A Room of One's Own

             Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own" broke new territory in suggesting that the reason there were very few acknowledged women's writers at this time was because women lead hard lives in comparison to men and that the conditions needed to produce women writers was not conducive for them at this time. Her response was that for women to write literature they must have a room of their own, both literaraly and symbolically. This entailed real space and privacy for women to write in, the financial freedom to write without enduring unwanted jobs, women role models and the freedom and power to choose their own career path. Throughout this course the majority of women we have studied have had the privilege of fulfilling these requirements and thus had 'a room of one's own.' Therefore, to be a successful female writer it is essential to have a room of one's own, although I believe that the above requirements are not all necessary and that today's room has changed.
             Women's lives were made less accessible to writing because of the requirements on women. Women were the wives, cooks, cleaners and employees. Women were responsible for bearing and raising the children and because of this they were at a disadvantage to the opportunities afforded to men. Women simply did not have the time to sit down in a quite room and write and moreover, she argues that women were not allowed until very recently to gain an education parable to men's, and even this is debatable. Throughout time, Woolf argues, women have been slaves, often locked up, not free to choose their partner and frequently beaten by their husbands. Women were shut up in unwanted families that force them to become economically, psychologically and physically dependent on men. How can women write quality literature amid these conditions? Woolf writes, "Making a fortune and bearing thirteen children- no human being...

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A Room of One's Own. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 07:27, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/30067.html