Study Guide-A ROOM OF ONE\'S OWN-3 PDF

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STUDY&GUIDE&for&A"Room"of"One’s"Own:& 1.&SELF2ASSESSMENT&Questions&/&2.&COMMENTARY&+&ANALYSIS&of& Chapters& ! This&part&of&the&study&guide&Introduction&+&Self&Assessment&Questions&for&A"Room"of" One’s"Own&includes&some&Introductory&Ideas,&some&suggestions&for&reading&and&the& Self2Assessment&Question&for&Chapters&1&to&3.&It&is&designed&to&be&read&AFTER&you& read&the&Chapters&(and&BEFORE&you&read&the&Commentary&+&Analysis&part)&and&try&to& answer& the& self2assessment& questions& on& your& own,& paying& specific& attention& to& close& reading& and& finding& evidence& in& the& text& to& answer& and& develop& your& ideas.& Use"es&from&the&text&to&support&your&answers.& & After&you&have&gone&through&the&Self2Assessment&Questions&for&these&Chapters,&go& to& Commentary& +& Analysis& for& the& Chapters& and& read& in& detail& the& summaries& of& ideas,& the& thematic& structuring& of& the& chapters& and& the& analysis& for& each& of& the& chapter—this&part& is¬&designed& to&provide&an&exhaustive&critical&analysis& of& the& work&but&to&guide&your&own&thinking&and&analysis,&and&involve&you&in&the&process&of& critical&reading.&The&answers&for&the&Self2Assessment&questions&will&be&found&in&this& second& part& of& the& Study& Guide,& so& you& shouldn’t& read& it&until& you& have& done& a& personal&and&thorough&reading&and&understanding&of&the&text&on&your&own&following& the&questions&in&this&present&part&as&guiding&points.& & Due& to& the& importance& of& A" Room& as& groundbreaking& text& in& feminist& literary& criticism,& you& should& be& able& to& analyze& the& following& key& concepts& developed& throughout&the&work& at&the& end&of&its&study,®arding&their&relevance&and&position& in& the& text& as& a& whole& (that& is,& why& and& where& Woolf& placed& them& and& what& she& meant&by&them).&Keep&in&mind&these&concepts&throughout&the&reading&of&the&book& and&go&back&to&them&once&you&finish&making&sure&you&understand&them&and&are&able& to&write&a&brief&summary&of&their&meaning.& & o “WOMEN!MUST!HAVE!A!ROOM!OF!ONE’S!OWN!TO!WRITE!FICTION”& o “WOMEN!HAVE!SERVED!ALL!THESE!CENTURIES!AS!LOOKING8GLASSES!FOR!MEN”& o “THE!STORY!OF!SHAKESPEARE’S!SISTER”& o “THE!NEED!TO!THINK!BACK!THROUGH!OUR!MOTHERS”& o “FOR!THE!FIRST!TIME!IN!LITERATURE!CHLOE!LIKED!OLIVIA”& o “FIRST!SHE!BROKE!THE!SENTENCE,!THEN!SHE!BROKE!THE!SEQUENCE”& &

*All&the&references&to&pages&are&from&this&edition:&Woolf,&Virginia.&A"Room"of"One’s" Own." Three" Guineas.& Introduction& and& edition& by& Morag& Shiach.& World’s& Classics.& Oxford:&Oxford&UP,&1992.&I& recommend&this& edition,&but& you&are&welcome&to&read& any& edition& of& the& text& or& e2text;& searching& for& the& actual& reference& of& lines& and& paragraphs&should¬&be&difficult.&

