A Room of One’s Own

Members:
● Arcondo, Arleen
● Camaqué, Karen
● Caro, José
● Cerrón, Renato
● Ramos, Rosario
● Salazar, Lucía
● Vilcapoma, Claudia

1. How is a feminist view applied by Virginia Woolf?

Virginia Woolf applies this feminist view in her book when she wants women to
be placed at the same level as men in the society where she lived. Besides, she
wanted women to be given the same opportunities as men. In fact, she wanted
women to be empowered since in her book she criticized them for their
passiveness and submission. In the beginning of this essay, Virginia examines
the preconceived difference between genders while connecting women and
fiction. We can also perceive a feminist point of view in the way Woolf analizes
the relation between women and literature, she remarks the influence of the
social gender, the presence of a patriarchal community and the inequalities in
education in the development of a female writer. Therefore, this idea is related
to the feminism ideology since Virginia affirms that women need “a room of
their own” so that they can be more creative in terms of intellectuality.

2. Describe Woolf's writing style and form in her essay?

In Room of one's own, Woolf created her own style of writing, she compared
many female writers as Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte. Some characteristics
of this essay are allusion, humor, prose and rhetorical questions, she also used
the stream of consciousness, it has a disorganized structure, which is complex to
understand, it is a writing style marked by the sudden rise of thoughts, it is
considered as a way to communicate the inner thoughts, it is characterized by
the lack of punctuation, it is a way to transmit the characters thoughts and it has
a free way of writing.
3. How is the First World War related to A Room of One's Own?

World War I brought about a radical shift on so many aspects that people had
taken for granted, including human relations. Civilisation had shown so much
devastation and death, that all preconceptions ended up shattered. Thus, Woolf
aimed for a reconfiguration of gender relations, representing how women
should be treated by men.

The World War I was clearly one of the most important and shocking events that
impacted a lot on the people, and it completely changed Woolf's perspective of
seeing how this developed society had been the victim of shocking massacres
and destruction, this great event changed the point of view of Woolf regarding
relationships between men and women.

4. Explain the following question: Why does Virginia Woolf think poems are
superior to novels?

She doesn't exactly believe that poems are superior to novels, but she focuses
more on the sense that during those times the society fostered the expectation
that women writers, especially poets, would be disapproved of and not taken
seriously. Despite all this, everything changed with the writing of Jane Austen,
since for Woolf he considered her as a free-minded writer without giving
importance to society.

5. What argument is Woolf making about luxury, space and privacy? The
following passage will give you a clue: "The inevitable sequel to that visit to
Cambridge had started a swarm of questions in my mind, which seemed to
demand, unfortunately, a visit to the British Museum. Why did men drink
wine and women water? Why was one sex so prosperous and the other so
poor? What effect had publicly on fiction? What conditions are necessary
for the creation of works of art?"

Woolf states that many comment that women haven’t produced great literary
works to the same extent as men, because women are naturally said to be
mentally inferior to men. Woolf says this is not the case at all and argues that
men have produced more literary works just because they have so much more
money. In this essay, having more money translates into more free time to read,
think, and write. More money also means that men can afford to have rooms of
their own; in other words, being able to afford to be alone in a calm and serene
way, which allows them to do different literary jobs. However, women lacked this
privilege, since they weren’t allowed to earn their own money and due to not
having an economic support, they lacked their own physical space, also the
recognition of an intimate space where women could accommodate and
recognize their own desires, aspirations and needs, banishing servility, almost
genetic that always puts us at the service of others.

6. What does Virginia Woolf say about freedom at the end of the essay?

The mental freedom of female writers did not come until the great popularity of
the novel written by women.

She said that poetry depends upon intellectual freedom. In fact, she mentioned
that women have always been poor and that they have had less intellectual
freedom than men from the beginning of time.

Woolf explains to us that if she has enough money to live, she doesn’t need to
depend on anyone. She is free. She has the independence she needs to become
a writer, and with that, other realisations come out. She has money and a room
of her own. It is irrelevant to think about men or any other being than herself
out of necessity, for there is nothing needed in the practical, everyday world.
When there is no need, there is freedom. When we are finally free, there is
nothing to blame for our imprisonment. In brief, her essay gave women greater
freedom to act and to write.

7. Do you feel that society today places limitations on what women are
capable of? Why or why not? Related to themes in "A Room of One's Own"
by Virginia Woolf.

Nowadays, it’s true that women are not that left aside, but there are still
situations or cases in which they are made to feel inferior or discriminated
against. For example, when women are less remunerated than men in some
fields of work, or when they are not taken into consideration for a promotion in
their jobs. Regarding Virginia’s essay, through the sociological and historical
analysis she performs we still have proof that, just as in her times, women are
living in a world where prejudice remains as well as the lack of education and
even economic independence. Virginia Woolf also highlights the importance of
the opportunities some women have to develop intellectual skills, because of
money perhaps. If we carefully think of this fact, we can realize that women still
need to make a double effort to be noticed and taken seriously, especially if they
don't have the economical means.

8. In terms of dramatic structure, what is the resolution in A Room of One's

Own by Virginia Woolf?

In terms of dramatic structure, Virginia Woolf intends to make readers reflect on

the reality they were living in. She wanted people to notice how much the society
itself can influence or make an impact on women’s life or decisions. Indeed, the
author tries to persuade and share her thoughts through the stream of
consciousness, which was one of the most important literary devices during this
literary movement. While using her own writing style and techniques she can
make the reader project and think Virginia's point of view regarding women's
position in society and what would be the solution to their problems caused by
inequality.

9. Why does Virginia Woolf say that women will be able to write only when
they have a room of their own? How does Woolf reconstruct the
hypothetical character of Judith?

Woolf states that women are as talented and creative as men are, but they
haven’t had the liberty and independence that men have always enjoyed. If
women had the privacy, the freedom and the spare time to pursue a creative or
intellectual endeavour, they would be able to produce amazing results. Judith
was clever and talented, but she didn’t have the chance to attend university.
Consequently, she led a life that she didn’t enjoy: a job she abhorred and a failed
marriage.

10. How does Woolf characterize Oxbridge as a material place in terms of

its traditions and conventions in "A Room of One's Own"? What are the
connections between Oxbridge and British life and institutions?
Oxbridge represents the intellectual world at that time, a place in which women
are not seen as equals. In that university, women who were interested in
instruction were received with surprise and annoyance. This reflects what was
happening within the British society at that time: women had managed to gain a
little more financial independence, but still struggled to become self-sufficient.
Even within the academic world, despite the existence of universities for
women, they were terribly underfunded, as most donations were given to
universities for men.