An Analysis of Virginia Wolfs A Room Of Ones Own

Angelina Spaulding
OGL 360: Assessment of Leadership
College of Letters and Sciences
Arizona State University

An Analysis of Virginia Wolfs A Room Of Ones Own

Search for the term British Museum. Find in that long list 5 or 6 particularly objectionable
titles, and write them here. What does this tell you about the Process that Woolf was trying to
challenge, in her day?
Idealism of; Attractiveness of; Mental, moral and physical inferiority of; Offered as
Sacrifice to; Small size of brain of; Greater length of life of; Lord Birkenheads opinion of (Wolf,
pp. 20 - 22), are just some of the titles that Woolf uses as a form of evidence to challenge the
processes that the opinion of men on the subject of woman is so outlandish and inconclusive
that the overall narratives are complete rubbish. Are women good, or are women evil? This
question, and the opinions of this question, is so broad that to gain any single response from the
information found at the British Museum seemed to be impossible for Woolf. The overall
perceived sentiment of Woolfs writing as she describes this quest for knowledge, to understand
why men felt that the idea of a women needing money for a room of ones own to be
outlandish. The idea of a woman of wanting a place of her own is actually one that should be
considered intellectual freeing, and should be just as important to a man as it should be for a
woman.
Woolf quotes Samuel Butler, Wise men never say what they think of women? Wise
men never say anything else apparently (p. 20). This is one of the most abrupt examples of the
feeling of Woolf. Woolf seems to be befuddled by all of this varied information that is being
presented about woman. Out of everything that had been reviewed by Woolf thus far at the
British museum, this quote stands out as being one of the truest and most heartfelt statements
of the piece. In this one line, Woolf is presenting her complete descent against the perceived
placement of woman in society during Woolfs time.
A modern term that can be used in the case of Woolf at the British Museum is
information overload. Woolf had inundated herself with so much information on the subject of
woman; all written by men, that the only conclusion she could up with is that the opinion of men
on the subject of women holds no continuity. That lack of consistency of information frustrated
Woolf, that she found the entire trip to the museum to be a waste of time. That the opinions
presented about woman were so across the board that she closes her experience off at the
British Museum as saying, It seemed a pure waste of time to consult all those gentlemen who
specialize in woman...One might as well leave their books unopened (Woolf, 21).

Find and quote some passages in this book that help explain precisely why a room of ones own
would be important for an early 20th century woman.
Woolf makes an argument that poor people are generally not educated people, and that
educated people are the people that have the chance to succeed more than anyone else.
Another way to describe this perspective is using the modern terms of economic disparity or of
class disparity. Wolf makes a statement that, Intellectual freedom depends on material
things...and woman have always been poor...Women have had less intellectual freedom than
the Sons of Athenian slaves (Wolf, p. 65). Woolf is proclaiming with this quote that Greek
slaves were treated better than women when it comes to learning how to read and write. To
gain the material items to afford intellectual freedom, it is necessary to be able to earn funds to
have a home of ones own, a place of ones own, or a room of ones own. That woman should
not have to rely on others to provide, but rather women should have the right to earn their own
money to be allowed the freedom to express themselves in their own space, and not space that
is granted by others. Woolf believes that to write poetry it takes intellectual freedom, a freedom
that is denied when women are not allowed to have a room of their own.
Woolf discuss that for many centuries woman have been considered the property of
men, and that any money that a woman would earn would go directly to the womans husband
(Woolf, p. 16). Prior to this point Woolf questions if a woman did have the right to own money,
have a room of her own, instead of simply leaving behind just the memories of pictures as the
only legacy that woman of her time could leave, would that woman of her time be more willing to
seek out ways to earn money? That if woman were allowed to own a business and own money
in the past would it be difficult for woman from Woolfs era to believe that it was acceptable to
participate in the Stock Exchange (p. 16) or own material items. Wolf is saying that it is
important for woman to have self-earned possessions to inspire woman of the future to have a
room of ones own.
With comic flair in mind, think about the phrase Cats do not go to heaven. Why did she make
that offhand comment and how did she relate it to her idea of Judith?
The phrase Cats do not go to heaven (Woolf, p. 30) is an offhand comment that has a
very Shakespearian tone. No evidence exists in regards to cats going to heaven or not, and no
evidence exists that the geniuses of Shakespeare cannot reside within a woman. Woolf
discusses in this portion of the writing how she actively started searching for information about
the lifestyle of Elizabethan woman, but she could not find anything on the subject. Information
existed about royal Elizabethan woman, but the average woman of that era had no record to be

