A room of my own. (Woolf Chapters 1 and 2)

First of all, I happen to think that "A room of one's own" by Virginia Woolf is in fact a work of nonfiction. In a sense, it is similar to the comment about the bible, that "all these stories are true, and some actually happened". To say that this story is not true simply because it seems like a work of fiction seems unacceptable. Woolf uses the story of Shakespeare's sister to illustrate the universal plight of women at the beginning of the 1900's. She talks about her research for this book (actually two lectures), and her surprise at finding out that the books about women were written by men. This seems a great injustice, as the men who wrote these books often had no more credit for writing them except for the fact that they were not women.

Woolf was asked to write her lectures on women and fiction, and says that this is an impossible task for she could never actually come to a conclusion about it. Rather, she says that she will talk only about one opinion; that a woman "must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction". Now the part about having a room of ones own in which to write makes sense. Again, in a time when it was the woman's job to take care of the household, writing would have been nearly impossible. Unless you were intending to write about your family, the noise and bustle would have been a distraction, and would have effectively inhibited inspiration. Woolf points out the inequality of men and women, saying that men were given the greater things by merit of their sex, and so had inspiration and the ability to write. Meanwhile, women were forced to survive on 'pea soup', a bland form of inspiration, lacking all the finery and richness of the male fare.

Again, it is my opinion that a person can write anywhere, even in a noisy household. If Jane Austen could write her stories in the parlor, hiding them under the ink blotter for fear of being caught, then anyone can write, no matter their surroundings. It stands to reason, however, that one's writings reflect the situation in which they were written. Austen's writings may very well reflect the duress under which they were penned. Woof argues that inspiration is tied to class. She says that inspiration requires space to bloom, and that every writer needs wealth and privacy (or a room of their own) in which to write, effectively confining inspiration to the middle and upper class. It does not seem right to say that the ability to write or the inspiration to do so is only available to those with some level of monetary comfort.

Perhaps Woolf is simply pointing out that a writer needs to feel powerful, or have some power over their environment before they are able to write. Over this point, at least, we can agree. In order to devote concentration to the writing of a story, the writer must first feel comfortable in their environment, or be forced to view their present environment as an observer rather than a participant. As the best works are most often written when reflecting on a personal experience, this need for space and control makes sense. In that sense, for a woman to write, or even for anyone to write, they do indeed need a room of their own.