Professions for Women

by Virginia Woolf

An essay by Virginia Woolf

Genres: Classics, Essays, Nonfiction, Read For School, Feminism

4 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1942

About the author

(Adeline) Virginia Woolf was an English novelist and essayist regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century.

During the interwar period, Woolf was a significant figure in London literary society and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Her most famous works include the novels Mrs. Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927), and Orlando (1928), and the book-length essay A Room of One's Own (1929) with its famous dictum, "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."

Reviews

[Paula Mota · Rating 5 out of 5]

Depois de Virginia Woolf na intimidade com as suas cartas amorosas, eis Virginia Woolf na sua dimensão pública com uma palestra dada dois anos depois de “Um Quarto Só Seu” na Women’s Service League. Que discurso fenomenal!

Convidada a falar perante uma audiência de mulheres sobre a sua experiência profissional, Woolf começa por explicar, cheia de modéstia, que se limita a ter a ocupação mais respeitável e inofensiva, a que não causa despesa nem a mínima perturbação ao sossego doméstico.

O módico preço do papel de escrever é, evidentemente, a razão pela qual as mulheres obtiveram sucesso como escritoras antes de serem bem sucedidas nas outras profissões.

Hoje, se calhar, com o preço a que está o papel, nem isso lhes valeria…
Com a mesma parcimónia em mente, Woolf enviou alguns dos seus textos pelo correio e tornou-se jornalista. Com o pagamento recebido, comprou um gato persa, mas tornou-se ambiciosa.

Um gato persa está muito bem, todavia não é o suficiente. Tenho de arranjar um automóvel. E foi assim que me tornei romancista – pois é muito estranho, as pessoas dão-nos um automóvel se lhes contarmos uma história.

E é com o mesmo sarcasmo que passa a falar do Anjo do Lar, o fantasma a quem teve de apertar o pescoço para escrever livremente. O Anjo do Lar é a vozinha que as mulheres ouvem que as fazem sacrificar-se pelo resto da família, juntamente com toda a formatação imposta pela sociedade para que se anule e não levante ondas.

E mal eu peguei na pena para criticar o tal romance escrito por um homem famoso, ela deslizou por trás de mim e sussurrou: “Minha querida, você é uma jovem. Você está a escrever acerca de um livro escrito por um homem. Seja complacente, seja meiga; lisonjeie; engane; use todas as artes e manhas do nosso sexo. Nunca deixe que alguém suspeite que você tem opiniões próprias. Acima de tudo, seja pura.

Exorcizado o fantasma, Woolf dá largas à sua imaginação, alimentada com letargia e a rotina, para não a espantar.

Pretendo que me imaginem a escrever um romance num estado de transe.

Até que, neste estado de semi-inconsciência através do qual mergulha nas profundezas do seu ser, embate violentamente num obstáculo.

Ela tinha pensado em algo, algo relacionado com o corpo, com as paixões que lhe era inconveniente manifestar por ser mulher. A sua razão dizia-lhe que os homens ficariam chocados.

Teme, pois, Woolf pelas mulheres que, menos resguardas que ela, entram agora no mercado de trabalho e desempenham funções até há pouco reservadas aos homens. É, para concluir, que retoma a ideia do quarto só para si, motivando-as e responsabilizando-as pelo que mais podem alcançar.

Tendes conquistado quartos só para vós na casa que até agora era propriedade exclusiva de homens. Sois capazes, não sem grande labor e esforço, de pagar a renda. Ganhais as vossas 500 libras por ano. Mas esta liberdade constitui apenas um princípio; o quarto é vosso, mas ainda está vazio. Como ides mobilá-lo, decorá-lo? Com quem o ides partilhar e sob que condições?

[Camilia Hornstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

The essay “Professions for Women” by Virginia Woolf utilizes a seamless blend of both metaphorical and concrete language to embark the reader on an adventure exploring the harsh realities of life as a woman. Woolf initially introduces the reader to a character going by the name of “the Angel in the House,” which is meant to represent the femininity expected from women by society, such as excelling in “the difficult arts of family life,” being “pure” and most importantly, to “never let anybody guess that you have a mind of your own” (3-4). These many characteristics are what Woolf describes as fatal weaknesses to the woman writer. She continuously emphasizes the need to sacrifice one's femininity in order to become successful. This metaphor is extended when Woolf explains her need to “kill” the Angel in the House, describing this necessary killing as “part of the occupation of a woman writer” (3). She creates a personification of her insecurities, allowing the reader to view Woolf as a protagonist in a fairy tale combatting her greatest enemy. Similar to the way Jack cuts down the beanstalk, Woolf is cutting down society's expectations, her own figurative beanstalk, and breaking free of the chains holding her back. This fantastical tidbit is then juxtaposed with Woolf’s very real and concrete experiences in the work environment. She details her struggles with writer’s block as her literary “trance” of inspiration is abruptly halted by the “consciousness of what men will say” (4). Even going on to say that this challenge is a “very common experience with women writers” (5). This sharp contrast between figment and reality brings readers back from the brink of stories and imagination, leaving them to face the dismal real world and exposing them to the very disheartening fact that what Woolf is describing is in fact, true. Another prominent metaphor Woolf portrays in her work is women finally having their own rooms. She explains the way women have achieved some notion of freedom with their access to certain jobs as well as their own rooms within a house, but criticizes this bare minimum, stating that, “The room is your own, but it is still bare. It has to be furnished; it has to be decorated; it has to be shared,” (5). Here, Virginia Woolf seeks to highlight the progress yet to be made. Yes, women have finally received an ounce of independence, but there is still more to attain: there are still paintings and carpets to decorate their rooms with. In conclusion, Woolf is crafting an extremely well thought-out story, mixing metaphor with reality so seemingly that it traps the audience in her words, leaving them immersed in her experiences, and forcing them to understand what she’s been through. She essentially urges the audience to imagine and empathize with her, while still reminding them that for women, there is no need to imagine for it is their very own hellish reality.

