HW 21: Dear Little Sister

Dear Kelsey,
I'm sorry to hear that you did not understand the reading in "A Room of One's Own", it is a difficult read, but I hope I can help from what I got out of Chapter 1. Virginia Woolf begins the chapter sitting at a river bank at Oxbridge college in England. She makes her way over to the library yet is not allowed in because she is a woman and is not granted access into the building without the presence of a male. Virginia has lunch at the all male college where she is surrounded with a delicious variety of fine foods and then has dinner at the all female college and is given nothing but plain gravy soup. After dinner Virginia and her friend Mary talk in Mary's room. They talk about women and fiction, and Virginia's task to write about this. Virginia explains how "a women must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction". This is important to understand because it pertains to being a successful writer. Women did not always have the opportunity to have some of the jobs they do now, instead they belonged at home taking adequate care of the house and family and preparing food. Men on the other hand, have always been the dominant figure of the household, making and bringing in the money. When Virginia Woolf states that "a women must have money and a room of her own", I interpreted this by meaning that a women must be financially stable, independent, and willing to challenge what others have denied in the past, the opportunity to write, or pertain a job that you love. This text seems difficult because it is in a different form of writing that we aren't usually very familiar with, being expressed through a narrative form. I believe that this text by Virginia Woolf may be considered an important piece of work because it is showing us the change through history that has occurred with males and females, and the opportunities they have received. Women did not used to have the chance to be a writer, or do any work at all. Our history has taught us the challenges and obstacles that women have experienced, and how far it has come, with equal opportunities. I believe that this is a good read, and certainly challenges you to understand the meaning of the text. I hope this helped and you have a better understanding of the chapter now!
Alicia