The Scope of Woolf’s Feminism in A Room of One’s Own Essay -- Woolf A

The Scope of Woolfs Feminism in A Room of Ones OwnMissing Works CitedA highly contested statement on women and fiction, Virginia Woolfs extendedessay A Room of Ones Own has been repeatedly reviewed, critiqued, and analyzed sinceits emergence in 1929. Arnold Bennett, an early twentieth-century novelist, and DavidDaiches, a literary critic who wrote an analysis entitled Virginia Woolf in 1942 (Murphy247), were among those to attempt to extricate the themes and implications of Woolfscomplex essay. The two critics deal with the often-discussed womens rightist aspect of Woolfsessay in interestingly different ways. Bennett states that Woolfs essay is not a feminist regulate, rejects the idea that Woolfs discussion of women and fiction may lean towards the governmental, and reduces the essays scope to a collection of musings on women and fiction.Daiches responds to A Room of Ones Own in the arctic way he claims that Woolfswork is feminist, and Woolfs feminism emphasizes not only women and theirrelationship to fiction, but all people of genius who have not had an opportunity to use itbecause of their lack of money and privacy. While Bennett restricts the scope of theessay to a non- feminist, completely apolitical ideology and Daiches enlarges the scope toa wide, universal feminism, Woolfs own intention in writing A Room of Ones Own mayhave actually been to create a work that lay somewhere in between these two extremes.In one of the earliest reviews of A Room of Ones Own, British novelist ArnoldBennett addressed the move of feminism in the essay and concluded that Woolf wasnot writing from a feminist perspective. It is a book a little ab egress men and a great dealabout women. But it is no... ...ments do point out important limits on Woolfs feminism. As Arnold Bennett says, Woolfs concerns are not political althoughour modern definition of feminism is wider than Bennetts was, Woolfs lack of politicalinterest does certainly limit the scope of her feminism. David Daichess critique of theessay points out another important characteristic of Woolfs feminist thought. Herfeminism is not, as Daiches believes based in a larger democratic feeling. Woolfsfeminism is in actuality quite limited in tha t she only applies it to British, upper middleclass women writers. Virginia Woolfs essay-which to Bennett seemed non- feminist and to Daiches seemed feminist- universalist-is, by our modern definition, feminist however, the borders of culture, class, and profession that composed her frame of credit drastically limit the scope of Woolfs feminism.