A Room Of One's Own And Three Guineas

5 stars for A Room of One’s Own (aka “I Use the English Language Better Than All of You, Deal With It”). I knew the basic thesis of this essay (that people need private space and personal money to be able to write fiction, and the lack of those two things has historically hindered women writers). I was unprepared for the style and structure of this essay to be so dazzling. Even when I didn’t agree with Woolf’s conclusions, her arguments were clear and easily traceable. And along the way she plays with expectations for narrators and protagonists, treating herself as both simultaneously. An essay I know I’ll reread many times in my life.<br /><br />Three Guineas is similarly strong, but not as gripping. A wealthy man wrote Woolf a letter asking how women in England could help prevent war, and Woolf takes a circuitous route to say that the foreign oppression of fascism and the domestic oppression of sexism share more roots than the letter writer understands. It’s a masterful rhetorical performance, but drawn-out and much drier than the first essay.<br /><br />Essentially, read Three Guineas if you’re a hardcore Woolf fan. Read A Room of One’s Own if you’re a human with a functioning brain.

<i>Introduction, by Hermione Lee</i><br /><br />--A Room of One's Own<br />--Three Guineas<br /><br /><i>Notes and References</i>

Actual rating 4.5/5 stars.<br /><br />This is a collection of two non-fiction essays. The former, A Room of One's Own, I awarded 5/5 stars and the second, Three Guineas, I awarded 4/5 stars as it was far drier in tone.<br /><br />Both these essays focused on females and their place in society, with one concentrating on females and the physical constraints on their creativity and the other on women's place in a war-torn Britain. Both took a very circuitous but enjoyable route to reach their respective points but I did not begrudge the journey when they were so full of Woolf's inspiring prose, dry wit, and feminist ideologies.

Before I begin this review, I would like to mention that everything mentioned here is based on my personal thoughts on the subject. I am in no way a professional reviewer or have any background in these. Also as I have read and reviewed the first of this books separately, this review would contain material on "Three Guineas". Now let me begin.<br /><br />First of all I am a great fan of Virginia Woolf. Despite reading only three of her complete works (this being the third), I really liked her way of writing and in my opinion she was quite visionary. She was one of the authors that I have great respect due to the fact of the great leaps she took in order to achieve female freedom in the society, at least writing. A Room of One's Own is without doubt one of my favorite. It evoked in me feelings that I did not know I possessed and made me take a stand even in the smallest manner. Due to these facts when I managed to acquire a copy of Three Guineas I was quite eager to read it but if any of you did notice, unlike with A Room of One's Own, I took time to read and finish this. I could blame it on the length of the letter but truly it is not. It was the content. In the beginning I felt the same as I was reading the former. I was feeling empowered. Myna of the facts that she was fighting for have been achieved albeit even half way and since the time this was written we have come a long way in terms of female freedom. Then further I went in to reading the book, the more distant I felt with her ideals. Her arguments seemed valid and some points could go as far as being called visionary but they were far from realistic. Some seemed downright weird for me. Rather than showing a side of feminism that we want, sometimes I felt she was being antagonistic towards the opposite sex. Most of the subjects of her argument were people who had publicly debunked the feminism and they in fact do seem to have a reason for criticism but it was somewhat in the tone of the writing that made me not completely agree with her. I do agree that this in fact is not a valid reason to dislike her letter and it would simply be me being biased. Many of her arguments and criticism seem to stem from the basis of feminism but her conclusion seem somewhat not as effective as it was in A Room of One's Own. The letter itself did not seem to give a proper answer as to what she actually started on answering. <br /><br />Let me dive into the positive aspects. Quite contrary to what I was mentioning in the previous paragraph I would like to bring ti light the subjects of Woolf's arguments in the letter. She simply calls out everyone who have been basking in the concept of patriarchy and asks them the truth of why they seem to abhor feminism. This is fact is one of the strongest points in her letter. She does not shy away from asking the true questions and show the unfairness in the treatment. Her satirical tones in some places clearly brings some lightness to a somewhat heavy subject matter.<br /><br />In the end if you would ask me what I thought of this piece, I honestly do not think I am able to give a proper answer. Mainly due to the fact that I am not completely educated in such matters and not in a place that I can criticize her work. In that way I am miles inferior to Woolf. She had her own voice and her opinion and could not deflected in any way. For that I truly praise her. After all she was one of the influential names and not everyone could be one. Yet she seems to leave few questions raised at the end of her letter that I seem to still be missing answers for.

