a room of one's own

a room of one's own is such a beautifully written commentary on the minimal space that women hold within the literary sphere of a patriarchal society. 

while the text is very straightforward in its exploration of women and fiction, i did not find this an easy read. i enjoy a challenge, but knowing i had picked up this essay to read out of leisure had me lagging in its completion. i’m still unsure if woolf's writing style is attuned to my tastes, but fortunately enough the subject she addressed and how she addressed it overcame those obstacles.

woolf is very witty in how she chooses to address the male commentary on female inferiority and their obsession with superiority. i audibly laughed out loud. yet at the same time, she makes it abundantly clear that she is not a misandrist and supports the equal promotion of both men and women. all she desires is for people to write about whatever they want to write with little preference for either gender. modern day feminism is often generalized as form of radical misandry and i think a room of one's own is the perfect counter example to such a harmful narrative. 

she is also creative in how she chooses to support her argument, which is through a multitude of fictitious elements that really played to her strengths as an author. one of my favorites had to be when she exemplified the lost potential of women through shakespeare’s fictional sister who had the potential for success but unfortunately was never able to put pen to paper due to the societal circumstances of her womanhood. 

i can only imagine what it must have been like to hear woolf orally read this essay out loud to an auditorium full of female scholars. if i could built a time machine, i would have definitely made a stop in 1928 just to hear it with my own ears.