www.huffpost.com
Open in
urlscan Pro
151.101.66.114
Public Scan
URL:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/virginia-woolf-feminist_n_6534258
Submission Tags: demotag1 demotag2 Search All
Submission: On October 28 via api from IE — Scanned from CA
Submission Tags: demotag1 demotag2 Search All
Submission: On October 28 via api from IE — Scanned from CA
Form analysis 1 forms found in the DOM
<form class="newsletter__input"><input type="email" class="newsletter__input__text" name="email_address" aria-label="Enter your email address" placeholder="address@email.com" value="" aria-describedby="newsletter-error" autocomplete="email"><input
type="submit" class="newsletter__input__submit js-cet-item" aria-label="SIGN UP" value="SUBSCRIBE">
<div id="newsletter-error" class="newsletter__error"></div>
</form>Text Content
Skip to Main Content × MAIN MENU U.S. Edition 2024 ELECTIONS NEWS U.S. NewsWorld NewsBusinessEnvironmentHealthSocial JusticeCrime POLITICS Joe BidenCongressExtremism OPINION ENTERTAINMENT Culture & ArtsMediaCelebrityTV & FilmBooks LIFE Style & BeautyFood & DrinkParentingTravelWellnessRelationshipsMoneyHome & LivingWork/LifeShopping VOICES Black VoicesQueer VoicesLatino VoicesIndigenous VoicesAsian VoicesWomen's Voices HUFFPOST PERSONAL NEW: GAMES HOROSCOPES VIDEO FROM OUR PARTNERS Well TraveledThe Good LifeA New View NEWSLETTERS INTERNATIONAL U.S.U.K.EspañaFranceΕλλάδα (Greece)Italia日本 (Japan)한국 (Korea) FOLLOW US Terms | Privacy Policy Part of HuffPost News. ©2024 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. × WHAT'S HOT Log InSupport Us 2024 ELECTIONSNEWSPOLITICSENTERTAINMENTLIFEPERSONALVOICESSHOPPINGGAMES U.S. EditionOpen editions submenu Booksvirginia woolfFeminism WHY VIRGINIA WOOLF SHOULD BE YOUR FEMINIST ROLE MODEL Why Virginia Woolf Should Be Your Feminist Role Model By Maddie Crum Writer Jan 25, 2015, 10:09 AM EST |Updated Dec 6, 2017 LEAVE A COMMENT Although Virginia Woolf is now accepted as a major writer and an early feminist, her work wasn't embraced or widely anthologized until nearly 50 years after her novels were published. Though many of her stories don't adhere to the informal strictures of modernism -- she often voiced her distaste for James Joyce and other contemporaries who wrote unabashedly about sexuality -- she's championed today for subtly calling attention to women's issues. In her novels and her many letters to her fellow thinkers in the Bloomsbury group, she artfully made clear many double standards of her day. Here's why, in addition to Roxane Gay, Bey and Lena Dunham, Virginia Woolf should be one of your feminist role models: She was chiefly interested in the inner lives of women. Unlike many of her literary predecessors, Woolf aimed to give credence to the unspoken emotions and interpretations we experience daily. She did this not only by placing more traditionally feminine themes at the forefront of her stories, but by penning sentences with a cadence that revealed the inner workings of her characters’ minds. A New Yorker article calls this, “The tragic lack of correspondence between intention and expression; and what these reveal about the nature of love.” Advertisement While this dissonance isn’t only of interest to women, it’s true that such “small” themes have traditionally been the subject of books by female authors, and have lamentably been shunned by critics for their “smallness.” Woolf, however, was too impressive to be ignored. She lived in a time when she was granted few rights -- but turned the setback into a strength. When her contemporaries were authoring stories about the violent events of World War I, Woolf, who hadn’t the opportunity to fight, instead turned her narrative eye towards its impact on domestic life, and wrote Jacob’s Room, which revealed the more personal impact of grief and trauma. She was criticized by female writers of her ilk, such as Katherine Mansfield, for not addressing war and politics more directly, but continued to do the sort of work she believed in. She was progressive in her feminism, and even made the connection between a patriarchal society and militarism. Remember last week's State of the Union address, when Obama called America's still-lacking equal pay for women exactly what it is: embarrassing? Virginia Woolf wrote about the detriments caused by gender-influenced salaries long before moves were made to change legislation. In A Room of One's Own, she famously explains that without financial freedom, women cannot possess full creative or intellectual freedom. While Woolf's essay directly evaluates the role of education -- which was withheld from many women of her time -- she goes on to equate schooling with income and self-sufficiency. In a later book-length essay, Three Guineas, written on the heels of World War II, she responded to a letter from a man asking how war could be prevented. Woolf used this correspondence not only to call attention to her pacifism, but also to the fact that as a woman her political ideas aren't valued. She wrote, "behind us lies the patriarchal system; the private house, with it nullity, its immorality, its hypocrisy, its servility. Before us lies the public world, the professional system, with its possessiveness, its jealousy, its pugnacity, its greed." Advertisement She believed deeply in the power of the individual. Virginia Woolf's advice on reading may be every high school English teacher's nightmare, but it's hugely empowering nonetheless. She writes, "take no advice, to follow your own instincts, to use your own reason, to come to your own conclusions... After all, what laws can be laid down about books? The battle of Waterloo was certainly fought on a certain day; but is Hamlet a better play than Lear? Nobody