Bloodless Birth: Reproduction and the Masculine Mind in Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own (original) (raw)
Related papers
Virginia Woolf’s Contribution to Feminist Discourse: Re-reading of A Room of One’s Own
International Journal of Applied Research
Feminist literary criticism is a component of the discourse of New feminism that emerged in Europe and America in late 1960's to resurrect political and social concerns associated with the actual participation of women in Western culture. It examines the male-dominated canon in order to comprehend how males have manipulated culture to further their dominance over women. Feminist approach to literature, like Marxist criticism, is a part of a larger set of social perceptions. It investigates the connections between women's representation in literature and social and historical issues such as sexuality and the family, hierarchies, patriarchy, and law. Feminist literary criticism offers fresh interpretations of literature by re-evaluating the literary works of both men and women. Feminist discourse encompasses a wide range of ideas, theories, and discussions related to gender equality, women's rights, and the social, political, and economic challenges faced by women. Virginia Woolf emerged as one of the most distinguished critics of the twentieth century, and undoubtedly as the greatest woman critic of all centuries in English literature. Her works and concepts have had a considerable influence on feminist discourse and are still researched and discussed in relation to feminism. The present paper aims to offer a comprehensive and insightful analysis of Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, shedding light on its enduring significance in feminist discourse, literary criticism, and the ongoing fight for gender equality.
2019
In the presented thesis I focus on the topics related to gender in Virginia Woolf’s essay A Room of One’s Own (1929) and novel Orlando (1928). I aim to establish whether and how Woolf offers a solution to 20th-century female writers’ problems, and to decide if the offered model is effective in the fight against patriarchal oppression. Proceeding from the historical sources and literary criticism I set out the conditions of living in England in the interwar period, social relations and sex hierarchy, as well as outlining the aims of the feminism movement. Analysis of the chosen works enables me to validate whether the author follows her own advice given in A Room of One’s Own. The thesis draws on Judith Butler’s ideas regarding gender classification and the issue of performativity. I analyse the character of Orlando through the prism of Butler’s research and the situation of women, their opportunities and possibilities. It is concluded that Woolf offers women a model of society in which the qualities characteristic of female and male sex intermix. It allows women having a lifestyle typical of men, which would provide them with freedom and equality. Moreover, performativity proves that gender identity is not acquired naturally, but it is shaped culturally and socially, and undergoes changes in time and space.
A Feminist Stylistic Analysis of Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own
Pakistan Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2023
This research paper explores the application of feminist stylistic analysis to Virginia Woolf's novel, A Room of One's Own. Using the theoretical framework of feminist literary criticism, this study examines the ways in which Woolf uses language and style to convey her feminist message. The research draws on close reading and textual analysis of selected passages from the novel, and employs feminist theories of language, gender, and power to interpret the meaning and significance of these stylistic choices. The findings of this study suggest that Woolf's use of language and style is crucial to her feminist message, and that it serves to challenge traditional gender roles and patriarchal power structures. Overall, this research contributes to our understanding of the intersection between feminist theory and literary analysis, and demonstrates the value of applying feminist stylistic analysis to works of literature.
Feminism and the Unconventional Essay-Writing Style in 'A Room of One's Own' by Virginia Woolf
This critical study is a brief analysis of the writing style and the feminist interpretations of Virginia Woolf's renowned essay A Room of One's Own. The paper attempts to examine the creative aspects, especially the stream of consciousness as a unique writing style in non-fiction and the fusion of fiction with non-fiction through the characters of Mary, Shakespeare's sister. It also aims to reexamine the obvious feminist appropriations by presenting its contradictory feminist stance and resisting feminism itself. This paper aims to conclude that Woolf's primary motive is not to compare sexes but to promote women's fiction and the means to do the same within or going beyond the domain of feminism.
Virginia Woolf’s Maternal Narrative
This article argues that Woolf serves as an exemplary model of women's writing; a kind of writing through which patriarchal language is subverted. She explores the nature of oppressive male discourse and the conditions necessary to create alternative women's discourse. In her text, unconscious desires manifest themselves through different languages. Through meticulous analysis of characters' language in Woolf's selected works, it becomes evident that so far, patriarchy has repressed the feminine element of the articulations of these unconscious desires. Therefore, Woolf's text lays bare a language which does not repress pre-symbolic elements, since they are considered as crucial determinants in the process of the construction of subjectivity. Such a language is possible by merging masculine and feminine elements, or in other words, by merging symbolic and semiotic elements. Characters, under an ever-present maternal power, realise the inadequacy and limitations of the patriarchal (symbolic) language and therefore, transcend the rigid boundaries of patriarchal language.
International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research
The extended essay of Virginia Woolf, named “A Room Of One’s Own”, is a subtle approach towards the personal experiences of every individual women struggling for her identity, struggling for the recognition of her artistic genius, without having to escape from her true identity of being a woman, without the limitation that is exposed on gender.And the comparison of this text to Elaine Showalter’s theory of gynocriticism, it vivid out the flaw of sex-consciousness in a society of the time and appeals to be open to the different sexes and accept themselves with this unity of the mind, they wouldn’t be so offended by the maleness and femaleness but will successfully prevail of mutual respect and understanding for one another.
Virginia Woolf and the Exploration of the Third Gender
One of Woolf's chief considerations in her fiction of 1920s was to heal the split between the mother and language or the symbolic order on the one hand and to revise the previous Western binary thinking regarding the construction of gender identity on the other. I argue that Woolf refused the 'either/or' logic of dichotomous models by offering a space which includes the advantages of both the symbolic and the semiotic, which in turn introduces the new logic of 'both/and'. This space fuses masculine and feminine identities. It is speech and pleasure, textuality and sexuality, sameness and difference. It is a space for both men and women. This article attempts to relate subjectivity to desire. Therefore, I shall uncover a new subject position and space between Lacanian symbolic and Kristevan semiotic, in order to construct inbetween (third) gender identities based on characters' desires for a lost maternal space.