Through the many consecutive examples of female oppression in reading "A Room of One's Own," Woolf is able to define the harsh realities women faced preceding the Elizabethan era. She is also able to cite personal experiences with this oppression in her stroll around the fictional Oxbridge. Women within this time period were considered property of their husbands and even the notion of making money was simply astonishing. Women writers were forced to go extra lengths to be on "equal terms with men" and I believe it was because of this oppressive environment that women were not able to become as successful.
Woolf proposes her view that in order to become an accomplished writer a woman needs money and a room of one’s own. However I believe this idea may be a generalization that does not necessarily fit for all women. I think that money is most certainly a convenience that would assist a women’s ability to write but it is not a requirement. Woolf goes on to say that even women who were blessed with money, nobility and good husbands were essentially not the best of writers because they were consumed with “bitterness and resentment” as a result of living in a patriarchal society (60). Woolf cites both Lady Winchilsea and Margaret of Newcastle to prove they both had the desire to write yet they could not get beyond their emotions in order to write for the benefit of others. In this specific time period I do not think women needed money and a room of one’s own as much as they needed freedom from their oppressive society. This can be inferred because even these women with high stature were more likely to have had time or space to oneself and yet still could not find the means to write.
Woolf also goes on to speak of middle class authors such as Jane Austen who were not of high social standing. She believes that Jane Austen was a developed writer yet could have been more talented if she had had the opportunity to travel and experience more. Because of the oppressive society in which she lived she was unable to fully experience opportunities available for male writers. Therefore these women wrote with their emotions which may have put a lock on their abilities. Nevertheless these women did all they could under the limits imposed by the patriarchal society.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Ali, I like your arguement. While I think there is more truth to Virginia's arguement than it appears you do, I still feel you made some valid points. Specifically, when you address the bitterness and hatred that tainted the writings of those few women who were able to get their words out. I think that it goes to show that we still have little knowledge of the past capabilities of female writers because so many of them write with this cloud that overwhelms their writing at times. Also, I think you make a good point when you state that it may have had something to do with society's attitude toward women that played a larger role in restricting their writing. Again, I think I would have to argue that money and a room of one's old are very important to the writer (whether female or male) I appreciate your opinion and enjoyed reading your response : )
Post a Comment