Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own: Acknowledging the Anima

Inamullah1 & Mushtaq ur Rehman2

Abstract
Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own highlights the problem of suppression of women in a
patriarchal set up of the Western culture that represents male dominance which treats women as
objects and deprive them of their subjectivity. Psychologically speaking, the patriarchal culture is
an emblem of masculinity and celebration of the principle of logos associated with what Jung
calls the “animus” and suppression of the “anima” being its inner opposite. This extended essay
beautifully dramatizes the psychological nudging of the anima principle which is a clear
indicator of male dominated society leading to lopsided individuals. This paper is an attempt to
analyze as to how the theme of anima suppression works through different characters and
situations in her continual struggle to right the wrong that may lead to a psychologically healthy
and a balanced society.
Key words: anima/animus, persona, individuation, conscious and the unconscious.

Introduction
Virginia Woolf, despite being a lady coming from an aristocratic class, struggled
throughout her life for women to gain their place as speaking subjects in the male
dominated society in England and elsewhere. Her well-known essay “A Room of
One’s Own” is one of the best attempts as a writer towards the same goal. The
work overtly displays the existing status of women as “flies to wanton boys”
(Shakespeare, King Lear, Act 4) ever dealt ruthlessly to keep them in check and
chains in a society where “masculine values prevail” (Woolf, 2012, p.80)iSharp,
D. (2001). Digesting Jung. Toronto: Inner City Books.
Shakespeare, W. (1996). The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. London:
Wordsworth Editions.
Whitson. J. K. (2004). Encyclopedia of Feminist Literature. USA: Greenwood
Publishing Group.
Woolf, V. (2012). A Room of One’s Own and the Voyage Out. Sally Minogue,
Ed. London: Wordsworth Classics.

1
Inamullah, M. Phil (Scholar) Dept. of English Language and Literature, Gomal University, D.I. Khan, Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Email: inam0404@gmail.com
2
Dr. Mushtaq ur Rehman, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English Language and Literature, Gomal University, D.I.Khan
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Email: mrehmaneng@gmail.com
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This and all other textual references to the edition Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own (2012. London:
Wordsworth Classics) indicated by page number in parenthesis unless otherwise indicated.