This book is a real treasure since it collects two of Virginia Woolf's most notable essays namely <i>A Room of One's Own</i> and <i>Three Guineas</i>. They were both such insightful readings filled with memorable and philosophical passages that took me in an adventurous and stimulating journey about important issues that I damn well should care about. In fact, I was so incredibly enthralled by the essays that I ended up placing strips of sticky notes for the pages that have the most discussion-worthy quotes. I suppose this review will be littered by them as I write this because I want to take the time to explain how much Woolf's writing affected me, and the kind of lasting impressions it left.<br><br>Please take note that I will be devoting more time tackling <i>A Room of One's Own</i> and just briefly touch upon <i>Three Guineas</i> much later on.<br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1440677450i/16009540._SX540_.png" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br><b>A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN</b><br><br><blockquote> <i>"Literature is open for everybody. I refuse to allow you to turn me off the grass. Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt, that you can set upon the freedom of my mind."</i> </blockquote><br><br>This is probably the only written feminist piece that resonated with me for all the right reasons mostly because it was written for and about women who aspire to write in literature themselves. I don't consider myself a feminist; even when I joined Gabriela Youth in the first two years of college, I simply didn't become passionate about the movement itself. It's just not a political identity I can strongly associate myself with, but I would be a negligent asshole if I don't at least acknowledge and be thankful for the benefits I'm reaping now which are mostly due to the long decades of dedication and hard work of earlier generations of women who fought for feminist values. That is why <i>A Room of One's Own</i> was such a meaningful reading experience to me now that I'm at this tricky point of my life where life-altering decisions depend most often on the small and seemingly inconsequential ones. I myself have always dreamed of becoming a fictionist. I want to write something publishable someday too. It's just a matter of fate for me to seek out the words of a respectable writer like Virgina Woolf, and what she could teach me.<br><br>Divided into six cohesive chapters, <i>A Room of One's Own</i> is where Virginia Woolf imparted a beguiling lesson on the status of women in both the real world and in fiction whilst providing very searing observations regarding their perceived inferiority, and the day-to-day oppression that they had to face throughout the centuries. Woolf also employed the 'stream of consciousness' type of narrative for this titular 1929 extended essay which was originally a series of lectures she delivered in Cambridge University about Women and Fiction.<br><br>The essay's title is derived from Woolf's assertion that a female writer needs to be financially stable and to have the space and privacy in which to write. It's also essentially a metaphor for the freedom 'needed for creativity and imagination to flourish' (Collins). The quoted passage below was taken directly from Chapter 5 of the essay where Woolf was reading the first novel of the fictitious <a>Mary Carmichael</a> as Woolf made notable criticsms on where she could improve and how to go about it. The commentary she provided for this part of the essay is one of my favorites. Sure, it was bizarre to read about a literary criticism on a novel that doesn't even exist, but Woolf made it work, using Carmichael as a way to further emphasize the points she wants to get across when it came to the formation of female writings. She assessed for any woman who wants to write:<br><br><blockquote> <i>"Give her a room of her own and five hundred a year, let her speak her mind and leave out half that she now puts in, and she will write a better book one of these days."</i> </blockquote><br><br>To determine how and why women write fiction, Woolf traced how women have been represented in fiction so far as written by men. She took on the persona of Mary Beton. The first chapter gave detailed accounts explaining her experience in luncheons and tedious social gatherings she had to attend at a university, and how she seemingly feels at times misplaced in her surroundings. As Beton, Woolf distanced herself from her writing as she tried to establish the definition and constraints about women and/in fiction in general. This led her to some crucial and enlightening research about the several crises, challenges and disadvantages women have been subjected to that in turn stifled whatever creative heights they can accomplish as novice writers. Her research included and highlighted a great many essays written by men who argued that women have less intelligence than men, and therefore cannot sustain the discipline and other qualities needed to pursue a literary endeavor or anything based on an intellectual pursuit. <br><br>Quotes such as <i>"Female novelists should only aspire to excellence by courageously acknowledging the limitations of their sex"</i> can be both infuriating and amusing to read, and Woolf was very glib albeit sharply critical of such ridiculous sentiments coming from well-educated men who had internalized and perfected their chauvinist points of view into a near art form. To contextualize this, Woolf called out patriarchy to attention as an enabler for such a cyclical narrow-minded view about women and their role in civilization. It's interesting because, in her next essay about the needless contraptions of wars fought in the name of masculine gain and greed, Woolf held patriarchies in contempt, citing them as dangerous social constructs that allowed the fascist movement to take root and infest Europe. But I digress. For now, Woolf shared us these gems to illustrate the oppressive function that women were unwittingly placed upon:<br><br><blockquote> <i>"Women have served all these centuries as looking glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size...Whatever may be their use in societies, mirrors are essential to all violent and heroic action. That is why Napoleon and Mussolini both insist so emphatically upon the inferiority of women, for if [women] are not inferior, [men] will cease to enlarge...and if she begins to tell the truth, the figure in the looking-glass shrinks, his fitness for life is diminished."</i> </blockquote><br><br>Woolf as Mary Beton proceeded to quote certain male essayists regarding on how they view women, the paradoxical ways that they women as muses on pedestal to serve for inspiration; but also as sirens or seductresses who lure them to to their destruction and ruin once a woman ceases to agree with him or worship his every word as if it's the only sacred thing. This for me is the singular, most spot-on assertion that anyone has ever said about men's idealization of women in fictional landscapes and sexist disregard of them in real life; something that could still hold true even in modern times:<br><br><blockquote> <i>"Women have burnt like beacons in all the works of all the poets from the beginning of time. Indeed if woman had no existence save in the fiction written by men, one would imagine her a person of the utmost importance; very various; heroic and mean; splendid and sordid; beautiful and hideous in the extreme; as great as a man, some would say greater. But this is woman in fiction. Imaginatively she is of the highest importance; practically she is completely insignificant. She pervades poetry from cover to cover; she is all but absent from history. She dominates the lives of kings and conquerors in fiction; in fact she was the slave of any boy whose parents forced a ring upon her finger. Some of the most inspired words and profound thoughts in literature fall from her lips; in real life she could hardly read; scarcely spell; and was the property of her husband."