found. No documentation existed that could describe an average day of a womans life during
this period of time in London, so how can it than be said that a woman can not have the genius
of Shakespeare?
Woolf created the character of Judith to help articulate what she believed it would be
like to live with the genius of Shakespeare trapped within a womans body during the
Elizabethan era. Woolf describes Judith as being, ...adventurous...imaginative...and as agog to
see the world (p. 30) as her imaginary relation of being a sister to her brother Shakespeare
could be like in that time. However, Judith had been instructed by the siblings parents to stay
home and not see the world like her brother had been allowed to do. Judith ...was not sent to
school. She had no chance of learning grammar or logic (p. 30). Judith had been expected
to attended to the responsibilities of the home and to avoid all reading and writing opportunities.
Not following customs, Judith ran away to London when she had been expected to marry.
However Judith did not have the chance to follow her dream of acting in London; she ended up
becoming a wife and mother in the end, which is the very life she was trying to avoid in the first
place.
The idea that Cats do not go to heaven and the story of Judith fall under the same
point that Woolf is making in this section. That, ...it is unthinkable that any woman in
Shakespeare day should have had Shakespeares geniuses. For genius like Shakespeare is
not born among laboring, uneducated, servile people (Woolf, p. 31), but rather provided to the
people that have the opportunity to read and to write like Shakespeare had been provided over
Judith. That if woman were provided with the luxury of being able to read and write, learn and
grow, than it would not be such an asinine belief that a woman could be as smart as
Shakespeare, or that cats actually do go to heaven.
Explain the context of her remark about Making a fortune and bearing thirteen children. Why
is this part of her argument?
As the continued analysis of Woolfs writing occurs the modern correlations are amazing.
One such correlation can be examined in this portion of the writing when Woolf makes the
argument that, to endow a college would necessitate the suppression of families altogether.
Making a fortune and bearing thirteen children no human could stand it (p. 16). Essentially,
this remark is referencing that if a woman could make the money enough to provide an
endowment to a college or university, then a woman would have not equal time to raise a family.
That a woman in Woolfs time would have to choose motherhood or a career, because both
could not be had without causing frustration and anguish.

This is not an uncommon argument in todays world. It is a struggle today to challenge

the processes of what being a mother means or what being a family means, when mothers are
balancing the expectations of motherhood and work responsibilities.

That having thirteen

children in Woolfs time would completely negate a womans opportunity to having a successful
career while raising a family, because of all the time and commitment that is required to raise a
family. Not uncommon ground from then and now in regards to the same type of question.
As a mother, who is married, who works part time and goes to school full time it is
difficult to balance the expectations of today. It is become increasingly obvious that the only
expectations that I set for myself are ones that I choose to bare, but at the same time the
argument comes back to money. If my family is to have a home of our own, than it is no longer
the single responsibility of one parent to provide, but for both parents to provide. My husband is
a good partner and bears mutual responsibility for the home. However, the only difference
between the rhetoric of Woolfs time and modern time is that in this modern era woman are
expected to participate in life inside and outside of the home.
When Woolf was at the place of Fellows and Scholars, why did she say: Instantly a mans
figure rose to intercept her? In other words, what was the beadles problem, in that particular
place?
Wolf describes hustling across a plot of land, at a university in Oxbridge due to her
reference of the undergraduates [that] had rowed their boat in the reflection (p. 6) of the
river she had been sitting out prior to this jaunt. As she was walking across the land all of a
sudden she came upon a statue with a, face that expressed horror and indignationhe was
a Beadle; I was a woman. (p. 6). According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary a beadle is a minor
parish officer whose duties include ushering and preserving order at services and sometimes
civil functions. In this moment a woman, an uncommon site during Woolfs time to be on the
campus of Fellows and Scholars is an invasion of turf (p. 6). The statue of the beadle was
ushering Woolf off of the turf of the Fellows and Scholars and to regain the path (p. 6) around
the plot of land rather than across the plot of land.

When Wolf complies the anger and

frustration from the beadle ends. This statue of a figure that was to maintain order figuratively
pressured Wolf to get off the grass, because a woman cant do this and shouldnt do that!
Fellows and Scholars only allowed on the grass! (p. 57).

However, Wolf challenged the

processes by walking across the grass and not following the presumed path that woman should
not attended college. That to challenge the processes a woman must be willing to equally stand
on the same grass as Fellows and Scholars.

