Essays on Virginia Woolf

The British novelist, critic and essayist Virginia Stephen Woolf is considered one of the most authentic writers of England in the period between the First and the Second World Wars. Being discontented with the novels on the basis of the well-known, actual and apparent, Woolf went on her own experimental way. Walking along this path, the writer discovered a more internal, subjective interpretation of life experience, which is reflected in all of her creative works. It is also worth mentioning about the impact of such famous people such as Henry James, Marcel Proust and James Joyce on her work. ...

Virginia Woolf and

Virginia Woolf undoubtedly stands as a titan in the early era of gender progress. She not only spoke of the virtues of a woman’s mind, independence, and the contribution women can make, but she wrote it into her characters. The irony lies in her inability to embrace her own ideas. Virginia Woolf believed in women’s rights and surrounded herself with like-minded people. Even when she lived in a world that did not agree with her ideas about gender equality, she took it upon herself to be herself. She believed in her right to speak and be heard ...

Love is a complex subject as its definition and understanding varies among people. Collins and Manfred (27) assert that true love is one that triumphs lastingly through painful moments and hurdles present in everyday life. It is undeniable that love is quite essential in different cultures, considering how it is discussed in songs, films and books by people from various societies. Love is a vibrant theme especially among the youth as they transit from childhood to adulthood. Philosophically, love cuts across a variety of disciplines such as metaphysics, human nature, ethics, religion and epistemology. In this regard, love may ...

Majority of societies that existed in the past and even today are patriarchal. It is a male-dominated society and history has more prominent male figures than their female counterparts. It is in the norm that women are to stay at home and fulfill their roles as mothers and homemakers. Society finds it daunting to see a woman fulfilling a man’s role. In her essay, Ulrich highlights three women who lived in different times from each other. The first lady mentioned was Christine de Pizan, an Italian-French court writer in the 15th century. Next was Elizabeth Cady Stanton, an ...

English literature

The 19th and early 20th century had to face a reality characterized by social, political and economic issues. Furthermore the World War One dramatically changed the already complex and troubled frame which gave birth to the Modernism. Indeed during the 19th century the traditional Victorian society turned itself into a modern and industrialized society, where cities were growing fast and the old ethical and religious values were rejected. This massive change also involved all the traditional forms of art, literature, architecture, philosophy, science and even all the aspects of the everyday lives. Salient of the Modernism Era is the ...

A Thousand Clowns and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf

Alienation and the stress, which are characteristic of the US of the fifties, found its visible expression in the sixties in the civil rights movement, feminism, anti-war protests, and active struggle of national minorities for their rights and the emergence of the counterculture whose effects are still felt in the US society. To the 60-th year, the role of women begins to change considerably. Women, taking advantage of the emergence of a large number of jobs, and the fact that employers have to give up the preferences, which they at one time gave unmarried women and employed married women ...

Modernity in Virginia Woolf’s Writings

One of the most important of Virginia Woolf’s writings, which is theorized on the concept of modernity is Mrs. Dalloway. Written in 1953, this particular work of Woolf if part of the contemporary literature. The overall theme, setting, and narration in this particular work were all constructed upon principles of modernism. The primary aim of Woolf was to diverge from the conventional thought processes that existed in the society prior to the First World War as the aftermath of the war brought in a dramatic degree of change in the way the world is perceived by people. The ...

Women around the world are subject to discrimination and violence at the hands of men. Their status has been manipulated by men by different sections of society such as clergy, politicians, and economists. Women, especially in the United States were considered to be second class citizens to men; this eventually led to many historic movements by feminists, who aim for equal rights for women. To build awareness, artists and writers in history also played their role in giving boost to feminism. Virginia Woolf, Kate Millet, Alice Walker, John Stuart Mill, Mary Wollstonecraft, Germaine Greer, and Elizabeth Stanton are writers ...

The stories offered for the comparison may seem totally different at first sight. However, the common trait of the two is the motive of empathy, which turns out to be crucial in both. The famous ‘What if Shakespeare had a sister’ is a part of the essay ‘A Room of One's Own’. In its form the essay presents the dialogue since it originates from the lectures Virginia Woolf gave for women in the Newnham College and Girton College (Goodreads). In her work ‘A Room of One's Own’ Virginia Woolf describes the state of the patriarchic oppression of the generations ...