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SOME&INTRODUCTORY&IDEAS&to&A"Room"of"One’s"Own& A" Room! was! published! in! 1929! based! on! a! few! lectures! Virginia! Woolf! delivered! on! “women!and!fiction”! a!year!before!at! Newnham!and!Girton,!two!women’s!colleges!in! Cambridge.! Woolf! edited! and! revised! into! a! written! essay! these! conferences! which! were!published!at!the!height!of!her!career,!after!having!published!with!great!success! To" the" Lighthouse! (1927)! and! being! about! to! publish! Orlando! (1928)—in! fact! the! inspiration! for! writing! Orlando! could! have! come! from! the! thoughts! given! to! the! concept! of! “androgyny”! in! A" Room—works! that! made! her! a! public! figure! and! an! acclaimed!writer,!she!was!46!years!old.! A"Room,!as!well!as!the!lectures!from!which!it!originated,!was!addressed!to!encourage! young!women!writers!and!academic!students,!and!also,!according!to!Woolf,!it!wanted! to!generate!debate!on!certain!issues!on!women!and!writing!never!raised!before,!issues! whose!delicate!public!controversy!she!was!aware!of.!In!fact,!this!essay!is!probably!the! first!serious!intellectual!account!to!be! published!on!literature!and!gender.!There!are! two!other!things!I!find!relevant!to!highlight,!although!A"Room!has!been!also!criticized! by!some!feminist!literary!critics!(as!we!will!see!at!the!end!of!the!last!chapters)!it!moves! ahead!of!her!times!by!suggesting!for!the!first!time!a!quite!interdisciplinary!study!that! joins! feminism! and! cultural! criticism,! not! only! because! of! the! amount! of! different! disciplines!it!suggests!(from!literature,!to!sociology,!to!psychology,!history,!all!from! a! gender!perspective),!but!because!it!introduces!a!wide!approach!to!the!production!and! analysis! of! culture! in! society! and! how! it! is! imbricated! within! the! construction! of! gender,! that! is,! how! aesthetic! issues! are! interrelated! to! cultural! discourses.! Another! point! I! find! interesting! is! that! we! can! see! traces! in! this! work! of! what! will! be! very! different! approaches! to! gender! and! feminist! literary! criticism:! she! moves! from! an! equality!feminism!(women!should!forget!gender!to!write),!to!a!feminism!of!difference! (women!should!not!write!as!men),!and!a!more!postmodern!feminism!working!against!a! feminism! of! difference! that! analyses! the! cultural! construction! of! gender! and! its! mobility!(an!idea!that!may!be!found!in!her!account!of!androgyny).! Woolf’s!style!in!A"Room!is!worth!analyzing!since!it!mixes!the!oral!quality!and!personal! address! of! the! lecture! style! with! an! introspective! and! contemplative! soliloquy,! from! the! first! page! on,! that! embraces! the! reader! and! invites! you! to! follow! the! flow! of! thoughts! and! meditations! on! the! issue! proposed.! This! flow! is! based! on! intellectual! analysis! and! on! Woolf’s! experiences! throughout! the! essay,! so! somehow! we! accompany!Woolf!inside!her!mind!and!along!her!stroll!(Chapter!1))!or!her!lunch!at!the! café! (Chapter! 2).! This!original! style!seems! to! get! a! life! of! its! own,! some! readers! may! think!it!is!difficult!to!follow!the!quick!flowing!rhythm!from!one!idea!to!another,!others! will!find!it!stimulating,!since!it!bridges!essay!and!fiction.!Some!contemporary!feminist! critics! have! developed! a! kind! of! personal! academic! essay,! expressive! and! poetic! academic! genre! (e.g.! Rachel! DuPlessis)! considered! ideologically! and! aesthetically! feminist;!we! find,!therefore,!an!encouragement!towards!a!specific!style!for!a!feminist! essay!in!A"Room.! The!reception!of!A"Room!caused!certain!anxiety!to!the!author,!as!was!also!the!case!for! other!works,!since!Woolf!was!worried!most!of!the!time!about! how!her!writing! will!be! received!and!criticized!once!published.!She!was!not!sure!whether!it!was!a!round!essay,!

