A Room Of One's Own is a feminist propagandist work by Virginia
Woolf.This book which belongs to the second wave of feminism critically evaluate the position of women particularly in reference to
creativity.The ideas are presented in a logically coherent way.This work begins with presenting woolf on the lawns of Oxbridge ruminating up on the socially castrated state of women.
Virginia Woolf thinks that the economic deprivations of women have been a major reason for their subaltern position.She reveals that if it wasn't for the legacy of 500 pounds a year left to her by her aunt she wouldn't have been
able to pursue a creative career.But most of the women are not so fortunate.Women themselves are considered as properties by the patriarchic
discoursive formations.
Written in 1929 this work diachronically analyse status and role of women from 15th century onwards.She creates an imaginary sister for
Shakespeare named Judith Shakespeare and portrays a tragic picture of her. As she is a women she would never be able to
achieve the recognition that shakespeare did even if both of them were of the same caliber.Thus Woolf emphasises the point that creativity of a person depends up on the
privileges that person enjoys.
Thus material privileges will have an evident influence up on the intellectul vigour.Its intellectual vigour which has a sway over creativity.Most of the women were unable to reach the heights of androtexts as the were bitter towards the system. If one has to write sublime then first of all he should have an incandescent attitude.One shoud be free of all bitterness and protest.Such a mental attitude is the outcome of of privileges that are enjoyed.Only very few women writers of yester centuries were able to achieve this.Only the likes of Jane Austen whowas content with what she had.Charolette Bronte a women of greater genius than Austen was not able to achieve the same sublime nature as she was bitter bout her deprivations.
Virginia also puts forth the argument that language is predominantly patriarchal.She looks at it as an instrument in the hand of patriarchs. According to her there is no sentence ready for use by a women.The affinity of women writers towards the novel genre is because of the relative newness of it.At the end of the book she elaborates up on the colleredgian theory of androgynity. But if that quality has to be achieved then women must have the same privileges that men enjoy.If not it will affect the creative ability of men too as the protest of women will influence their mind set too.
Throuh this work the dominant androcentric discoursive formations are subverted by Woolf.Her orginality is striking even for a reader of 21 st centuary.She is helping the women to find their way back to the subject slot of discoursive formation.
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