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Summary: she was a modernist, but an essayist?
Review: This essay, which was originally a speech and was somewhat elongated, speaks about feminist issues of the time in a rather circuitous manner. She spends chapters discussing topics that could be addressed in a matter of sentences. As Woolf acknowledges in the beginning of her essay, she does not always tell the truth, and sometimes contradicts herself (not to mention the insults she throws at the male sex). In support of this novel, it was revolutionary for the time and offers some interesting anecdotes of her time. However, the stream of consciousness style she employs clouds and confuses her theses. It is also interesting to note that she summarizes most of her speech in the last 5 pages.
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Summary: Every writer must read this...and create your own room.
Review: This is a testament to writers everywhere. Write, write, and write is what you must do to become published, but you must have your own space to do so. Virginia Woolf's testament to that resounds just by the fact that her writing has survived various generations to still be read today.
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Summary: An elegant simple gift
Review: This is on my shortlist of extraordinary books. Please give it to a friend and share a most exquisite experience.
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Summary: Still applicable today for a number of artistic endeavors...
Review: This is the first of three books of Jill's that I read recently. Since I was planning to hand her A.S. Byatt's Possession (my pick for the best book that I read in 1993), she felt that it would take three books to make an equivalent trade, and I agreed to the terms.I had seen part of a dramatization of this essay once, and had heard many references to this work, so it was about time that I read it for myself (one of these days I'll pick up Heart of Darkness in the same vein). I'm happy to have done so, for now I understand where Shakespeare's sister and Chloe likes Olivia falls into the scheme of the argument. It's nice to note that the state of women's writing has improved tremendously since this was originally presented. As a man, I like to see this same argument now as genderless--that is, the room and the money that one needs to support oneself is necessary to any writer, no matter what gender.
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Summary: Witty and Intelligent Argument on Behalf of Female Writers
Review: Virginia Woolf is a writer of intelligence and grace. A Room of One's Own is a skinny little treasure of a book with words and wisdom that will stay with the reader long after it is read. The essay contained in the book is the result of two papers that Ms. Woolf read to the Arts Society at newnham and Odtaa at Girton (England) in October of 1928. She was asked to speak about the topic of "Women and Fiction", and after doing so, she expanded her papers and later published them as this book. Woolf begins the essay by writing, "I soon saw that [the subject of women and fiction] had one fatal drawback. I should never be able to come to a conclusion. I should never be able to fulfil what is, I understand, the first duty of a lecturer- to hand you after an hour's discourse a nugget of pure truth to wrap up between the pages of your notebooks and keep on the mantelpiece for ever. All I could do was to offer you an opinion upon one minor point- a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction... At any rate, when a subject is highly controversial- and any question about sex is that- one cannot hope to tell the truth. One can only show how one came to hold whatever opionion one does hold. One can only give one's audience the chance of drawing their own conslusions as they observe the limitations, the prejudices, the idiosyncrasies of the speaker." It is in this straightforward and honest manner that Woolf writes about women and fiction. Although the speech was given and the book was published in 1929, all of its points are still important for women- and especially women writers and artists- today. In A Room of One's Own Woolf examines classic literary works of the past and wonders why most, until the 19th Century, were written by men, and why most of the works published by women in the 19th Century were fiction. She comes to the logical conclusion that women in the past had little to no time to write because of their childbearing and raising responsibilities. There is also the fact that they were not educated and were forbidden or discouraged from writing. When they did begin to write, they only had the common sitting rooms of Elizabethan homes to do so in, which did not provide much solitude or peace of mind, as it was open to any interruption and distraction that came along. Woolf argues passionately that true independence comes with economic well-being. This is true for countries, governments, individuals, and writers, especially female writers. Without financial security it is impossible for any writer to have the luxury of writing for writing's sake. It is also a very inspiring book for any aspiring write to read. I end this review with Virginia Woolf's own hopes for women in the future: "... I would ask you to write all kinds of books, hesitating at no subject however trivial or however vast. By hook or by crook, I hope that you will possess yourselves of money enough to travel and to idle, to contemplate the future or the past of the world, to dream over books and loiter at street corners and let the line of thought dip deep into the stream." (If you liked this review, please read my other book reviews under my Amazon profile...)
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Summary: this book bit
Review: Virginia Woolf is in no way an encouragement to young women writers. This book is a downer, filled with many inaccurate conclusions and information, including many twisted facts concerning Charlotte Bronte and views.
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Summary: Insightful but Out of Date
Review: When I read this book the first time I was enthralled. We really take for granted the position our mothers and grandmothers worked so hard to ensure for us. I forget how close in time we are to when women couldn't vote or attend male universities. Virginia Woolf was provided a room of her own to be able to create the work that has become so influential in twentieth century writing. In an ideal world everyone would be allowed to artistically express themselves without having to be in the "real world." I know that since I graduated from college and have been working 40-50 hour work weeks, I am less inclined to read or write. I don't feel like I can let that be my excuse, though, just because it would be easier to write if I could spend all my time doing it. The request that women have money and a room seems very upper-middle-class and out of touch with the way life was even in Woolf's time. In spite of those criticisms, I am so glad I read this book. It made me feel empowered as a woman and a writer. This is a must read for anyone trying to understand the history of feminism.
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Summary: A feminist classic
Review: Woolf's "A Room of One's Own", a collection of papers Woolf delivered for the literary societies of Girton and Newnham in 1928, stands as an all-time classic of the feminist movement. The thesis of the essays consists of the simple statement that womens' literature would be on par with that of men, if women had had the same levels of income, privacy, and experience as their counterparts. Woolf's main illustration of this principle was a hypothetical sister to Shakespeare, who, even with the same talents as her brother, would have never had the chances to display her talents to the world. This book is actually rather apolitical, dealing directly with the arts. It is very positive, and is not accusitory towards men. It is straightforward and brief, and brings its point across quickly. For its time, it was an excellent and radical short work, but over the last 70 years it has lost some of its relevance to the modern reader, as its thesis has gradually been proven true.
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Summary: Feminism in early 20th century
Review: Woolf's book is a treatise in examining what is holding women back from writing their best fiction. She tells of the hindrances of women's fiction writing throughout history, and also tells of the well-known parable of Shakespeare's sister. Painful at times, but telling the truth without falter, Woolf's book should be read by all fiction writers, feminists, and anyone who has suffered oppression.
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Summary: a bit long for what it is
Review: Woolf's essay lacks the economy of her novels
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