In “A room of ones own” Virginia Woolf speaks about the problems of women, gender roles, and the low social position of women writers in society. She depicts such as phenomenon as an “androgynous” mind trying to find factors that influence a woman writer and prove equality between men and women. As a feminist writer, Woolf focuses on equality and a women’s culture that opposes male culture.
Thesis
Using the symbol of “room of one’s own”, Woolf tells readers that women should fight for freedom, rights, and happiness because they have outstanding talents and equal social rights with men.
Woolf uses the phrase “Shakespeare’s Sisters” to underline the creative skills and talent possessed by many women writers. “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction” (Woolf). Woolf underlines that because of gender differences and social inequalities, many women writers are denied opportunities to create fiction limited by their social and domestic roles. The other problem is that even if a woman, like Judith, possesses Shakespeare’s gift, she would be never accepted by male writers. Male writers set certain norms and principles in literature excluding women from this sphere. This situation of dependency results in stifled development so that women become incapable of working as fiction writers and achieving economic independence. According to the images-of-women approach, writing necessitates a repudiation of stereotypical and therefore oppressive representations of what it means to be a woman or a man and a celebration of portrayals of women that demonstrate that women and men are equal.
Woolf underlines humanism and emphasizes conceptions of the self and identity important for many women. “Also, it is becoming evident that women, like men, have other interests besides the perennial interests of domesticity” (Woolf). It is related in important ways to feminism: Woolf sees women as oppressed because they have been restricted to the domestic realm and have not been granted the same opportunities or rights as men. Woolf insists that men and women have the same innate capacities but that women have been deprived of a right to develop those capacities because of prejudicial laws and policies. “If we have the habit of freedom and the courage to write exactly what we think; if we escape a little from the common sitting–room and see human beings not always in their relation to each other but in relation to reality; and the sky” (Woolf). Woolf emphasizes equal rights between men and women, to fight discrimination against women despite abilities that are the same as those of men, and to champion the importance of education for women.
Woolf vividly portrays that women’s position in society and their independence depend upon income and their place in society. Gender differences are unimportant for women writers because they have excellent writing skills to write about feelings and emotions, life troubles, and social problems. The goal for women becomes the elimination of discriminatory practices rather than the transformation of society.
Works Cited
Woolf, V. A Room of One’s Own. Web.