Essay: Woman’s Voice Heard: Gaining “A Room of One’s Own” in 1929

The “Room of One’s Own” was published back in 1929 during the post-war of World War 1. The women at this time were considered inferior to men which put a damper on women’s achievements. Throughout this book, Wolf argues for equal education for women because of the absence of women in literature. There are many incidents throughout this novel where women are treated differently because of their gender.
Wolf speaks upon the different treatment woman receive compared to men on campus at Oxbridge. One incident occurred when Wolf was in her thoughts sitting along the banks of a river at Oxbridge. She compares her thoughts to fishing as if she was waiting for a new idea to “bite”. As soon as she got a bite she was interrupted by a security guard who enforced the rule where women were not allowed to walk in the grass and have to remain on the gravel. Wolf experiences another incident due to her gender when she tries to enter the library but is immediately denied. Wolf was told that “ladies were only admitted to the library if they were accompanied by a fellow of the college or possessed a letter of permission. Wolf being turned away is not only denying the right to enter the building but it is forbidding her to have access to literature work that she desires to be a part of. Another mistreatment that she touched upon were the differences in the lunch parties. The men were served wine, desert, and were given good company during their lunch party. As compared to the woman they were given beef and prunes in a less inviting atmosphere.
Wolf visits the British Museum London to find that theirs an absence of woman authors on the shelves. She is angered because in the quote “A woman must have money and room of her own if she is to write fiction” (pg.362) it is present that women have a lack of education which puts her behind a male scholar. Women from that era are represented by male scholars because of the lack of woman’s voices during that period. The result in this created a skewed perception of women in their beliefs and values at this time. When Wolf talks about the “room” she is not only just talking about a space in which to write but also financial independence. Women at this time were expected to do household duties and were legally bounded to their husbands financially. This quote shows the importance of having your own space because is it not only a location for your work but it also identifies your work as something of value. It also captures the hardship women had in the world of literature because these women weren’t able to compete with men due to lack of privileges compared to men.
Learning about the different “waves” of feminism in class Wolf seems to fit both the first wave of feminism that took place between (1848-1920). Even though her book “A Room of One’s Own” was published after the first wave she writes about unequally of education for woman and advocated for their rights. Wolfs writing was an introduction into a women’s lack of a voice through literature in the 1920s. “It would have been impossible, completely and entirely, for any woman to have written the plays of Shakespeare in the age of Shakespeare.” (Page 384). This quote shows how little progress was made for women before feminist like Wolf began to advocate their rights. This book also has a reoccurring issue of patriarchy which Wolf exposes through her writing with many incidents that have happened to her during her time at Oxbridge. During this time women were considered inferior to men based on their gender. The “system” that Johnson talks about in her work “An It, Not a He, a Them, or an Us” can be compared to the way the men in this era work together based on their beliefs. It’s like when she mentions about the corporation where many may quit but it doesn’t affect the entire company because they are just replaced by new men (babies). These new men are grown up in a household based on old beliefs of women.
Reading the review by Emily Wilson she is a true advocate for this book. She recommends this book to those she encounters with strong opinions on the underrepresentation of women in the literature world. Wilson reactions show that this book had a cultural impact on those who read the book. Her recommendation proves that she was impacted by the novel and believes that it could help those with a different outlook on women.
Personally, while reading this book I felt the same frustrations that Wolf had felt during her life. Wolf does well on sharing her personal experiences with gender mistreatment and exclusion through a woman’s eyes. The only critique that I have on this book is that it excludes the voice of women who are of color. Based on Wolfs writing you can assume that these exclusions were based on white women because there was a lack of knowledge regarding colored women in Europe.