and!she!was!worried!about!how!seriously!the!main!theme!of!women!and!literature!will! be!taken!in! patriarchal!society.!The!essay,!however,!was!a!success!and!continues!to!be! a!milestone!in! gender!studies,!not!only! because!it! brings! up!crucial!issues!on!gender! and!creativity!never!considered!before,!but!also!because!there!is!no!theme,!issue,!or! aspect!studied!later!by!feminism!and!feminist!literary!criticism!that!cannot!be!found!in! some! part! of! this! work;! Woolf! touched! upon! almost! everything! that! would! be! later! developed.! As! Morag! Shiach! suggests! in! her! introduction! to! the! classic! Oxford! UP! edition:!“A!Room!has!been!seen!by!many!critics!as!the!first!sustained!essay!in!feminist! literary!theory![…]!Woolf!develops!a!complex!theory!of!the!relations!between!gender! and!writing.”! !

CHAPTER&12&Self2Assessment&Questions& ! 1. Analyze&the&effect&of&the&style&on&the&reader&of&the&first&lines&of&the&essay.&What& do& you& expect& of& the& rest& of& the& work?& How& do& you& know& what& genre& you& are& facing?&How&is&the&reader&involved?&What&pronouns&are& being& used?&What’s& the& author’s&intention?! ! 2. Give&a& brief& summary&of& the& main&event& and&ideas&developed&in& this& chapter&in& chronological&order.! ! 3. What&is&“Oxfridge”?&Think&about&the&use&and&representation&of&space&and&gender& by&Woolf&in&this&chapter.&What&does&she&mean&by&“I&thought&how&unpleasant&it&is& to&be&locked&out,&and&how&it&is&worse&perhaps&to&be&locked&in”&at&the&end&of&the& essay&(p.&31)?! ! 4. How&is&the&relation&between&experience&and&intellect&or&contemplative&thought&in& this&Chapter?! ! 5. How& is& the& economic& factor& related& to& knowledge& in& this& Chapter?& Why& does& Woolf&give&so&much&emphasis&to&money,&and&in&what&occasions&is&it&illustrated?! ! 6. Analyze& the& importance& of& the& description& of& food& in& the& chapter& and& the& metaphor&of&the&“cat&without&a&tail”&(p.14).! ! 7. What& is& the&difference&between& pre2war&poetry& and& modern& poetry& that& Woolf& highlights& in& the& middle& of& the& chapter?&How& do& you& think& it&is& relevant& for& her& purpose?! ! 8. What&are&the&main&issues&discussed&with&Mary&Seton&after&dinner?! ! 9. If& you& had& to& relate& Woolf’s& thesis& (suggested& already&in& this& chapter)& with& a& feminist&wave,&thought&or&movement,&which&would&it&be&and&why?! ! 10. Develop&a&brief&analysis&of&these&fragments:!

! ! “The" title" women" and" fiction" might" mean," women" and" what" they" are" like," or" it" might"mean"women"and"the"fiction"that"they"write;"or"it"might"mean"women"and" the"fiction"that"is"written"about"them;"or"it"might"mean"that"somehow"all"three" are"inextricably"mixed"together”"(p."3)" ! “Woman"must"have"money"and"a"room"of"her"own"if"she"is"to"write"fiction"[…]"I" am"going"to"do"what"I"can"to"show"you"how"I"arrived"at"this"opinion”"(p."4)" " “I" pondered" why" it" was" that" Mrs." Seton" had" no" money" to" leave" us;" and" what" effect"poverty"has"on"the"mind;"and"I"thought"of"the"queer"old"gentlemen"I"had" seen"that"morning"with"tufts"of"fur"upon"their"shoulders"[…];"and"I"thought"of"the" organ"booming"in"the"chapel"and"of"the"shut"doors"of"the"library;"and"I"thought" how"unpleasant"it"is"to"be"locked"out;"and"I"thought"how"it"is"worse"perhaps"to"be" locked"in;"and"thinking"of"the"safety"and"prosperity"of"the"one"sex"and"the"poverty" and" insecurity" of" the" other" and" of" the" effects" of" tradition" and" of" the" lack" of" tradition"upon"the"mind"of"the"writer"[…].”"(p."31)" ! ! !

