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A Room of One's Own

by Virginia Woolf

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Historical Context

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British Universities and Women

Cambridge and Oxford universities, composed of various colleges, are Britain's oldest and most renowned institutions of higher learning. Both universities were officially founded in the early thirteenth century, although they functioned as centers of education long before their formal establishment. In 1869, Cambridge's Girton College became the first British college to admit women students. Two years later, in 1871, Cambridge founded Newnham College, dedicated exclusively to women. Woolf delivered her influential lectures on women and fiction, which later became A Room of One's Own, at Girton and Newnham Colleges. The term "Oxbridge" in Woolf's book refers to both Cambridge and Oxford, symbolizing male-dominated education. "Fernham," the fictional women's college in Woolf's work, clearly alludes to Newnham.

Feminism

Throughout history, there have always been individuals who protested against women's second-class status in Western societies. However, feminism as a significant and widespread movement did not emerge until the eighteenth century, when democratic ideals began to spread across the West. Since then, feminist activism has been continuous, though its intensity has varied over time. Mary Wollstonecraft, a British woman inspired by democratic revolutions, published the first major English feminist work, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, in 1797. Feminism gained momentum in the nineteenth century as women entered the workforce during the Industrial Revolution. John Stuart Mill's The Subjection of Women (1869) became a key British feminist text of that era. The movement achieved a significant milestone in the West when women were granted the right to vote in 1918 in Britain and in 1920 in the United States. Despite this progress, women's social status and opportunities continued to lag behind men’s throughout the twentieth century, leading to a renewed women's rights movement in the 1960s.

British Suffragettes

The early 20th century, much like the 1960s and 1970s, was a period of significant and intense feminist activism worldwide. The emergence of socialist ideologies, which emphasized gender equality, fueled feminist movements in countries as varied as Japan, Mexico, and Russia. The United States and Britain experienced similar waves of activism, with London feminists particularly noted for their vigorous and militant actions. During this era, feminists were commonly called suffragettes because their main objective was to secure voting rights, or suffrage, for women. Among them, the followers of Emmeline Pankhurst stood out for their innovative tactics. British suffragettes would disrupt parliamentary sessions, march at inconvenient times to hinder daily activities, or more commonly, stage peaceful protests. One notable demonstration in London's Hyde Park in 1908 drew nearly half a million participants. Some suffragettes even resorted to more militant actions like throwing stones and staging hunger strikes.

World War I

The relationship between early 20th-century British feminism and World War I (1914) is intricate and multifaceted. Initially, the outbreak of the war abruptly halted the vigorous feminist activities that were nearing success in securing women's voting rights in England. With the onset of the war, attention shifted away from women's issues as everyone, including feminists, focused on the war effort. Women took on roles as nurses, ambulance drivers, and intelligence agents, among others. Additionally, with many men fighting in the war, women were called upon to fill their roles in the workforce. The war's heavy toll on male lives meant that many women retained these jobs even after the conflict ended. Thus, while the war temporarily suspended organized feminist activities, it ultimately advanced women's rights by integrating them into professional fields. Moreover, due to their significant contributions to the war effort, Parliament passed the Parliamentary Reform Act of 1918, granting certain women the right to vote the same year the war concluded.

Literary Style

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Style

In A Room of One's Own, Woolf engages with her readers by addressing them directly as "you," creating the feeling of a lecture. She begins with a sentence that anticipates objections from her audience: "But, you may say, we asked you to speak about women and fiction—what has that got to do with a room of one's own?" Woolf's conversational tone is a key element of her message. To Woolf, how a lecture is delivered is just as significant as its content. The interactive style of A Room of One's Own demonstrates that Woolf, as a lecturer and writer, does not elevate herself above her audience. She avoids presenting herself as an arrogant know-it-all who assumes her listeners are less intelligent. By recognizing her audience's potential responses, she shows that she does not believe she alone holds all the ideas or knowledge. This book is about equality, and Woolf ensures that her method of discussing ideas aligns with the principles she advocates. Her style acknowledges that her readers are capable of thinking and forming their own ideas.

