An Interpretation Of Virginia Woolf’s Feminism In Her A Room Of One’s Own

Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) is a British female writer in the20th century, who is regarded as the pioneer of modernism and feminism in the20th century. She is the central figure of the literary circle in London and an important member of the Bloomsbury Group. As early as the1920s, she criticized the economic, social, and cultural systems in patriarchy. She advocated a new perspective to examine the human history and then created a totally new value of gender. Her essay "A Room of One’s Own" is the typical work of her feminism.This thesis intends to explore the feminism and androgynous view reflected in "A Room of One’s Own". It is divided into four chapters. The first chapter is a brief introduction to Virginia Woolf, her living environment, and her work "A Room of One’s Own". This chapter also summarizes the studies on "A Room of One’s Own" at home and abroad in the recent years as well as the purpose and organization of this thesis. In Chapter two, discussions about Virginia Woolf s unique feministic perspective will be made in two aspects:firstly it introduces the definition of feminism, reviews the development of the western feminism and the British feminist literary tradition, and then analyzes Woolf s feminist views. Secondly, the analysis of the roots of Woolf s feminism perspective is made from Woolf s family background and her social and cultural environment. Chapter Three is focused on an analysis of the text of "A Room of One’s Own". It first presents women’s unequal position in patriarchal society from two aspects:one is the conditions of women’s public education and employment; the other refers to the limitations in other female writers’ works; then it calls for women’s rebellions such as economic independence, private space, that is, a room of one’s own, constructing women’s own conversational styles and applying unique ways of thinking and creation. In addition, two important factors that influence women’s potentials are discussed, Woolf s androgynous vision and its significance. The influences of Woolf s feminism on later generations are also commented in this chapter. The last chapter is the conclusion of the thesis, which sums up the feminist Interpretation of Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own and gives suggestions for the future study.There are abundant connotations and inspirations in Woolf’s feminism. Her ideas fully display the importance of feminism in the history of cultural development, and affect a lot of writers and critics all over the world.