I had never read anything by Virginia Woolf prior to this article, and I have to admit that I knew nothing about her either. But now I am presuming she was a white, educated Englishwoman (someone let me know if I am wrong!). Her style of fiction was a good means to address issues about women, poverty, and their status in society. At first it seemed like it was just a fictional tale about a young woman, but then it changed tone (more so in chapters two and three) and talked about women’s access to education, which is directly related to why women are not present in history and the arts. I enjoyed reading this representation of women’s thoughts in history about women, and the future of the women’s movement.
Posted by Julia Schaffer at October 23, 2005 04:17 PMI don't know a lot about Woolf, either, though I was impressed by her bold approach to gender issues. The issues involving blatent inequalities to women that hte narrator experienced make various points, but I think she makes a good point regarding money vs. the right to vote. For a woman to have money, it is more influencial because it eliminates a woman's dependence on a man, while women's sufferage gives women the right to choose the man to rule over her. I think this is a good point, because the societal structure didn't change with the right to vote; the United States has yet to be governed by a female president and the legislature and court consist, primarily, of white men. That is not to say that these politicians cannot represent the interests of women, but the fact that they are the ones receiving powerful positions shows that they aren't doing so. However, women entering the workforce and attempting to gain equal status there (though this has yet to occur) does allow a woman to take care of herself, eliminating, if she wills it, subordination within the home. She is not required, by survival, to serve a husband, because now she has her own income and is able to provide for and support herself. Yet, the representation of women in government is low, to say the least. Therefore, while the right to vote was an important step for women, it is not as influential as money, because she is still choosing the man/men who will decide the rules of her life, and ultimately her status in society. It did not make women equal to men; men continue to have the security of status above women.
Posted by: Debbie Sellnow at October 23, 2005 09:22 PM