The problem of feminism has always been revealed through the history of women’s development. There emerged numerous contradictions concerning the equality of rights of women in society where all leading roles are given to men. In that regard, many female writers manifest their discontent thus revealing that women are human beings that deserve to have the same status as males. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft are the outright evidence of the feministic philosophy that discovers the writers’ view on female leadership. Both stories are rather valuable due to the increased interest in feminism study.
A Room of One’s Own by Wolf is the most famous essay that concentrates on discussion of connection between ‘women’ and ‘fiction’ thus devising the theory of relations between gender and writing. Here, Wolf touches upon the matter of education that is unequally distributed in gender terms. The writer is outraged by the way men underestimate the women’s role in history. In that regard, the writer states: “..men that is to say, are now writing only the male side of their brains. It is a mistake for a woman to read them, for she will inevitably look for something that will not find” (Wren et al. 2004 p. 116). At the same time, we see the line: “The normal and comfortable state of being is that when the two live in harmony together, spiritually co-operating” (Wren et al. 2004 p. 115). Here, the author contradicts herself because, on the one hand, she is against the man’s influence on a woman’s mind, and on the other hand, she tries to meet halfway in order to find the golden medium. Like in the previous work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman reveals the feministic views of the authors. In contrast, she supports the idea, that there must be female-male equality but in certain spheres of life. Considering this, Wollstonecraft writes: “Women, I argue from analogy, are degraded by the same propensity to enjoy the present moment; and, at last, despise the freedom they have not sufficient to struggle to attain” (Wren et al. 2004 p. 230). Here, the writer insist on the fact that women should possess the same moral values the men have. She refers to women not as sensible females but as rational creatures. On the other hand the author considers it necessary to admit that though “sex is out of the question”, “the line of subordination in the mental powers is never to be pass over” (Wren 2004 p. 230).
Both feminist writers acknowledge that fact that women are rather limited in the access for the education. In her work, Virginia Woolf exemplifies the fact to prove her theory of unequal education thus saying only poor men were the great poets. The statement excludes the possibility for woman to write and read as their creative work was not taken seriously. Wollstonecraft agrees with the statement emphasizing “… men have, probably, been not led by viewing education a false light; considering it as the first step to form a being advancing gradually towards perfection…”
In conclusion, it should be pointed out that both literary works reflect the writers’ outright protest against the male-oriented education. Hence, the work by Virginia Woolf argues the men and women must be equal in access to education. She claims that women have been denied education because they do not have the appropriate material status. The second work constitutes Wollstonecraft’s vision of a woman as “rational creature” that deserves to be equal with men in educational terms. Finally, both literary works enlarge on the conflict of women’s leadership as the consequence of female inferiority.
Reference List
Wren, T. J., Hicks, D. A., Price, T. L. (2004). Traditional Classics on Leadership. UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.