A Room of One’s Own by VIRGINIA WOOLF
What is the book all about?
Following a mentor’s suggestion to read autobiographies/memoir of the heroes to capture the intricacies of their lives and learn the lessons they did the hard way, I came across ‘Room of one’s own’ – which wasn’t autobiographical but rather a literary critical essay on women fiction writers during 1920s. It falls under highly recommended reading for artists, literature history lovers, students of English literature, women writers and in general for all those simply needing an inspiration to write. Virginia Woolf, after a thorough research on women and fiction wrote this book as a ‘stream of consciousness.’
Why read it in today’s times?
As a piece of feminist writing, focusing on the problems of a woman writer belonging to a previous era, is the book worth reading?
Woolf’s use of language and intelligence has been highly influential on English literature and she is one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century. For the writers learning to polish their strokes, not only reading but a study of some of Woolf’s work certainly proves valuable.
This book in particular talks about the genius of Bronte sisters, about English novelist George Eliot, how brilliant these writers were to be able to perform and produce sheer pieces of brilliance, working in extreme constraints, even hiding the fact that they were writing fiction, frightened to express their fondness towards the art, covered their writing with a blotting, for the shame of wasting their time with “scribbles” being a woman (as Jane Austen did whenever someone came into the common room), wrote in the living room with thousand practical distractions, ten children to look after, as the line was so predominantly considered a male profession.
George Eliot had to write under a male title for acceptance of her work. These harsh facts open our eyes to the atrocities that women writers and women in general faced as a fairer sex in Woolf’s era and prior. As an Asian community, the revelations surprise us because for us the West has always stood for freedom, expression and liberty and the violence and injustice done to women even if in a different era, the kind still prevalent in Indian societies, makes the read relevant enough for the artists and their male and female counterparts.
A female writers’ essential space
With the imaginary example of William Shakespeare’s sister, assuming she is equally talented as him, Woolf reasons, it’s not the difference of physical strength that had led historically, more work of writing from men than women. Her analysis of old literature and the basic gender roles discovers that men are at an advantage of space, money and education. In her quest to conquer the literary world of 16th century, this imaginary character of Shakespeare’s sister is blocked at every step by the society for being a female aspirant of writing.
So, it raises a point that for such female aspirants of writing, independence and solitude are essential for artistic creation. She needs a room of her own, money to buy herself that and a lock on the door.
The Conclusion
The conclusion of the book does satisfy the believers of feminism –
“It would be a thousand pities if women wrote like men, or lived like men, or looked like men, for if two sexes are quite inadequate, considering the vastness and variety of the world, how should we manage with one only? Ought not education to bring out and fortify the differences rather than the similarities?”
She also concludes that each human has a multifaceted personality and that each artist must draw from both male and female parts of the mind.
“In each of us two powers preside, one male, one female… The androgynous mind is resonant and porous… naturally creative, incandescent and undivided.
And most importantly she insists to write freely without any fear of judgement.
Relevance of the text to a modern female writer
Apparently what appears to be a minor attribute – having a space of one’s own, raised in the context of women writers’ quintessential need, something that a modern female writer might choose to laugh at -becomes a thought of serious consequence.
The space here has metaphorical context of literal-physical and mental arrangement a woman needs to write well. She needs to be free from the anxiety about the eligibility and trustworthiness of that ‘someone’ who is looking after her kids and household while she writes, at least till the time her children become independent. That’s when she can completely surrender to the world of her creative abilities and the magic it begets. A modern female writer too cannot choose to laugh at this one after all, as the problem is still very much relevant for her.
My personal account
When I wrote only as a hobby, I had to many times hide the fact that I am writing for the fear of being caught in doing something menial, something that is not paying one in money. I waited for the room to be empty as directly telling someone to leave for my writing in private, might be considered hysterical. I couldn’t design my own time and in stead my time of writing was decided at the mercy of others. I never openly discussed with my family how writing relieves me and is so beyond a hobby. When I started writing for Times and took to teaching as a job, many times in the alibi of working for my employers, I wrote my heart out. My excuse was now eligible for consideration.
Few years back although, during one of our evening walks, I explained to my husband and my sister, how imagining my routine days without some pleasure writing, would be difficult for me and how the regret would hover around when I am older, they took my earnest appeal in consideration and not only could I make time for doing what I loved to do but stood tall with motivation (motivation was never something I thought I would be needing so much because of the lapse in practice!).
While it might not be so simple for many other female counterparts, it still makes sense to discuss about one’s passions and desire to pursue a hobby, and if it is writing, about the ‘space’ one very much needs for her muse.
This book can give confidence to so many women wanting to express their unheard voices through their ink.
Suggested Further reading –