Topic > Audience Persecution in a Room of One's Own

A young reader of Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own would experience a range of emotional responses towards the author, ranging from empathy to hostility. Although Woolf is writing to this very audience in an attempt to encourage young women to write fiction, her argument is often contradictory and full of holes. As a young woman who was in much the same social situation as many of Woolf's listeners, I find many flaws in the writing that may have alienated the very women she was trying to inspire. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Woolf begins A Room of One's Own wonderfully, considering the nature of her audience. It is immediately clear that he is writing for a woman, not a man. Its apologetic, somewhat defensive tone, which might seem stereotypically weak and "feminine" to a man, would appeal to a young, female audience. "[W]hen a topic is highly controversial – and any question about sex is that – you can't hope to tell the truth. You can only show how you came to have whatever opinion you have. You can only give the own audience the possibility of drawing their own conclusions by observing the limits, prejudices and idiosyncrasies of the speaker" (4). A young, female audience would see a woman as capable of admitting the possibility of being wrong as she is courageous. Woolf's willingness to accept other points of view would be a welcome break from the overly confident and stubborn voices of men who would have been accustomed to reading. However, Woolf soon launches into a discussion of the feasibility of anger in a piece of writing. She talks about how she saw the need for complete objectivity and was thus able to overcome the anger she felt towards certain men. He writes that writers who write out of anger are weakened and states, “I need not hate any man” (38), yet he does. While Woolf writes so vehemently about the need for complete objectivity to maintain a credible argument, she is actually letting the reader know that she is, indeed, angry, even if she doesn't always appear to be. By repeatedly stating that one must appear objective regardless of one's true feelings, Woolf is indirectly (and perhaps unconsciously) letting the audience know that she is suppressing her anger to appear rational and believable. Woolf is not always able to keep her anger within herself. check. Instead, she sometimes tends to rechannel it, focusing it on others and letting their anger speak for her. Woolf's bitterness towards men shines through her objective facade at countless points in the book. Most striking is when Woolf writes about Lady Winchilsea, who is writing, according to Woolf, is "tormented and distracted by hatreds and grudges" (62). Yet the prevailing emotion in Winchilsea's writings is desperation, not anger. Woolf, in her criticism of Winchilsea, reveals her bitterness at not being able to express anger due to the fear of losing credibility. Perhaps Woolf is jealous of the other woman's ability to reveal her true emotions without fear of negative reactions. Woolf also appears bitter toward Charlotte Bronte, whom she wrongly criticizes, writing that "anger was tampering with her integrity... She left her story... to deal with some personal grievance" (76). A psychologist might say that when Woolf sees hatred towards men in the writings of other women, she is actually giving voice to the hatred within herself. It is clear that Woolf's true feelings are not always expressed,.