Tone

A Room of One's Own often delivers its message with a playful or humorous touch, achieving two key purposes. Firstly, it mitigates potential negative reactions to its subject matter. Woolf is aware that discussions about women's issues can be sensitive: some men feel threatened by feminism, while some women worry about losing male affection if they assert their rights or identify as feminists. By incorporating humor into her arguments, Woolf promotes discussion over hostility. Secondly, this casual tone distinguishes the book from the typical dry lecture. By deviating from the conventional lecture style, Woolf positions herself among speakers and writers who view lecturing and essay writing as an art form, rather than merely a method to convey facts or ideas. The varied and often light-hearted tone aims to make the piece a subtle and enjoyable read, one that entertains and delights as much as it challenges and informs.

Anecdotes

Effective essays use specific examples and details to illustrate broader points. Woolf's essay includes several fictional anecdotes that serve this purpose. For instance, in the first chapter, Woolf aims to highlight how women have been systematically barred from certain activities and how society favors men at the expense of women. The story of the narrator's day on a university campus clearly illustrates these points. The university is segregated into men's and women's colleges. The narrator recounts being forced off the grass by a beadle at a men's college and then being denied entry to the men's campus library. She then contrasts the meals served at the men's college with those at a women's college. The narrator's forcible exclusion from physical spaces symbolizes the societal barriers women face, and the contrasting meal descriptions entertainingly show how public funds are disproportionately spent on men.

Compare and Contrast

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1920s: Woolf and other British feminists like Winifred Holtby and Rebecca West fervently advocate for women's equal opportunities in professional and public spheres.

Today: Many women, both in Britain and globally, have ascended to roles as prime ministers or presidents of their countries.

1920s: The Flapper emerges as the female icon of the era. Her short hair and loose, simply cut dresses symbolize a newfound freedom of movement and expression.

Today: Fly Girls and Riot Girls make their mark, showcasing independence and capability through physical fitness, revealing clothing, and vibrant hair colors.

1920s: British university literature courses are primarily designed for the education of young, upper-class men, focusing on ancient Greek and Roman authors, with a strong emphasis on Greek and Latin.

Today: British universities, like their counterparts worldwide, offer literature courses spanning all periods and languages. By the 1970s, the exclusion of literature by women was recognized as an institutional error.

1920s: In 1928, Britain's limited franchise for women, initially granted in 1918, is expanded to include all women over the age of 21.

Today: Britain's ethnic minorities, many from former colonies, are increasingly vocal in their demands for acceptance and progress, often more so than its women.

1920s: Post-World War I Britain continues to grapple with dismantling the entrenched attitudes and structures that have sustained its deep class divisions.

Today: Although the middle class now represents Britain's largest social group, classist attitudes and inequalities persist.

Media Adaptations

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Patrick Garland adapted A Room of One's Own for the theater and directed its debut in 1989. The play continues to be performed globally.

Bibliography and Further Reading

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Sources

Gallop, Jane, Around 1981: Academic Feminist Literary Theory, Routledge, 1992.

Gilbert, Susan M., and Sandra Gubar, The War of the Words, Vol. I of No Man’s Land: The Place of the Woman Writer in the Twentieth Century, Yale University Press, 1989.

Joplin, Patricia, ‘‘‘I Have Bought My Freedom’: The Gift of A Room of One’s Own,’’ in Virginia Woolf Miscellany 21, Fall 1983, pp. 4–5.

Millet, Kate, Sexual Politics, Virago, 1969.

Walker, Alice, ‘‘In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens,’’ in In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983.

Further Reading

Bell, Clive, Old Friends, Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1956. This book offers a depiction of the Bloomsbury Group, which included Woolf, by one of its members. Bell married Vanessa (Stephen) Bell, Woolf's sister, who was a painter.

Evans, Nancy Burr, ‘‘The Political Consciousness of Virginia Woolf: A Room of One's Own and Three Guineas,'' in New Scholar, Vol. 4, 1974, pp. 167-80. This piece examines Woolf's political and feminist perspectives as reflected in her two feminist works.

Fussell, Paul, The Great War and Modern Memory, Oxford University Press, 1975. This book discusses World War I, its effects on British society, and the literature produced by its soldiers.

Lee, Hermione, Virginia Woolf, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1996. This is a modern biography of Virginia Woolf.

Woolf, Virginia, The Years, Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1965. Woolf's eighth novel, initially published in 1937, portrays the lives of various family members across several decades.

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