从《一间自己的房间》探究女性与写作的关系

On Women’s Writing from A Room of One’s Own

By Liu Tingshan

In partial fulfillment of the requirement

For the B. A. degree

Department of English

School of Languages and Cultures

Nanjing University of Information Science amp; Technology

April, 2018

Contents

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………..2
   1. Introduction to Virginia Woolf…………………………………………....2
   2. History of women’s writing……………..………………………………...3
2. Material conditions for women’s writing……………………………………….....4
   1. Economic independence……………………………………………….......4
   2. Equal social status……………………………………………………...….6
3. Spiritual conditions for women’s writing………………………………………….8
   1. Extensive life experience……………………………………………...…..8
   2. Independent thinking………………………………………………………9
   3. Freedom of spirit……………………………………………………..…..11
4. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………..........12
5. References…………………………………………………………………….….13
6. Acknowledgement………………………………………………………………..14

On Women’s Writing from A Room of One’s Own

Liu Tingshan

Academy of Foreign Language and Culture, NUIST, Nanjing 210044, China

Abstract：Virginia Woolf is one of the greatest writers in England and she is considered as the founder of modern feminist literature. Most of her works show her unique and profound feminist thoughts, and her essay A Room of One’s Own that was published in 1929 is a masterpiece in feminist literature. The aim of this essay is to explore the conditions of women’s writing and to illustrate the factors that are vital for women writers by analyzing the feminist view that are conveyed by Woolf in A Room of One’s Own. The essay points out the condition of women’s writing in history first, and then illustrates the material and spiritual conditions that are indispensible for the path of women writers’ creation and stresses the importance of women’s independence. By analyzing such conditions, the author comes to the conclusion that great material condition is the premise of women’s creation and the key factor that contributes to women’s writing is spiritual freedom.

Key words: Virginia Woolf; A Room of One’s Own; women’s writing; material conditions; spiritual conditions

摘要：弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫是英国著名女性作家之一，也被认为是现代女性主义文学的奠基人。她的大多数作品中都体现了她独特且深刻的女性主义思想，而其中最著名的《一间自己的房间》更是被认为是女性主义文学的代表作之一。本文旨在探究女性和写作并阐述女性写作过程中所不可缺少的条件。文章首先分析历史上女性作家写作的环境，接着结合现实情况，论述女性作家若想要写作一定要满足的条件，探究女性与写作以及女性独立的重要性。最后作者得出一定的物质条件是女性写作的前提，而女性对自我精神世界的塑造才是关键。

关键词：弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫；一间自己的房间；女性写作；物质条件；精神条件

1. Introduction

1.1．Introduction to Virginia Woolf

Adeline Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) is an English writer who is considered as one of the leading figures in the use of stream of consciousness and a pioneer of 20th-century feminism. Her works include the novel Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, Between the acts. She is also well known for her essay “ A Room of One’s Own” which is often seen as an important milestone in feminist literature.

Virginia Woolf was born in a wealthy family in London, and due to the policy of that time, only boys can go to public schools, so she had been mainly home-schooled in her childhood. Later, she went to the Ladies' Department of King's College London to receive higher education. There were six children in her family. Her mother died when she was 13 and when she was 15, her dearest sister died, too. The deaths of her beloved ones made her deeply depressed and caused a huge impact on her later life. Meanwhile, Virginia’s father had become the ruler of her family. He took her and her sister to theatres and balls and dance parties to make them become the typical upper class ladies that he wanted them to be, which had made Virginia realize the ugliness of patriarchy and it was at that time that her feminist views began to develop. (Webb, 2009: 6-9)

She also had heavy mental health issues from the age of 13. She had suffered from various mental diseases from severe depression to manic excitement, which made her family thought that she was mad. In 1904, her father died, which led to the most severe mental break down she ever had. Modern scholars have also suggested that her mental issues were caused by the sexual abuse from her stepbrothers. Virginia had been sexually abused by her stepbrother Gerald and George since she was 6 years old, which had caused an indelible impact on her whole life. She showed signs of inferiority and felt ashamed of herself. She also began to connect sex with violence. She described feelings around George like “an unfortunate minnow shut up in the same tank with an unwieldy and turbulent whale”, and that visiting Gerald was like “visiting an alligator in a tank, an obese amp; obsolete alligator. ” (DeSalvo, 1989: 109-111) All the unfair experiences she had since she was a little girl made her realize that men have control over women all the time and they are always superior in families, which deepened her hatred towards patriarchy.

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