CHAPTER&22&Self2Assessment&Questions& ! ! What&is&the&setting&of&this&chapter&and&why&is&the&author&there?!

1. ! 2. 3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Again,&how&are&space,&knowledge&and&gender&represented&in&this&chapter?! ! How&is&humour&inserted&in&the&prose&style&and&why&do&you&think&Woolf&uses&it& in&this&chapter?! ! Why& is& she& not& able& to& get& to& the& truth& of& the& issue& and& clear& notes& in& her& research?! ! What&is&the&comparison&between&her&activity&and&another&young&fellow’s&taking& notes&beside&her?& & What& is& the& relevance& of& the& caricature,& and& her& conclusion& about& the& unconscious&and&anger?& & At&lunch&at& a&café,&what&does& the&author&see&through&the& window& and& at& the& newspaper&she&is&reading?&What&conclusions&does&she&get&from&what&she&sees?& & Analyze&the&metaphor&of&the&window&and&the&looking2glass.& &

9.

Again,&the&emphasis&on&food,&can&you&explain&its&importance&in&this&chapter?& &

10.

What&important&personal&fact&do&we&discover&about&the&author?& & What&are&her&thoughts&on&a&possible&future&once&she&reaches&her&home&at&the& end&of&the&chapter?&

11. & 12.

Analyze&briefly&the&following&excerpts&in&relation&to&the&whole&chapter:&

! “Women"have"served"all"these"centuries"as"lookingPglasses"possessing"the"magic" and" delicious" power" of" reflecting" the" figure" of" man" at" twice" its" natural" size" […]" That" is" why" Napoleon" and" Mussolini" both" insist" so" emphatically" upon" the" inferiority" of" women" […]" That" serves" to" explain" how" restless" they" are" under" her" criticism" […]" For" if" she" begins" to" tell" the" truth," the" figure" in" the" lookingPglass" shrinks.”"(p."45P46)" ! “The"lookingPglass"vision"is"of"supreme"importance"because"it"charges"the"vitality;" it" stimulates" the" nervous" system" […]" Under" the" spell" of" that" illusion," I" thought," looking"out"of"the"window,"half"the"people"on"the"pavement"are"striding"to"work.”" (p."46)" " “What"a"change"of"temper"a"fixed"income"will"bring"about"[…]"I"need"not"hate"any" man,"he"cannot"hurt"me."I"need"not"flatter"any"man,"he"has"nothing"to"give"me."So" imperceptibly" I" found" myself" adopting" a" new" attitude" towards" the" other" half" of" the"human"race.”"(p."49)" ! ! ! !

CHAPTER&32&Self2Assessment&Questions& ! 1. Why&does&Woolf&turn&now&to&History?&What&does&she&want&to&find&out?! & 2. What&are& the&differences&between&the&facts&she&finds&in&History&and&the&images&of& women&she&finds&in&literature?& & 3. Write& a& brief& summary& of& Shakespeare’s& sister’s& story?& What& is& Woolf& trying& to& show&with&the&story&she&tells&us&about&Judith&Shakespeare?& & 4. What&is,&according&to&Woolf,&the&main&social&obstacles&that&prevented&a&writer&like& Judith&to&become&one?& & 5. Analyze& what& Woolf& means& when& she& says& “who& shall& measure& the& heat& and& violence&of&the&poet’s&heart&when&caught&and&tangled&in&a&woman’s&body?”.& &