“I have a deeply hidden and inarticulate desire for something beyond the daily life,” Virginia Woolf confessed in Moments of Being. It is how she defined her enquiring mind that actually gave birth to the finest works in British literature. During Virginia Woolf’s entire life, she was borrowing her insights and gathering her feelings from ordinary weaving people, emotions, and incidents into completely modern lines. In fact, the external daily life was ingrained in the inner flow of author’s mind. No other writer was able to react so accurately to the constant change that took place in ...

The Connection between Romanticism and Z. Freud's Theories in V. Woolf's story "The Mark on the Wall" Undoubtedly, Virginia Woolf's creativity is one of the most mysterious and comprehensive in the world literature. She is considered the most prominent literary critic of the first half of the 20th century. In addition, the authoress entered the history of world literature as a representative of the modernist literature. Her writings have very deep and well thought-out plots. For a long time, Woolf had studied the works of Freud and Jung in order to understand the deeper spiritual experiences and to reflect ...

There are numerous similarities between the plot developed in Mrs. Dalloway and The Hours. For instance, the two plots were set at a time when the World Wars were taking place. Consequently, the author had to develop characters that took part in the war. Additionally, the effects of the war on the family setting are depicted in both plots. The role of the wives after their husband are away at war is also a shared similarity. In both plots, there is the role of Clarissa. In addition, the role played by Clarissa in both plots is similar.

One theme shared in ...

“Mrs. Dalloway” is a novel written by Virginia Woolf published in 1925 by Hogarth Press in United Kingdom. It is one of the best known novels in the history of fiction, and a best from Virginia Woolf. The novel is basically a combination of two earlier short stories from the writer named “Mrs. Dalloway in Bond Street” and “The Prime Minister”. The novel discusses the preparations made by Clarissa for a party she is hosting in the evening. While reading the novel, the story travels in the past that gives reader an understanding of the past life of Clarissa. The ...

Virginia Woolf's novel, Mrs. Dalloway, is considered by most to be a baffling read. This is partly because the novelist, Woolf, experiments with the technique of connecting the character's internal and external dialogues in the text. This is quite obvious in the author's characterization of Mrs. Dalloway or Clarissa, the protagonist of the novel, and Septimus. Many critics contend that both of these characters are a doubles. This idea, of course, comes from the “Introduction to the Random House edition of her novel” which states that, “‘Septimus, who later is intended to be her [that ...

Literature

Introduction Since the beginning of the world, the female gender has faced suppression from the male section of the society. This has reflected in the literature, as well. Many authors, writers and poets, have used hard language to point out the wrong done against the women. The tailored language due to the dictatorial system by the mail dominance has been used in the literature works to give a message for the Literature, on the other hand, has been the part of the world since its inception. Right from the beginning of the world, literary works have been proving ...

Introduction

Critique and revision are concepts which are employed to critically examine text, speech or ideas presented by other people. These concepts have been employed widely in the areas of activism and education. In the feminist movements, for example, various women critiqued men and patriarchy. They also critiqued and revised other feminist thinkers in their effort to make their movement more effective. Patriarchy is the general societal structure where men have exceedingly more power than women in social and financial terms. During the birth of the feminist movement, many women arose against patriarchy and its ills. One of the ways ...

The aim of this essay is to present you with the reflections drawn upon the term ‘Androgyny’ and the relationship which was developed on behalf of the writer Virginia Woolf with the concept of this term. The essay will review the article entitled ‘Virginia Woolf and Androgyny’ which was written by Marilyn Farewell and first published in the journal Contemporary Literature in 1975. It will highlight the main statements as stated and supported by Marilyn Farewell in her effort to realize and analyze the term ‘androgyny’ as defined by Virginia Woolf herself and the way it has affected the ...

In A Room of One’s Own, which is based on lectures she gave at two women’s colleges at the University of Cambridge in England, Virginia Woolf (1928) is trying to answer an unframed question about women and fiction. She says that “a woman must have money and she must have a room of her own if she is to write fiction.”(4). I argue that Woolf is right, but that a woman needs money to stop being just a reflection of a man. Woolf asks why men write about women. She says that men are attracted to the subject of women, ...

