberg, Oct. 2002. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
<http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200791.txt>.
A Room of Ones Own Outline
Feminist
Criticism “A Room of Ones Own”
Introduction:
Thesis: Women
have not always had a say in what goes on in this world. Men dominated
politics, literature, art, and had most of the wealth. “A Room of Ones Own”
written by Virginia Woolfe, seeks to identify why men have dominance over the
literature in and around the 1930s.
Body
Paragraphs:
I. In “A Room
of Ones Own” Woolfe says that “A women must have money and a room of her own if
she is to write fiction”. She describes that “Angry men” write all the books
she finds in the library.
A.
“It was thus that I found myself walking with
extreme rapidity across a grass plot. Instantly a man's figure rose to
intercept me. Nor did I at first understand that the gesticulations of a curious-looking
object, in a cut-away coat and evening shirt, were aimed at me. His face
expressed horror and indignation. Instinct rather than reason came to my help,
he was a Beadle; I was a woman. This was the turf; there was the path. Only the
Fellows and Scholars are allowed here; the gravel is the place for me” (Woolfe
1).
1.
Women in the 1930’s were expected to clean house and be good wifes. The fact
that the character in “A Room of Ones Own” is at college is pretty rare for
women in those days.
2.
If women got married she was expected to leave her job. Wages were low and
there were not as many colleges as there are today.
II. Men wrote most of the literature, and it was
difficult for women to publish any piece of literature. This is why Virginia
Woolfe states that a women must have money if she is to write fiction.
A.
During the 1930’s many women did not have property rights, and were in a sense
considered property themselves if they were married.
1.
If women did publish literature it was considered inferior to the works written
by men.
2.
Woolfe believes that if women did publish something to be true men would
consider it an opinion.
III. Women were fearful of men during this time.
Men were taking away women’s freedom of expression. That is why Woolfe states
that a woman must have a room of her own if she is to write fiction.
A.
“Life
for both sexes—and I look at them, shouldering their way along the pavement—is
arduous, difficult, a perpetual struggle. It calls for gigantic courage and
strength. More than anything, perhaps, creatures of illusion that we are, it calls
for confidence in oneself” (Woolfe 1).
1.
Woolfe is stating that there is an unequal treatment of women by men. This quote
states that men make women out to be inferior and incapable to make themselves
feel more confident.
2.
During this time women were not confident enough to create meaningful literary
works
Conclusion: During this time if women did not
posses money or a room of there own, Woolfe believes that a women cannot write
fiction. Also, if a women does not posses confidence the literary work will
lack in meaning and power. The fact that men during this time made women out to
be inferior and incapable of producing, forced women to be closed minded and
fearful.
Woolfe, Virginia. A Room of Ones Own. A Project
Gutenberg, Oct. 2002. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
<http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200791.txt>.
Thomas, Joe. Women Writers Such as Virginia Wolfe
Silenced in the 1930's. Yahoo, 27 Oct. 2006. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
<http://voices.yahoo.com/women-writers-such-as-virigina-woolf-silenced-the-100324.html?cat=38>.
Moran, Mickey. "Feminist Void." 1930s America.
Department of History, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
<http://www.loyno.edu/~history/journal/1988-9/moran.htm>.
No comments:
Post a Comment