6. According&to&Woolf,&what&is&“the&state&of&mind&that&is&most&propitious&to&the&act& of&creation”?&Why&is&this&difficult&to&achieve&by&women&writers?& & 7. Develop&a&brief&analysis&of&these&fragments&in&relation&to&the&chapter:& ! ! “All"these"facts"lie"somewhere,"presumably,"in"parish"register"and"account"books;" the"like"of"the"average"Elizabethan"woman"must"be"scattered"about"somewhere," could" one" collect" it" and" make" a" book" of" it." It" would" be" ambitious" beyond" my" daring," I" thought," looking" about" the" shelves" for" books" that" were" not" there," to" suggest" to" the" students" of" those" famous" colleges" that" they" should" rewrite" history.”"(p."3)" ! “This"may"be"true"or"it"may"be"false—who"can"say?—but"what"is"true"in"it,"so"it" seemed"to"me,"reviewing"the"story"of"Shakespeare’s"sister"as"I"had"made"it,"is"that" any"woman"born" with" a"great" gift"in" the" sixteenth"century"would" certainly"have" gone"crazed,"shot" herself," or"ended" her"days"in"some"lonely" cottage"outside" the" village,"half"witch,"half"wizard,"feared"and"mocked"at.”"(p."4)" " “That"woman,"then,"who"was"born"with"a"gift"of"poetry"in"the"sixteenth"century," was"an"unhappy"woman,"a"woman"at"strife"against"herself."All"the"conditions"of" her"life,"all"her"own"instincts,"were"hostile"to"the"state"of"mind"which"is"needed"to" set" free" whatever" is" in" the" brain." But" what" is" the" state" of" mind" that" is" most" propitious"to"the"act"of"creation,"I"asked?"(p."31)" ! “The"indifference"of"the"world"which"Keats"and"Flaubert"and"other"men"of"genius" have"found"so"hard"to"bear"was"in"her"case"not"indifference"but"hostility."The"world" did"not"say"to"her"as"it"said"to"them,"Write"if"you"choose;"it"makes"no"difference"to" me."The"world"said"with"a"guffaw,"Write?"What’s"the"good"of"your"writing?"(p."31)" ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

COMMENTARY&and&ANALYSIS&of&A"Room"of"One’s"Own&CHAPTERS&123& These&are&commentaries,&ideas&and&analysis&developed&by&Prof.&Isabel&Castelao&to&help&you&understand& better&A"Room"of"One’s"Own.&In"no"case"can"this"substitute"the"integral"reading"of"the"book.&These&are& some&guidelines&for&analysis&that&do¬&intent&to&draw&a&final&interpretation&of&the&work,&further&study& must&be&done&through&your&own&thoughtful&reading&and&ideas,&and&through&contrast&with&other&sources& of&analysis&that&may&suggest&different&approaches&and&perspectives.&Keep&in&mind&A"Room"of"One’s"Own& and&further&analysis&of&this&work&will&be&done&in&“Literature&Inglesa&III”,&in&third&year.& This& second& part& of& the& Study& Guide& for& A" Room& was& designed& to& complement& the& first& part& of& self2 assessment& study.& Therefore& a& careful& reading& will& provide& you& with& the& answer& and& feedback& for& the& questions& found& in& that& first& part,& the& reading& of& this& second& part& must& be& done& only& AFTER& you& have& tried&to&answer&the&questions&on&your&own&through&your&own&analysis&and&ideas.&

!

CHAPTER&12&“OXFRIDGE&AND&A&ROOM&OF&ONE’S&OWN”& ! ! Here& there& is& a& schematic& summary& of& the& events& and& main& ideas& throughout& the& Chapter&useful&to&have&a&global&view&of&the&key&aspects&developed&in&it:& ! o Conference!“Women!and!Fiction”:!what!they!are!like!/!what!they!write!/!what! is!written!about!them.! o Only!answer:!MONEY!+!A!ROOM!OF!ONE’S!OWN! o “Oxfridge”!fiction:!! o Stroll!around!the!university!campus! o >ŝďƌĂƌLJĂĐĐĞƐƐĚĞŶŝĞĚї/ŶƚĞůůĞĐƚƵĂůƌĞƐƚƌŝĐƚŝŽŶƚŽǁŽŵĞŶ! o Lunch! at! women’s! college;! contrast! richness! of! male! premises! and!poorness!of!women’s!resources;!“cat!without!a!tail”!on!the! lawn.! o “THE!POVERTY!OF!OUR!SEX”! o Dinner! with! women’s! college! director:! Women’s! administration! of! money;! college! founding;! maternity! and! inability! to! inherit! prevents! women! from! business.! o “OUR! MOTHERS’! HERITAGE”8! Women! have! not! inherited! business! training! or! money! to! found! universities! the! way! men! have! due! to! their! social! and! economic!conditions.! o Poverty! affects! the! Mind.! The! contrast! between! the! safety! and! prosperity! of! ŽŶĞ ƐĞdž ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞ ƉŽǀĞƌƚLJ ĂŶĚ ŝŶƐĞĐƵƌŝƚLJ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŽƚŚĞƌ ї dŚŝƐ ĨĂĐƚ ĂĨĨĞĐƚƐ ĂŶĚ conditions!a!woman!writer’!mind!and!creativity.! ! ! MAIN&CONCLUSION:&“A&ROOM&OF&ONE’S&OWN”&/&NARRATIVE&VOICE&AND&TONE&

