The Feminism aspects of Virginia Woolf's Life and her Novels
Name -Jignesh K. Panchasara
Paper - 106: The Twentieth Century Literature: 1900 to World War II
Roll No- 8
Enrollment no-3069206420200013
Email id-jigneshpanchasara5758@gmail.com
Batch- MA 2020-2022
Submitted to - S.B Gardi Department of English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji
Bhavnagar University.
Introduction
Woolf was born Adeline Virginia Stephen on January 25, 1882, in London. Her parents were Leslie Stephen editor of the Dictionary of National Biography and Julia Prinsep Jackson Duckworth Stephen. Both parents had been married before and had children from those unions. Together, the Stephens had three other children in addition to Virginia Woolf was educated at home where she had free access to her father's extensive library. In 1895 her mother died, and Woolf experienced the first of many psychological breakdowns that would plague her throughout her life.
Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) was one of the most important female authors in the transitional period from Victorian age to the Edwardian age. Until her death at the age of 59 she published several novels, feminist essays and held two classes in Cambridge about “Women and Fiction”.
In this ,I would like to introduce the feminism aspects of her life and novels.
After giving a short introduction with the most important facts about Virginia Woolf’s life, my first intention is to define the theory of feminism and show how it affected Virginia already as a young girl and mainly as an independent woman.
Later, three of her novels are taken to demonstrate how Virginia Woolf’s development influenced her literary output. I would also like to show the differences between Virginia Woolf’s attitude towards women and men and compare it to theories of the feministic movement in the 20th century.
** A short introduction into Virginia Woolf’s life**
Born as the third child of Sir Leslie Stephen, the editor of the “Dictionary of National Biography”, and his second wife Julia Duckworth, January 1st 1882, Virginia and her siblings grew up in London where she had always had easy access to education, such as private classes in Latin and Greek - which was not a common case for girls in Victorian times - and also to her father’s library.
There were two major incidents in Virginia’s youth that caused serious mental breakdowns: Her mother’s death in 1895 and seven years later, her father’s death of cancer.[1] After recovering from this mental crisis, Virginia enjoyed her new independence, travelling to Spain and Italy, accompanied by her sister Vanessa and her brother Thoby, who later died of Typhus.
Virginia returned to London where she made friends with Leonard Woolf. After getting married in 1912, Leonard had to find out that Virginia not only refused any sexual relationship with him, but also had numerous breakdowns during the following years, including several tries of committing suicide. This mental illness carried on during her whole life, usually appearing shortly before finishing her most recent novel.
** Definition of the “Feminism”**
To analyse Virginia Woolf’s attitude towards feminism and how this is demonstrated in her books and essays, there has to be a definition first of what “feminism” means in general: Feminism is “the belief in the principle that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men” also “the movement in support of this” But there are also different types of feminism, such as the “cultural feminism”, the “Individualist or Libertarian Feminism”, the “Moderate Feminism” and several more. What they all have in common is that they have the same origin which is to call attention to the problem of discrimination between men an women concerning different issues, social and private.
The feminism movement started already in the 19th century although it did not develop as fast as in the beginning of the 20th century when the female presence in public, work-life and also in the media at that time was accepted.
The media and female writers were the main supporters of the feministic movement, that achieved and changed a lot, but still has not reached his goal, for it still works with the same principles such as for example the “Emma”.
**How the theory of Feminism influenced Virginia as an adolescent**
The relationship between her parents, the talented and highly respected Leslie Stephen and his beautiful wife, who was always there to give him support and her unshared attention, had great effect on Virginia’s attitude towards men. It is said that she inherited her mother’s beauty but that she could not deal with it the way her mother did. She regarded her mothers ability to get along with other people so well with great approval but she could not cope with her mother’s behaviour as it was appropriate for a woman in Victorian times – a role her mother fit perfectly in. After her mother died in 1895 at the age of 49, Leslie Stephen tried to force his daughters into the empty space the mother left as being a perfect hostess, which made them fear and hate their father, and which had also a great effect on Virginia striving for a way out of this Victorian tradition.
Another influence in her development towards an important author of modern feminism were her two step-brothers, George and Gerald Duckworth, but also her own brothers, Thoby and Adrian, who enjoyed a full education at Cambridge University, while she stayed at home, taught by her parents and later receiving private classes, an untypical phenomenon in Victorian times, as already mentioned above.
The Famous Novels of Virginia, which differ The feminist Issues of the Woman.
A Room of One's Room
To The light House
Orlando
Mrs. Dalloway
The voyage Out
These are the famous Novels of Virginia Woolf. In that reading through we can get the idea of She was a FEMINIST.
Let's see The Feminist quotes by Virginia Woolf.
Woolf writes:
CLOTHES HAVE, THEY SAY, MORE IMPORTANT OFFICES THAN MERELY TO KEEP US WARM. THEY CHANGE OUR VIEW OF THE WORLD AND THE WORLD’S VIEW OF US.
ORLANDO AS A PERSONIFICATION OF THE IDEAL STATUS OF ANDROGYNY; SOMEONE WHO KNOWS THE SECRETS OF BOTH SEXES AND CAN ACCESS THE WHOLE SPECTER OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE.
The novel exuberantly conveys its message of the urge of gender equality in our society. Ergo, my feminist reading of Orlando salutes Woolf as an author, who so beautifully cultivates the fluid identities of the notions of sex and gender in her piece.
ORLANDO IS NOT A WOMAN ACTING LIKE A MAN. ORLANDO IS A MAN. AND A WOMAN. AND THERE IS NOTHING UNNATURAL ABOUT IT.
ORLANDO HAD BECOME A WOMAN THERE IS NO DENYING OF IT. BUT IN EVERY OTHER RESPECT, ORLANDO REMAINS PRECISELY AS HE HAD BEEN. THE CHANGE OF SEX, THOUGH IT ALTERED THEIR FUTURE, DID NOTHING WHATEVER TO ALTER THEIR IDENTITY.
When in Constantinople amongst the natives, Orlando did not experience gender differences due to her changed sex. However as soon as she boards the Enamoured Lady to return to England, appropriately dressed as a “young Englishwoman of high rank”, she realized that English “women are not exquisitely apparelled by nature”.
Conclusion
If we see the character of Virginia Woolf. so we can get the idea of feminist woman of the 20th century. whose novel is to be the part of the feminist idea of woman . who are suffering and fight for the rights, which are not found for the woman. Also, The Victorian age is one of the Example of it.
works cited
(Autor), E., 2021. GRIN - Virginia Woolf and feminism. [online] Grin.com. Available at: <https://www.grin.com/document/129571> [Accessed 26 May 2021].
Encyclopedia.com. 2021. Woolf, Virginia: Introduction | Encyclopedia.com. [online] Available at: <https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/woolf-virginia-introduction#:~:text=VIRGINIA%20WOOLF%3A%20INTRODUCTION,of%20One's%20Own%20(1929)> [Accessed 26 May 2021].
2021. [online] Available at: <http://feminismininhttpsdia.com/2015/07/31/feministic-reading-virginia-woolfs-orlando-biography/> [Accessed 26 May 2021].
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