can say. Each must decide that question for himself." Asserting that there's no one correct way of interpreting a text may be controversial, but Woolf herself, who never received a university degree, was often forced to challenge conventions in order to succeed. She saw sexuality -- and gender -- as fluid. In a letter written around the same time as Three Guineas, Woolf not only acknowledges that gender-specific traits are socialized, but implies that gendered desires are often a source of violence. Such themes are explored thoroughly in her fiction, including her first novel, A Voyage Out, which mirrors her personal voyage from a more traditional upbringing to the intellectually stimulating Bloomsbury group she became a regular fixture of. She's already been a feminist role model for countless artists and thinkers Including Simone de Beauvoir and Michael Cunningham, to name a few! SUPPORT FREE JOURNALISM Consider supporting HuffPost starting at $2 to help us provide free, quality journalism that puts people first. Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read. Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone. The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor? Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone. The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. We hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more. Support HuffPost Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages. RELATED booksvirginia woolfFeminism Go to Homepage LEAVE A COMMENT Suggest a correction | Submit a tip Advertisement FROM OUR PARTNER Recommended by FROM OUR PARTNER Recommended by HUFFPOST SHOPPING'S BEST FINDS 31 COMFORTABLE BOTTOMS GUARANTEED TO MAKE YOU FORGET ALL ABOUT JEANS REVIEWERS REALLY, REALLY LOVE THESE TARGET SWEATPANTS THESE 13 OLD-SCHOOL BEAUTY PRODUCTS ARE STILL THE BEST AROUND THESE ARE MAKEUP ARTISTS' SECRETS TO LOOKING YOUNGER ALL OF MY BEST AND MOST-COMPLIMENTED SWEATERS CAME FROM THIS AFFORDABLE STORE Newsletter Sign Up BOOKS Get book recommendations, author interviews and info on new releases. Successfully Subscribed! Realness delivered to your inbox By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Close WHAT'S HOT MORE IN BOOKS R.F. KUANG HOPES CHANGE WILL COME TO A 'GRIM' PUBLISHING INDUSTRY LUCY YU IS REDEFINING WHAT A BOOKSTORE CAN BE MARTHA STEWART SHARES EASY RECIPE FOR KEEPING HER AFFAIR A SECRET FOR 30 YEARS LISA MARIE PRESLEY'S MEMOIR REVEALS SHOCKING MICHAEL JACKSON SEX SECRET SOCIAL MEDIA REACTS TO MELANIA TRUMP'S 'MY BODY, MY CHOICE' VIDEO REVIEWERS CALL THIS HANDS-FREE LIGHT THE 'BEST PURCHASE THEY’VE EVER MADE' 35 FUNNY AND RELATABLE TWEETS ABOUT THE SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR AMAZON KINDLES ARE FINALLY ON SALE FOR THE LOWEST PRICE OF THE YEAR EMILY HENRY DOESN’T REALLY CARE IF YOU DON’T LIKE HER BOOKS AMAZON KINDLES ARE FINALLY ON SALE FOR THE LOWEST PRICE OF THE YEAR GRAMMAR NERDS ENGAGED IN HARRIS-WALZ APOSTROPHE BATTLE ‘IT ENDS WITH US’ IS A GREAT BOOK-TO-FILM ADAPTATION — BUT THERE’S SOMETHING MISSING JAMES BALDWIN BOOKS TO CELEBRATE THE INFLUENTIAL AUTHOR'S BIRTHDAY A MEMBER OF DONALD TRUMP'S FAMILY ENDORSES KAMALA HARRIS FOR PRESIDENT BOOKS THAT HONOR PALESTINIAN AUTHORS AND STORIES NEWSPOLITICSENTERTAINMENTLIFEVOICESHUFFPOST PERSONALSHOPPINGNEWSLETTERS About UsAdvertiseContact UsRSSFAQCareersUser AgreementComment PolicyDMCA PolicyHuffPost Press RoomAccessibility StatementPrivacy PolicyConsent PreferencesDo Not Sell or Share My Personal Information Part of HuffPost News. ©2024 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. The Huffington Post Your Opt Out Preference Signal is Honored PRIVACY PREFERENCE CENTER When you visit this website, we collect personal information such as IP addresses, cookie identifiers and other pseudonymous identifiers. This information may be used to personalize content based on your interests and customize advertising campaigns tailored to you, measure the performance of our properties and derive insights about the audiences who engage with ads and content. Information may also be disclosed by us to third parties on IAB's List of Downstream Participants that may further disclose it to other third parties. Using personal information is an integral part of how we operate our website, make revenue to support our staff, and generate relevant content for our audience. You can learn more about our data collection and use practices in our Privacy Policy. If you wish to opt out of the disclosure of your personal information to third parties by us, please use the below opt out and confirm your selection. Please note that after your opt out request is processed, you may continue seeing interest-based ads based on personal Information utilized by us or personal information disclosed to third parties prior to your opt out. You may separately opt out of the further disclosure of your personal information by third parties on the IAB's List of Downstream Participants. Allow All MANAGE CONSENT PREFERENCES TARGETING COOKIES Targeting Cookies These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising. PERFORMANCE COOKIES Performance Cookies These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance. FUNCTIONAL COOKIES Functional Cookies These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly. STRICTLY NECESSARY COOKIES Always Active These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information. SOCIAL MEDIA COOKIES Social Media Cookies These cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools. Back Button COOKIE LIST Search Icon Filter Icon Clear checkbox label label Apply Cancel Consent Leg.Interest checkbox label label checkbox label label checkbox label label Reject All Confirm My Choices