</i> </blockquote><br><br>Midway through the essay, Woolf as Beton then began to weave a fictitious tale about Shakespeare having a sister who is just as talented as he is but unfortunately was never allowed to study so she can learn to read and write. This sister was said to be just as creative but instead was forced into marriage which she promptly denied. Ber family disowned her and she was forced to leave in the streets, her hopes of being just as accomplished as her brother had turned into despair. In this fictitious Shakespeare sibling, Woolf merely wanted to showcase and drive home the point that the education and privilege afforded by men will always give then more opportunities and varied choices for careers, livelihoods and vocations. Meanwhile, women play the parts of a subjugated, separated species altogether in the background, only meant for homemaking and childbearing alone. In fact, Woolf cited poetry from possible women who lived in those times and the content of their poems she shared is depressing; almost all of them protest their stifling homebound lives that they consummately fixate on the unfairness of their chains, rendering them unable to write anything else. Woolf made an educated guess that if a learned woman (born in a high-class family) aspires to write, her stories and poems will always bear the tragic mark of her enslavement and would not create any kind of literary legacy. Such in the case back then for women who have creative inclinations.<br> <br><blockquote> <i>"…a woman was not encouraged to be an artist. On the contrary, she was snubbed, slapped, lectured and exhorted. Her mind must have been strained and her vitality lowered by the need of opposing this, of disproving that. For here again we come within range of that very interesting and obscure masculine complex which has had so much influence upon the woman's movement; that deep-seated desire, not so much that she will be inferior as that he shall be superior."</i> </blockquote><br><br>In addition, Woolf also talked about how a fully-characterized woman in fiction should be depicted by her fellow woman as genuinely as possible, and that in order to be successfully understood, her value as a person should not be exclusively tied to her relation to a man at all in a story . This is still applicable today especially in male-centered narratives in certain genres like action movies where women are one-dimensionally portrayed as the men's love interests, sex objects or damsels in distress to rescue (hell, even all of the above so the story can focus on the male lead's journey and completion of goals; the worst of which is the "girl" is reduced to becoming a 'prize' he is entitled to claim). Sure, women both in fiction and real-life have a wider range of roles these days but the battle--to define ourselves without having to always contextualize male presence and perspective and how they contribute to our decisions and actions-is ongoing and is still being fought.<br><br><blockquote> <i>"All these relationships between women are too simple…almost without exception they are shown in their relation to men. It was strange to think that all the great women in fiction were not only seen by the other sex but seen only in relation to the other sex...indeed, literature is impoverished beyond our counting by the doors that have been shut upon women. Married against their will, kept in one room, and to one occupation, how could a dramatist give a full or interesting or truthful account of them?"</i> </blockquote><br><br>Woolf also briefly referred to lesbianism which she surmised is natural; 'sometimes women like other women' and that's that. I'm also queer myself so Woolf writing about lesbian identity was a nice touch because I've always felt more emotionally compatible with the same sex though, ironically, I intellectually identify more with the literature written by men which brings me to this intriguing philosophy Woolf offers about bisexuality in men and women:<br><br><blockquote> <i>"…it made me also ask whether there are two sexes in the mind corresponding to the two sexes in the body, and whether they also require to be united in order to get complete satisfaction and happiness…in each of us, two powers reside; one male, one female...the normal and comfortable state of being is that when the two live in harmony together, spiritually co-operating…'a great mind is androgynous'. It is when this fusion takes place that the mind is fully fertilized and uses all of its faculties."</i> </blockquote><br><br>As Virginia Woolf nears the end of her essay, she gives us this great advice to women:<br><br><blockquote> <i> "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. For I am by no means confining you to fiction."</i> </blockquote><br><br><br><b>THREE GUINEAS</b><br><br>This essay, on the other hand, expounds on the promotion of education for women so they can hold positions in more demanding careers and even in public office. This is contextualized in the eve and aftermath of the world wars. Woolf exposes the stupidity of war according to her opinion, and lays out facts she believes are indisputable when it comes to preventing wars, and that should start with the liberation of women. For example, she talked about finances and that a woman should be allowed independent control of money she earned:<br><br><i>(1) The daughters of educated men are paid very little from the public funds for their public services; <br><br>(2) They are paid nothing at all from the public funds for their private services;<br><br>(3) Their share of the husband’s income is not a flesh-and-blood share but a spiritual or nominal share, which means that when<br>both are clothed and fed the surplus fund that can be devoted to causes, pleasures or philanthropies gravitates mysteriously but indisputably towards those causes, pleasures and philanthropies which the husband enjoys, and of which the husband approves. It seems that the person to whom the salary is actually paid is the person who has the actual right to decide how that salary shall be spent.</i><br><br>Once again, Woolf emphasized the limited roles of a woman during that time, particularly on how her individuality is automatically diminished once she is taught that marriage is her only calling and must therefore subject herself to the whims and ambitions of her husband.<br><br><blockquote> <i>"It was with a view to marriage that her mind was taught. It was with a view to marriage that she tinkled on the piano, but was not allowed to join an orchestra; sketched innocent domestic scenes, but was not allowed to study from the nude; read this book, but was not allowed to read that, charmed, and talked. It was with a view to marriage that her body was educated; a maid was provided for her; that the streets were shut to her; that the fields were shut to her; that solitude was denied her—all this was enforced upon her in order that she might preserve her body intact for her husband. In short, the thought of marriage influenced what she said, wha she thought, what she did. How could it be otherwise? Marriage was the only profession open to her." </i> </blockquote><br><br>I was honestly more enticed with <i>A Room of One's Own</i> than <i>Three Guineas</i> which I might have to re-read because I got decidedly uninterested midway through reading. Nevertheless, Woolf manged to write something exceptional and remarkable in these two essays and I warmly congratulate her for the insights she accomplished to deliver in her pieces, most notably in <i>A Room of One's Own</i>. I am so excited to read her fiction before the year ends. I'm undeniably compelled to do so now..<br><br><b>RECOMMENDED: 9/10<br><br>DO READ MY REVIEWS AT<br><br><a href="http://reademption-lit.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow noopener"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1416741261i/12051318.png" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"></a></b>

