COMPOSITION & READING-ENGL F001A

Sexism and Literature

Men and women have an equal opportunity to write their poetry within a male-led and patriarchal society. In A Room of One’s Own, Woolf argues that men should not be blamed for the unfair treatment of their female counterparts. On the contrary, Woolf blames the universe together with its violence as she writes, “Life for both sexes-and I look at them, shouldering their way along the pavement-is arduous, difficult, a perpetual struggle. It calls for gigantic courage and strength. More than anything, perhaps, creatures of illusion that we are, it calls for confidence in oneself” (Woolf 28). The words “confidence,” “difficult” and “both sexes” show that both sexes find it difficult to become authors in the literature world. While the real world of literature might be sexist, individualism is a significant concept behind the battle between women and men or sex wars. It makes us believe Woolf’s argument that every individual needs room and money in order to write their own work. In this context, a room is used as a metaphor to represent a place of imagination or a space where individuals can develop ideas. Woolf considers material security as an important factor for both sexes to write great pieces of literature. In this case, these factors show the importance of “A Room of One’s Own” as a critical condition for both sexes to live a creative life. In line with these statements, both sexes have been struggling with the issue of sexism in the real world of literature due to unequal distribution of material means such as money and a room, but it takes an individual’s strength to go against such a struggle or prove sexist ideologies wrong.

Women need to take more initiative and more responsibility to get an education that can help them improve their literature work. Most women believe there is gender inequality in the real world of literature because they think it is impossible for them to survive without getting support from men. These women find it difficult to step up in the literary world just like the wife to Lord Dudley (Woolf 50). Woolf critically encourages women that in order to have great achievements, everyone should be woman-manly and man-womanly. He uses the ethos of a very experienced writer to show her concerns about female writers and their literature works. According to Lunsford et. al., (130), ethos acts as a critical argumentative appeal that creates quick and irresistible connections between arguments and readers. In this case, Woolf encourages women to have the same spirit as that of men and seek education through reading in order to strengthen their intellectual minds. For instance, the author critically shows her understanding of the importance of using a sense of humor in developing a writer’s credibility and trustworthiness. While we know Woolf as an individual with a literary mind, she informs readers that, “Like most uneducated Englishwomen, I like reading” (83). Such a sense of humor enables Woolf to develop plain old likability and also captures the attention of the targeted audience, therefore, encouraging them to grasp her message. In this sense, Woolf was able to critically support her argument for gender-less literature as she informs readers that best writers should not be hindered by their gender or sex.

            Both genders should take responsibility for the hostility present throughout literature because both sexes are hurt. In the eyes of Woolf, placing blame and anger on either side seems irrational. In supporting her claim that overcoming the real world’s struggles depends on individual efforts, Woolf writes, “It is absurd to blame any class or any sex, as a whole” (31). It makes us understand that the placement of blame and anger on opposing groups could hinder literature because writers focus more on emotion as opposed to reality. Woolf employs logical appeal to her work by including the example of Mary Carmichael who was a female author that managed to produce literature although she was not a “genius.” Most audiences respond well when the author uses evidence and reasons, together with cogent examples or a story that offers sound reasons to support arguments (Lunsford et. al., 98). In this context, Woolf uses Carmichael’s success results to show readers that to her, men were not the opposing faction. According to Woolf (70), individuals such as Carmichael freed themselves from the gender war and did “not waster her time railing against them.” On the contrary, Carmichael spent much time focusing on her work and literary elements, including character and plot. In this case, Woolf used the examples of Carmichael as a logical appeal to her audience on the possibilities that could come with removing the gendered concept from literature. In the same lens, more women in real modern society such as Raven Leilani and Sally Rooney have stepped up from the notions of a patriarchal society and conquered the literature world than their male counterparts (Thomas, How Women Conquered the World of Fiction, The Guardian, 16 May 2021). This is contrary to the past whereby men were leading novelists as women believed that they did not have a voice among publishers. In line with this modern perspective, Woolf critically presents the abandonment of sexism as a way of freeing ourselves from this ideology, which enables us to focus on more engaging work and a broader subject matter.

            Writers should ignore ideologies of sexism or gender construct in order to produce better literature works. Woolf goes into deep meditation on the importance of maintaining continuity of mind as it sets our brains in a comfortable and normal state. It makes us understand that bringing personal circumstances such as those of economic class and gender to the real world of literature invokes the people you are writing to (Lunsford et. al., 100). Additionally, Woolf believes that respecting both the female side and the masculine side enables a writer to create great works that are undivided, creative, impediment-free, and resonant. Moreover, incorporating both sexes enables us to “get complete satisfaction and happiness” (Woolf 75). However, modern men have filled their minds with bitterness and bias just like female writers throughout history. While in the past women feared their inferiority, today men are afraid of losing their superiority due to suffrage (Sieghart, Why Are So Many Men Still Resistant to Reading Women? Literary Hub, 8 Mar. 2022). Woolf makes us believe that if we allow our minds to be at peace and allow for the continuity of both sexes, we will not feel offended by femaleness or maleness. In the eyes of Woolf, writers are affected by a one-sided identity although both sexes have a female and male side in them. While shading light into this perspective, Woolf refers to Coleridge’s statements as she writes, “A great mind is androgynous” (82). This means that one’s individuality does not conform to societal rules and might therefore get repressed. Woolf suggests that to do away with this repression, both sexes need to erase an individual’s “sex-consciousness” and consider the struggles both men and women face when writing. By focusing more on displaying one’s multiplicity, the struggle for the superiority of one sex will cease to exist hence giving “room” for creating new ideas to the literature community.

            Conclusively, both sexes have the opportunity to thrive in the real world of literature without protest, fear, bitterness, and hate. From the evidence presented by Woolf’s ideas, it is evident that rather than focusing on personal circumstances, including those of gender or sex that foster division and disadvantages among writers, individuals should focus more on art literature. This essay stated the importance of taking more initiative and responsibility to overcome the struggles of sexism in the real world of literature. We are also reminded to bear all difficulties rather than blaming the lack of resources, time, or chance. In a world of materialism, both sexes are struggling to get a room, which is both an indispensable material space and a metaphorical space that guarantees achievement and creativity in the occupation of a writer. Moreover, while “a room” is very necessary, it might not be sufficient because both sexes must have the capital to publish works of literature. Therefore, both sexes struggle in the real world of literature because they lack money, which is a greater value than both women and men. It means that money is a source of freedom, which neither men nor women can escape from. Life is difficult for both sexes because they struggle to find opportunities available to them at the intellectual and academic levels as a result of their material conditions. In general, both sexes have an equal responsibility in changing the future by pursuing our literary and intellectual interests in real-life and modern situations.

Works Cited

Lunsford, Andrea A., and John J. Ruszkiewicz. Everything’s an Argument. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016.

Sieghart, Mary. Why Are So Many Men Still Resistant to Reading Women? Literary Hub, 8 Mar. 2022, https://lithub.com/why-are-so-many-men-still-resistant-to-reading-women/

Thomas, Johanna. How Women Conquered the World of Fiction, The Guardian, 16 May 2021, www.theguardian.com/books/2021/may/16/how-women-conquered-the-world-of-fiction.

Woolf, Virginia. “A Room of One’s Own: (1929).” The people, place, and space reader. Routledge, 2014. 304-308.