A Room of One's Own

I had heard, of course, that this Virginia Woolf essay was a classic piece of important feminism, and was excited to read it. Halfway through part 1, however, I thought I might not make it much further. I found it to be meandering and dense, and Woolf took a long time about explaining walking a path in a university.

Not far into the second chapter I was hooked - Woolf started to list the many books written about women - “the most discussed animal in the universe” - on the shelves of the library, with all sorts of men chiming in their opinions - from Shakespeare to Mussolini, and I could see the flavour of righteous, angry feminism. I was in.

To set the scene, she tells of her own privileged life and how she is able to write without looking over her shoulder - with money, and a room of one’s own - whereas Austen might have done most of her work in the sitting room disturbed by other Austens - indeed she imagines Shakespeare had a sister - equally as bright and precocious - against whom the odds would be stacked in so many ways simply because of her gender.

In part 3 she writes of men’s opposition to women’s emancipation - access to education, to the vote, to their own earnings - stating the issue is not that women have more, but that men are threatened as the ‘dominant’ species - this is an idea I’ve certainly heard about a lot more.

Later she goes on to praise author Mary Carmichael - who is liberated enough to write sapphic fiction, but then goes on to talk of her limited writing. Imagine being Carmichael - I thought - and having Virginia Woolf - VIRGINIA WOOLF - giving you both barrels in one of the most important books of the 20th century - only to find out that Carmichael is in fact fictional. Adroit and funny.

VW: 1

RDW: 0.

Later on in the book she writes about androgyny, and the difference between the man and woman in the body, and the man and woman in the mind. I believe this is comparable to the relationship between sex and gender as we use it today - though gender wasn’t used in this way until the 1950’s. She cites Coleridge: “a great mind must be androgynous” and I hope that a great many trans-gender and gender-queer essays and pieces have been written on top of this book.

In the end I’m really glad I stuck with this book, I listened to the audiobook read by Tilda Swinton(!) and found it much more enjoyable that way. I shall be sure to get down to some of Woolf’s novel writing in future.

And yes, the university path was a big metaphor that came back loads.