A Tail of One's Own

As students, we are often subjected to the challenge of writing on topics that we may, or may not, be able to proficiently execute. Just as we have struggled to find our place on the page in meanings and in words, so too has Virginia Woolf. When asked to give a lecture on “women and fiction,” Woolf says that she “should never be able to come to a conclusion” (3). This is due to the fact that women and writing is such a vast topic that it cannot be summed up so easily. Instead, she points out that “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction” (4).

Not only did Woolf seem unwelcome at the male-dominated college luncheon, but she also noticed something else that seemed out of place – a tailless cat. It took her back before the war, where luncheons were alive with humming and poetry was beautiful. This cat can also be symbolic for a writer who lacks money or a private space in which to write. Just like a writer without a room uselessly seeks out inspiration, the cat without a tail is seen searching aimlessly in the middle of the lawn. As Woolf points out, “something seemed lacking, something seemed different” (11) – this lacking can be portrayed in the devoid of a personal and tranquil area, or, for our purposes, a tail.

Throughout this course, we have been learning about the importance of place, particularly for writers. The authors we have studied thus far have all been tormented with this sense of “place” and where they draw their own inspiration. Scott Russell Sanders finds his center at home, while Annie Dillard prefers isolation. Virginia Woolf, however, does not seem distressed with where she, as an author, can write, but rather is concerned with where she, as a woman, can write. Women of her time were seen as inferior to men - they hadn’t found their “place” in society, if you will. It is seemingly appropriate that we are reading this essay here at Saint Mary’s College, where women’s education is the main priority. It is interesting to learn about how the women before us were suppressed in their schooling, but heartening to realize how far we’ve come in finding our own tails (or rooms) in society.

A cat without a tail is like peanut butter without jelly, Bert without Ernie, or a writer without a room. The two work in conjunction with each other in order to fulfill their full potentials. I believe that we, as women, are still actively seeking our tails in society. We as students, however, are expected to willingly accept the challenges of writing, whether or not we have a tail of our own.