Trigger warnings: discussions of misogyny? That's about all, really. <br /><br />3.5 stars.<br /><br />I've been meaning to read something by Virginia Woolf for a long time now, so I put this on my Classics Club list to make sure that I finally DID read something of hers. (Well. Technically I put A Room of One's Own on my list. The copy that my library had just so happened to include Three Guineas as well, so I read that too.) <br /><br />Anyway. A Room of One's Own came out of lectures that Woolf delivered in the late 1920s. Three Guineas was written a decade later after she received three separate requests for a guinea's donation. Together, they're iconic feminist pieces. <br /><br />But honestly? They were a little on the dry side for me. I feel like they - especially A Room of One's Own - would benefit from an audiobook reading rather than a physical reading, and that maybe if I'd done that, I wouldn't have struggled as much as I did at times. They're written in a very conversational style, as you would expect with the first having come out of lectures, and so we get very long paragraphs, very long passages, and very few breaks. <br /><br />That said, there were definitely moments during the course of both pieces where I desperately wanted to high five Virginia Woolf's ghost because she was so on point with her arguments. <br /><br />A Room of One's Own basically argues that all women should have access to two things: an income of £500 and a room in which to write, a scheme Woolf argued would produce many a female Shakespeare. Three Guineas discusses the education and employment of women, and how men will invest in the education and employment of their sons without a second thought, but they begrudge spending much smaller amounts on their daughters. <br /><br />So yeah. I struggled at times. An audiobook version probably would have helped. Woolf makes a lot of incredibly relevant points, even 80-90 years down the track. The end.

