A_Room_of_One's_Own

Katherine Walters 15 Furley Ave LONDON SOUTH The Editor, London Times LONDON EAST Dear Sir, I am a young and privileged woman in her 20s attending University in the south of London, and I have just read “A Room of One’s Own” by Virginia Woolf. I am overwhelmed and exhilarated that I feel I must express my views. Woolf has also brought to light and proposed relevant arguments on the lack of gender equality that exists today. Is it true that my wealth will ultimately determine my success in a society so judged by the thickness of one’s wallet' Do I truly need a room of my own and money in order to succeed' Woolf explores the ‘equality/difference debate’ between men and woman, and publicises what truth is hidden by conforming to society. To be a woman today is to be considered second class, deprived of education and mere ego boosters for men, feeding their sense of self-worth and fuelling their power status. The text is written as a lecture to the women at Cambridge University. In effect, as a reader, I feel I am being spoken to directly and motivated and challenged to make the most of my education. Her rhetorical questions are also direct, “What have our mothers been doing then that they had no wealth to leave us'”-stirring thought and proposing action. The title “A Room of One’s Own” is used as a metaphor to express that freedom, financial independence and opportunity are essential for women to exceed in any part of life. The importance of money is an influential factor of the text. It is a powerful force behind the inequitable treatment of women. Without financial independence, women are powerless; they have no authority and no title to their own names. It is this powerlessness that widens the segregation and inequality-“He was the beadle, I was a woman. This was the turf; there was the path. Only the fellows and scholars are allowed here; the gravel is the path for me.” The metaphor of the gravel path reflects that women are shadows, following by the men’s side, always on a dirtier, more difficult path and second class to the superiority of the grass. Initially the room of one’s own is literal, but Woolf has used it as a symbol for many other larger issues. I feel she is concerned with much more than the room itself, rather issues such as privacy, financial independence, and leisure time-all of which males are granted without question and hence represent the barrier of inequality. It is true, that until there is open debate this inequity of women’s achievements will continue to be regarded as unresolved. Woolf proclaims the proposition of woman being successful in this era, but supports her proposal with the examples of Jane Austen, Emily Bronte and Mary Carmichael. I feel connected, and find ambition within myself to strive against the derogatory extracts of society such as –“the deepest desire, not so much that she shall be inferior as that he shall be superior, which plants him wherever one looks,” because individualism should be a quality granted to all, not just particularly to the superiority of men. Prior to reading Woolf’s text I never pondered or challenged why men and women have such different roles, but she has prompted me to question and compose judgement on the patriarchy of our society. How is it that men can publish aggressive texts about women' What brings them to this antagonism when they are so privileged and potent at the hands of society' –“why are women so much more interesting to men than men are to women.” I agree with Dr Johnson’s comment that “men know women are an over match for them…if they did not think so they could never be afraid of women knowing as much as themselves.” Your readers may not like to hear this, but we have to question why women have been given inferior status for so long. Woolf’s creates a fictional sister of William Shakespeare, Judith, to emphasise this point further. Expressing that yes, women are just as competent and capable as their brothers but without money, which is power, there is no opportunity for women in the profession. In effect, she has used fiction to expose the truth that women have been deprived of the opportunity to have their writing published. With the knowledge that the capability of Judith is living within me, within all women, I no longer aspire to the inferior life of a woman that Woolf describes, that is completing university, marrying a wealthy man and raising his children, but to strive for gender equality. Why should a woman waste her education' Why is it that a woman can’t have a career and children' They often have to choose between independence, individuality and a husband and family, whereas men can have it all. Woolf states that in the future-“women heaving coal and shopwomen driving engines,” but why not writers or doctors' I’d like to conclude this letter by asking your readers to consider why woman’s opportunities are so limited. Why is it that we have to fight for everything' At last we have gained the vote, but many women have suffered in the process. How long will it take before equality is reached and I quote “can anyone persuade the editor of the-to print a letter'” Yours faithfully, Katherine Walters.