In her essay, A Room
of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf weaves her own life experiences with a little
bit of fiction to create a work that explores women as authors and the role of
female characters in fiction. The setting
begins with Woolf presenting a lecture to a group of women in college. She explains how the original intent of
her lecture was to discuss the role of women in fiction, but while researching
this topic, however, Woolf formed “an opinion upon one minor point” stating “a
woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” Wolf suggests this is the “greatest
problem” of women authors, thus leaving the “true nature of fiction unsolved.”
Next, the scene moves to Oxbridge College where Woolf contemplates the
differences between the opportunities provided to men and women in society. She expresses frustration at how she is
unable to enter the library because she is a woman. She suggests that a woman’s educational opportunities have
always been less than men, and this makes her angry. At a luncheon and dinner later that day she also suggests
that men have had more opportunities to be materially satisfied and taken care
of. Woolf suggests that in order
to have a mind that can think critically and intelligently, a person must be well
fed and taken care of. She begins
to see how many women do not have their own money and are unable to live
comfortably due to inheritance laws or from a lack of independence from their
family. Woolf researches the
literary history to see what has been written about women and finds that most
of it has been written by men and very little of it has been complimentary. Woolf then examines the nineteenth
century authors to determine the context women were writing in and how they
used their circumstances to become authors. It is here that she argues that in order for women to be
authors and to write good literature, they must “have money and a room of her
own.” They must be cared for materially so they do not have to worry about
survival, and they must have peace and quiet to write. To end her book, Woolf examines
the literature of the 1920s—the time period in which she was writing—to
determine how women were dealing with the problems of women writing fiction.
She challenges women to take up the literary quest, regardless of the
challenges they find in their lives.
The major theme that Woolf is writing about is feminism. Her definition of feminism, however, is
what Karen Offen refers to as “individualist” feminism, or that individuals
have equal rights to eliminate class privileges or gender privileges. Woolf argues that women should seek basic
human rights and to celebrate the “quest for personal independence (or
autonomy) in all aspects of life.” Even to the point of “downplaying…all
socially defined roles.” Woolf
accomplishes this theme through her quest to identify the challenges associated
with women writing fiction and the role women play in fiction. She articulates that
because many women have not been able to attain the same status as men in our society,
whether educationally or materially, women may be hampered in their literary journey.
For instance, she creates Judith Shakespeare, William Shakespeare’s fictional sister,
to illustrate how due to her position as a woman in the household, she would
never have been able to become the same literary giant as her brother, even though
she had the same parents and the same gifts and talent as her brother. Woolf explains that this literary genius
would never have been recognized for her literary pursuits simply because of
her gender. Woolf argues that
these women were unable to be independent and to have the much needed resources
and support due to societal structures. Within this context of women struggling to enter the literary
world, Woolf makes her own discovery of how women need independence in society if
they are ever to be successful in their literary pursuits. They need their own
money, resources, and their own space or room to concentrate on writing. However, much of this was unavailable to
women at the time. Thus, Woolf begins her search for independent female writers
to make her case for individualist feminism.
In her search for these successful female authors, Woolf
focuses on the nineteenth century. In particular, she focuses on Jane Austen
and her contribution to the literary world.
As she studies Jane Austen, Woolf realizes that Austen
overcame the inherent problems within society to become an incredible
writer.
It is through this
examination that Woolf realizes how important it is for women to find their own
way and not to rely on society for what they deserve.
For instance, Austen did not have
a room of her own.
In fact, Austen
wrote in her sitting room “subject to all kinds of casual interruptions.”
Austen also had very little “literary training” but used the training that she had
been provided to write. In addition, she had very little material positions for
“it was impossible for a woman to go about alone” and make something of
themselves.
And through this all,
Woolf points out that she “could not find any signs that her circumstances had
harmed her work in the slightest.”
Even without room, support, and education, female authors can
still persevere.
Woolf finds a
woman who overcame the limitations projected on her and instead used her individualist
feminist mindset to become a prolific writer anyway, regardless of the fact
that she had so much going against her.
Austen had, as Offen explained, “downplayed” all social roles to find
her own journey and experience. At the end of the book, Woolf challenges other
women to do the same. She challenges women to “have the habit of freedom and
the courage to write exactly what we think.” Despite the “poverty and
obscurity” that society might give to the woman, it is still
“worth while” to find the feminism within to be a good writer.
Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One's Own. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Jovanovich, 1957.
Offen, Karen. "Defining Feminism: A Comparative Historical Approach." Signs 14, no. 1 (Autumn 1988): 136.
