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A review by calarco
A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
5.0
Virginia Woolf tells you what she really thinks, and it's excellent.
In this work, Woolf establishes an overview of women in literature and as authors of literature. She further provides an excellent analysis for why women are portrayed as one-dimensional and typically only referenced in relation to male characters or figures.
She explains that her argument will be, "more truth than fact," as facts at this point (early 1900s) are owned and clouded by patriarchal hegemony. Facts about women prior to the 18th century are generally hard to locate.
Woolf assesses that these systemic indifferences are rooted in women lacking inheritance and general agency to make a living for herself, hence the need for a living wage and a "room of one's own." She points out that the major female authors who created enduring works at that point, from Murakami to Jane Austen, were all women of inheritance. People cannot write if they do not have the practical resources, or the social currency to do so.
She also explores how these inequalities had persisted for so long - the need for those in power to maintain seeing others as inferior, so that they could continue to see themselves as superior. Woolf boils it down to ego. That being said, while she holds no punches in pointing out unfairness and hypocrisy, she does possess a compassion for those who have benefited from these systemic inequalities. She blames patriarchy, not individual men.
She then concludes that a balance of feminine and masculine traits, each having positive attributes, are needed to produce the best art.
Chloe liked Olivia, and I loved what Virginia Woolf had to say.
In this work, Woolf establishes an overview of women in literature and as authors of literature. She further provides an excellent analysis for why women are portrayed as one-dimensional and typically only referenced in relation to male characters or figures.
She explains that her argument will be, "more truth than fact," as facts at this point (early 1900s) are owned and clouded by patriarchal hegemony. Facts about women prior to the 18th century are generally hard to locate.
Woolf assesses that these systemic indifferences are rooted in women lacking inheritance and general agency to make a living for herself, hence the need for a living wage and a "room of one's own." She points out that the major female authors who created enduring works at that point, from Murakami to Jane Austen, were all women of inheritance. People cannot write if they do not have the practical resources, or the social currency to do so.
She also explores how these inequalities had persisted for so long - the need for those in power to maintain seeing others as inferior, so that they could continue to see themselves as superior. Woolf boils it down to ego. That being said, while she holds no punches in pointing out unfairness and hypocrisy, she does possess a compassion for those who have benefited from these systemic inequalities. She blames patriarchy, not individual men.
She then concludes that a balance of feminine and masculine traits, each having positive attributes, are needed to produce the best art.
Chloe liked Olivia, and I loved what Virginia Woolf had to say.