Virginia Woolf Cover Image

Virginia Woolf

Start Free Trial

Student Question

Why does Virginia Woolf believe a woman of Shakespeare's era couldn't write equal caliber plays?

Expert Answers

An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

In "Shakespeare's Sister", Woolf explains that it would have been almost impossible for a woman during Shakespeare's time to have written plays like the bard because women were not well-educated. She doesn't know if they were taught to write and even if they could write, they had so many children to take care of that most of their time was taken up taking care of the family. There would have been little time to sit down privately to write something of quality.

Get Ahead with eNotes

Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.

Get 48 Hours Free Access
Approved by eNotes Editorial