[cat❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quando estava a dar em aula estava super aborrecida, mas agora que li e analisei por mim mesma adorei 💖 Gostei imenso das metáforas utilizadas ao longo do ensaio!!

[geikew · Rating 4 out of 5]

"the room is your own, but it is still bare. It has to be furnished; it has to be decorated; it has to be shared."

[Cesco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This essay is beautifully written and shines a light on many of the characters that appear throughout Woolf’s work.
Woolf’s work will always be a prominent piece of the feminist movement within literature and modernism in general. This was an insightful read.

[Jasmijn · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The room is your own, but it is still bare. It has to be furnished; it has to be decorated; it has to be shared."

toch weer 4 pagina's aan mn 2022 reading challenge toegevoegd

[clara · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a strong speech/text. it’s definitely one of my favorite materials i have ever studied. she is truly an icon.

[Nagwa Nasr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Virginia Woolf is The Man

[Helena Vande Ginste · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this essay for uni. While I normally would not think of putting it on my Goodreads page, I really want to share this!

This essay is still so important- my friends who are into creative writing, PLEASE READ THIS! I am almost certain that you'll be glad to have done so. Besides, it's quite short :)

"Now came the experience, the experience that I believe to be far commoner with women writers than with men. The line raced through the girl's fingers. Her imagination had rushed away. It had sought the pools, the depths, the dark places where the largest fish slumber. And then there was a smash. There was an explosion. There was foam and confusion. The imagination had dashed itself against something hard. The girl was roused from her dream. She was indeed in a state of the most acute and difficult distress. To speak without figure she had thought of something, something about the body, about the passions which it was unfitting for her as a woman to say."

[Lucy Fu · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Had I not killed her she would have killed me. She would have plucked the heart out of my writing. For, as I found, directly I put pen to paper, you cannot review even a novel without having a mind of your own, without expressing what you think to be truth about human relations, morality, sex.’

‘You have won rooms of your own in the house hitherto exclusively owned by men. You are able, though not without great labour and effort, to pay the rent. You are earning your five hundred pounds a year. But the freedom is only a beginning: the room is your own, but it is still bare. It has to be furnished; it has to be decorated; it has to be shared. How are you going to furnish it, how are you going to decorate it? With whom are you going to share it, and upon what terms? […] for the first time in history […] you are able to decide for yourselves what the answers should be.’

[dunce♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"the room is your own, but it is still bare. It has to be furnished; it has to be decorated; it has to be shared. How are you going to furnish it, how are you going to decorate it? With whom are you going to share it, and upon what terms? These, I think are questions of the utmost importance and interest. For the first time in history you are able to ask them; for the first time you are able to decide for yourselves what the answers should be"

[Aymen Mk · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this terrifyingly crystal observation of female plight, Woolf has neither recommendations, nor comforts to offer us. Perhaps it is every writer herself that must encounter the angel and the fear of honesty in her own era and time, and perhaps she will swallow the page with bursting blatant horror at the ungraspable truth, or perhaps she will simply swallow her words. Woolf’s words are strikingly resonant, even now, in the 21st century.

[maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

its just an essay but omg "I turned upon her and caught her by the throat. I did my best to kill her. My excuse, if I were to be had up in a court of law, would be that I acted in self-defence. Had I not killed her she would have killed me. She would have plucked the heart out of my writing." shes so real

[PeacefulHideaway]

Read this essay for uni. Discovered how amazing it was. Will never forget her words and how encouraging it was to feel like such an amazing writer understood me and pushed for women being allowed to go to university, study and choose their own careers, as well as being allowed to have a voice.

[Apurva Vurity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Virginal Woolf is an absolute icon. She speaks of how to truly succeed professionally, women have to kill the 'Angel in the House' who always appears in the back of your mind. This angel is charming, empathetic, sacrificing, unselfish and pure. Men do not have her living with them but women do.

[Lara Nicoleti · Rating 5 out of 5]

you can’t compete you can’t compare with miss woolf

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this for my english class

[cam (taylor's version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

created feminist literature.

[Rosy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Angel in the House
in short she was so constituted that she never had a mind or a wish of her own

[Malissa Brumit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as thought provoking as the first time I read it ten years ago. Still a relevant and necessary conversation for women (and men). What phantoms are we still fighting? And to what ends?

[gurleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

intro read for the virginia woolf class i'm taking :D

[Yağmur]

Ne demiş şair "Wondering if I'd get there quicker if I was a man"

[aerin · Rating 5 out of 5]

only a short speech/essay but truly amazing - woolf possesses such skill in the spoken and written word and i now want to read so much more!

[Lilly B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanna kill the angel of the house too

[hamzah ❦︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

an essay everyone should read!!

virginia woolf uses the metaphor of the "angel in the house" representing the societal expectations of women at the time. that women should not be thought provoking, or provide anything of merit, and kills it symbolically, calling for other women to do so as well.

sadly her concerns are still stuff that echo in society today, that she's worried that she won't be able to kill it a second time. that women in other job fields will still be held captive by the angel in the house and the ghostly male who wants them to be passive. virginia wolf shares a message that everyone should know. to be thought prevoking, to disrupt, to not just be what society wants you to be.