This book blew my mind, you guys. I've always sort of avoided Woolf because ugh, feminists. But that is a stupid reason, and I am going to go burn my bra now.
Woolf's premise is that a woman needs money and a room of her own to be able to write. Because even though
in our minds artists scribble away in drafty garrets while gnawing stale bread, most of The Big Ones (Coleridge, Wordsworth, Byron, Shelly, Tennyson, Arnold) were university-educated with the attendant funds, and those who weren't were still usually well-to-do. Even the ones that
were scribbling away in garrets had, at least, a garret of their own. Because a room of one's own gives you the space to ensure that what you're saying is what you actually mean, and having your own money gives you the ability to say whatever it is you mean without fear of reprisal.
everyone's favorite penniless writer
And she touches on one of my pettest peeves and secretest fears: Lady Writers and Why They Are So Bad. The reason lady-authors are so silent in history is because they were busy having the children and bathing the children and feeding the children and dying from the having of the children, and the reason they were so terribly bad at it when they finally started writing is both because they were using tools made
by men
for men, and because they were so fixated on being women. And it's so incredibly satisfying to have someone take something you've always (sort of shamefully) held to be true, and give you a solid reason for why it might be. She has this great line that I didn't underline and can't now find again, about women writing
as women having forgotten that they
are women. By which she means not being so damned angry at all the ways they've been oppressed, and getting on with telling the story. *high-fives Woolf's tombstone*
And she is so bloody genial. She isn't preaching to the choir; she is gently and persuasively reasoning you around to her way of thinking, and it is
oddly endearing. I want to take tea with her, and have her slip a little something stronger into my cup.
I can't write this review without saying super-hokey things like:
A Room of One's Own helped me start to see how far we've come, and how far we have yet to go. Lame, right? But it gave me a clearer view into lady-writers of the past and more hope for lady-writers of the future.
Nine caterpillars.
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Everyone reading Virginia Woolf this winter has really made me want to try her! I am like you- I thought she was overly feminist, but I'm glad she is nothing like that :-)
ReplyDeleteIn my entire life, I've never seen Woolf reviewed in this way. And I mean this in a good sense. She has always scared me, not for her bra-burning ways, but because I thought she might be too deep for me and I wouldn't "get" her. I have never heard her described as genial. So this is exciting. You just keep doing what you are doing, Raych. I love it.
ReplyDeleteLong draaaaaawwwwn ouuuutttt annnnnd allllll as I find Woolf's actual writing, I find the woman herself and her thoughts and thought processes fascinating. Can it be possible to be a fan of a writer without liking her writing? It would appear so! (the crystalline moment? ARK! There's only so many crystalline moments one can take, Virginia dear!)
ReplyDeleteI think you nailed why I like her so much, Raych! Thank you, you bastion of acuteness.
Read The Waves! Hard to get into, but it might just rock your socks. :)
ReplyDeleteThen again, I am one of the dreaded feminists, and I love many women writers (except Margaret Atwood). So perhaps I am biased? I've never burned a bra though, I promise!
The only Viginia Woolf book I've read is "To The Lighthouse". I found it slow but so full of wisdom that I had to keep a pen and paper with me to make notes. After that I was kind of on the fence as to whether to keep reading her books or not. But yes, now I am intrigued enough to seek out A Room of One's Own and give her another try.
ReplyDeleteI've heard much of Woolf's writing is so inaccessible (I plan on attempting Mrs. Dalloway later this year) but this sounds like it might be something I could handle.
ReplyDeleteI just read this and loved it too!
ReplyDeleteLove this one too! So sensible and amrt. To the Lighthouse always stuck with me as well.
ReplyDeleteYes, A Room of One's Own is good. I would avoid Three Guineas though, if I were you. I think you might find that one a little too much.
ReplyDeleteI just started a bio of Woolf. People shouldn't be fooled by her wispy, delicate look -- she's a strong tough intelligent thoughtful committed writer.
ReplyDeletefor an open fun easy to follow introduction to VW consider her short biography of Flush, the pet dog of Elizabeth Barrett Browning-you can read it online-it is funny and not at all snuffy or anything like that
ReplyDelete