Why does Woolf say that one blushes at all these capital letters when discussing certain male
authors? Provide the names of these two to three writers the men of which speaks in that
paragraph; and then either explain hat she means by suggestive power or explain what she
means by orgy i.e., in general terms, according to her argument. Include two brief Woolf
quotes to illustrate your answer.
When Wolf uses the phrase, one blushes at all of these capital letters (p. 62) she
is referencing two authors: Mr. Galsworthy and Mr. Kipling (p. 61). In this section Woolf is
arguing that the writing of these authors, celebrate male virtues, enforce male values and
describe the world of men (p. 61), and for that reason have little to no connection to any
emotions that a woman may feel. This brings forward the idea that this type of intimate writing
is exclusive and only intended for men. That it is, Men who are only with their Work (p.
62) that makes these wittings so friendly to one gender.
This in essences according to Woolf makes the writings of these two authors so
personal and private to men, so celebratory of men, that if a woman is to be caught
eavesdropping at some purely masculine orgy (p. 62) that she should run a way and hide out
due to shame. Woolf argues that this writing is only intended for the ears of some people that to
even have a small taste of what is being expressed is so exotic and so desirable that it is just as
equal to tasting forbidden fruit. That to have a site of this masculine orgy would cause one to
blush at such crude and immature (p. 62) behavior.
Link two passages in Woolfs book to two short quotes within the Kouzes and Posner (2012)
textbook referencing Challenge the Process chapters.
Kouzes and Posner (2012) discuss that to challenge the processes[one must] seize
the initiative (p. 159) by making something happen (pp. 162 166). The authors continue to
discuss that

new assignments are ideal opportunities for asking probing questions and

challenging the way things are done (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 164). This can be related to
the many questions that Woolf asks, What had our mothers been doing then that they had no
wealth to leave us? (Wolf, p. 15), and by pondering this question even further Woolf starts to
imagine the possibilities if a woman, had gone into business on her own; had become a
manufacturer of artificial skills or a magnate of the Stock Exchange (Wolf, p. 15). In these lines
Wolf is challenge the process if woman are given the opportunity to earn money of their own
based on a trade a skill, than the idea of woman handing money down to the next generation
would not be so odd. By asking these questions, this is how you continuity uncover needed
improvements (Kouzes & Posner, 2012, p. 164).

Kouzes & Posner (2012) discuss the concept of psychological hardness, which has
three key factscommitment, control, and challenge (p. 194). Throughout Wolfs writing she
has a strong commitment to have the audience understand the importance of offering an,
opinion upon one minor point a woman must have money and a room of her own if she wants
to write fiction (p. 5).

Throughout the rest of the speech Woolf continually expresses the

importance of this minor point.

Psychological hardness can also be found when Woolf is preparing for her journey to the
British Museum. Wolf notes that she must maintain her control for, One must strain off what
was personal and accidental in al these impressions and so reach the pure fluid, the essential
oil of truth (Wolf, p. 17). In this moment Woolf is saying that she needs to keep focus, as she
remains committed to finding out the truth of her cause. She has to place her personal thoughts
and feelings to the side to be able to develop any true facts from her research. At this point of
Wolfs writing she had already experienced frustration when in Oxbridge, by not finding out the
answers she was searching for.
Finally, this commitment to explain the truth why women must have a room of ones
own can be seen throughout this entire piece of writing. Near the end of the work Wolf claims
that, it is a perennial puzzle why no woman wrote a word of that extraordinary literature when
every other man, was capable of song or sonnet (Wolf, p. 27).

She continues to keep

questioning why woman are left out of literature, why woman are believed to not hold the genius
to write literature, why it is so important for woman to earn their own money. Throughout the
entire piece of writing by Wolf, she continually projects psychological hardness over the subject
of woman and the importance of having a room of ones own.
Thinking beyond the text: Why might todays technologies make it even more difficult for women
and men to actually get a room of ones own to write?
It may be more difficult for woman and men to actually get a room of ones own in
todays modern world of technology, because the price of intelligence and opportunity are out of
reach for many people. When a person, regardless of gender, in this modern age has the
opportunity to search out money and a home of ones own it is met with increased difficulty due
to the exuberant amount of money it costs to be allowed intellectual freedom. The difference
between today and Wolfs era is that this intellectual freedom had been afforded to well off men
only in Wolfs time.

In todays world this sort of intellectual freedom is much more easily

obtainable by affluent men and women alike, and those that can not afford college or who must
settle for lessor forms of education struggle to find a room of ones own. Yes, this sort of

education can be achieved through scholarships and grants. However, it is a challenge and
struggle to receive that sort of aid. For those that come from well to do families, then the
likeliness of having money and a room of ones own is much greater.

References:

Kouzes, J. & Posner, B. (2012). The leadership challenge (5th ed). United States: HB Printing
Merriam-Webster

Dictionary.

(n.d.)

Beadle.

Retrieved

from

http://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/beadle
Wolf, V. (n.d.). A room of ones won. In A project Gutenberg of australia [E-book].