Comparison / Contrast of “Mrs. Dalloway” and “To the Lighthouse” by Virginia Woolf. The Significance of Marine Imagery in Both Novels as Metaphoric for Human Existence Two novels by Virginia Woolf named “Mrs. Dalloway” and “To the Lighthouse” present a great interest for researchers in many crucial aspects that can be regarded in the variety of contexts and in the variety of themes, like natural human feelings, expectations, desires, the essence of finding the way to happiness. Many characters in both of these novels are depicted from the widest perceptions of close interactions with nature, specifically with sea, waves ...

AMERICAN LITERATURE AFTER 1865

American culture is specific because Americans as a nation did not exist before 1776, but the art is being created almost the same after leaving the first free people in the New World. American culture has bypassed the Middle Ages, Baroque and Renaissance, but is nevertheless very much emphasized in relation to world literature. Period of civil war that has engulfed the American nation has brought with it many of the reforms except political. People have been shaken by war and suffering like finally a reality. No embellishment, no fantasy. The period between 1865 and 1914 in American literature indicates a ...

1. Thesis Statement: Virginia Woolf displays her style in her works A Room of one's own and Professions for Women to expose by example and historical fact the constraints society imposes upon women who write. 2. A Feminist Analysis of A Room of Her Own The works A Room of one's own and Professions for Women focus on the constraints placed upon women and how a lack of money and the ability to live independently would prevent them from achieving socially recognized success as authors in their own life times.

3, Argument:

Virginia Woolf opens a history book on how ...

'’'The Garden Party’' is a remarkably rich and innovative work that incorporates Mansfield's defining themes: New Zealand, childhood, adulthood, social class, class conflict, innocence, and experience.” . Kathrine Mansfield’s adult life was unconventional. The Garden Party harkens back to her youth and childhood in Wellington, New Zealand. The protagonist, Laura is a young lady growing up in a wealthy family in New Zealand. While not strictly autobiographic in nature, Laura could well be how Katherine Mansfield saw herself at that age. She is helping her family to prepare for a garden party to take place in the afternoon. In the morning, ...

We live in a world obsessed with routine. Anyone who tries to do things differently is frowned upon. As such, the only decent thing to do is to conform. As a result, many people end up feeling alienated. They end up feeling isolated by the world which is supposed to nurture and celebrate them. Consequently, their true identity is not discovered. Despite these events, all is not lost. Some literature authors have realized this problem, and they have dared to be different. They have walked paths which not so many people have walked and changed the way the society thinks. Although ...

The two novels are literary works which show the patriarchal attitudes which surround the women of the society. The works also express the interrelation between the sexes and study the societal forces which govern our lives. Virginia Woolf in To the Lighthouse brings forth the feminist voice against the patriarchal prejudices through the characters of the novel. The novel goes on to critique colonialist patriarchy and the stereotypical assumptions about Englishwomen. The starting of the novel does away with the masculine “sphere” of activity and thus shakes the opposition between the sexes. The public world of business and “ ...

Judy Chicago (American, b. 1939). The Dinner Party, 1974–79. Ceramic, porcelain, textile, 576 x 576 in. (1463 x 1463 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation, 2002.10

The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago is an important piece of feminist art of the 1970’s comprised of a mixed-media installation that combines craft media with sculpture. The Dinner Party depicts a large ceremonial banquet, arranged on an equilateral triangular table covered with thirty-nine place settings, each celebrating an important woman in history. Each side of the triangular table represents a different epoch: Wing I depicts historical feminine figures from ...

Analysis of "The Yellow Wallpaper" & "Turned" two stories from Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories that share common themes. The two stories are "The Yellow Wallpaper" & "Turned." Both by Charlotte Perkins Gilman This classic story which was first published in 1892 is typical of Charlotte Gilman who describes a young woman’s descent into neurosis and psychosis with alarming reality and stark detail. Principally, the story focuses on the girl’s fixation with her surroundings which intermingle with the declining effect on her health. This is all brought about by her husband’s wicked decision to ...