<img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1566805094i/28051840._SY540_.jpg" alt="Virginia Woolf - A Room of One's Own and Three Guineas - Oxford World's Classics" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br><blockquote> <b>"A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."</b> </blockquote><br><br>This book contains two of Woolf's non-fiction works both of which focus on women, particularly women writers - their role in society, the historical context, the future possibilities. <br><br>Woolf is one of my favorite authors, something about her writing invariably moves me. In these works I was spellbound by her writing as well, which is saying something given they are non-fiction. My enjoyment of this book can be largely attributed to the writing, rather than anything else - I found the book a little boring.<br><br>The copy I own is an Oxford World's Classics edition, which has extensive commentary, introduction, all kind of biographical and bibliographical information. That is something I really appreciate. It's also printed in a comfortably spacious way. That's the reason this series is one of my favorites for classics.

Este libro es uno de esos libros necesarios en la vida de toda mujer. No sólo por lo que escribe Woolf sino porque en ella encuentras comprensión, empatía y sobre todo reflejo.

Había oído hablar de <i>Una habitación propia</i> pero no conocía en absoluto <i>Tres guineas</i> y me he llevado una grata sorpresa, Virginia Woolf ha sido todo un descubrimiento. No sé cómo explicarlo pero me hubiera encantado poder conocerla y poder charlar con ella o simplemente escuchar, aprender y empaparme bien de todo lo que tenía que decir. <br /><br />En estas dos obras, la autora nos habla con gran maestría, y en ocasiones con una ironía muy sutil (que ha conseguido arrancarme alguna carcajada), del gran problema contra el que tenía que lidiar la mujer de su época, la “hija/hermana del hombre instruido". Y digo problema, en singular, porque aunque está claro que eran muchos los obstáculos a los que enfrentarse, éstos se pueden englobar perfectamente en uno: la desigualdad. Y es que el papel de la mujer, tanto en el ámbito público como en el privado difería muchísimo si lo comparamos con el que desempeñaba <i>la otra mitad</i>. Tampoco las oportunidades, los derechos y las cargas familiares eran las mismas, sino diferentes según el sexo.<br /><br />La negación, y no precisamente por motivos económicos, de algo tan básico y necesario como la educación, la imposibilidad de acceder a una profesión remunerada y la falta de la independencia económica que ello conlleva, la privación de la libertad para expresar opiniones o el derecho a decidir por sí misma en relación a su propia vida son algunos de esos los obstáculos, entre otras cuestiones, que la autora aborda tan maravillosamente bien.<br /><br />El único “pero” que le he encontrado al libro es la traducción de <i>Un cuarto propio</i> que no me ha llegado a convencer, además de contener algún error que llega a modificar el sentido de las frases o dificultaba su comprensión, por lo que no descarto volver a leer la obra en un futuro pero en otra edición.<br /><br />De todas formas este pequeño detalle no le resta mérito al libro por lo que se lleva las cinco estrellitas. Lo he disfrutado muchísimo y lo recomiendo todavía más. Preparad los post-it, bolígrafos y libretas, los vais a necesitar.<br /><br />

This is the first time I’ve read any Virginia Woolf and… well, it was a glorious mix of fiction and non-fiction/essay - I'm not sure I've read anything quite like it before.<br /><br />She is one of those writers where almost every sentence is beautiful and delectable and meaningful/profound and how am I meant to highlight any particular one? She describes the beauty and magic and wonder of the world in such an attentive and romantic and whimsical yet real true way.<br /><br />When I started reading ‘Three Guineas’ I found it much slower paced than ‘A Room of One's Own’ (though just as eloquent and passionate), but then oh my gosh she started firing all the shots in chapter 2 (including comparing English sexism to the fascism of German and Italian dictators in terms of the desire to control other people’s lives) and for the remainder of the book I was hooked.<br /><br />She says so much it would take an essay of my own to go into it all… but I will comment on one particular message towards the end of ‘A Room of One’s Own’ which particularly spoke to me (especially considering how it was reiterating a conversation I’d been having with friends the day before). It was a message about the importance of being oneself and not worrying what others might think of you and your work and how they might value it. 'So long as you write what you wish to write, that is all that matters'.