Chapter! 1!of! A" Room! moves!through!a!free!flowing!narrative!of! associative!thoughts! centered! around!the! title!of! a!conference! Woolf!has! to! write:!“Women!and! Fiction.”!

The! first! chapter! presents! a! train! of! thoughts! and! ideas! that! have! led! her! to! think! about! the! thesis! statement! of! her! conference! “a& woman& must& have& money& and& a& room&of&her&own&if&she&is&to&write&fiction,”!which!she!does!not!think!too!appropriate! as!a!conclusion!for!such!a!wide!topic!as!women!and!fiction.!! Chapter! 1! goes! through! the! thoughts! and! ideas! that! have! led! her! reach! this! conclusion!as! a!way! to!make!the!reader! and!herself!understand!why!such! a!complex! and! interdisciplinary!topic!is! reduced! in!her! opinion!to!the!nutshell!of!this!aphorism,! curiously! the! essay! itself! ironically! states! how! intellect! relates! to! experience:! the! conclusions! she! reaches! are! brought! up! through! her! experiences! of! that! day! while! strolling! and! visiting! a! women’s! college! at! the! supposedly! fictive! “Oxfridge”! (a! combination! of! Oxford! and! Cambridge).! Although! Woolf! tells! us! that! she! will! unfold! the!way!her!thoughts!have!led!her!to!such!a!conclusion,!she!in!fact!illustrates!the!birth! of!such!thoughts!through!the!material!reality!she!lives!through!that!day!at!university.! In!the!first!paragraph!we!find!some!of!the!most!important!ideas!of!the!whole! essay.!First,!style!and!tone!are!defined!in!the!first!lines:!“But,"you"may"say,"we"asked" you"to"speak"about"women"and"fiction—what"has"that"got"to"do"with"a"room"of"one’s" own?"I"will"try"to"explain."When"you"asked"me"to"speak"about"women"and"fiction"I"sat" down"on"the"banks"of"a"river"and"began"to"wonder"what"the"words"meant.”!With!these! lines! Woolf! establishes! a! communication! with! the! reader! (we! can’t! forget! this! is! originally! a! speech,! a! spoken! conference)! through! a! casual,! relaxed! and! interactive! mode!that!welcomes!the!reader! to!join!the!flow!of!her!thoughts!and!her!experience! too,! since! we! are! sitting! with! her! along! the! banks! of! the! river! sharing! her! contemplative!mood.! EXPERIENCE&OF&SPACE&/&ACCESS&TO&INTELLECT&

The!way!Woolf!illustrates!how!she!reaches!this!conclusion!is!through!the!description!of! her!experience!of!space!at!the!university!campus.!How!she!is!prevented!from!entering! certain!places!and!denied!access!just!because!she!is!a!woman.!The!first!experience!is! with!a!man!that!tells!her!to!get!out!of!the&lawn,!since!it!is!accessible!only!for!members! of! the!university!community—this! event! affects! the! way! her! mind! moves! fabricating! ideas!and!thought,!becoming!a!metaphor!to!how!interruptions!due!to!body!restrictions! (in! this! case! because! of! the! fact! of! being! a! woman! not! included! in! the! intellectual! community)!hi...