Symbolism of the "Room"

Without Money > Women Depend on Men & Cannot Afford Their Own Room.

No Room > No Privacy.

No Privacy > Interruptions Block Creativity.

So... therefore, her argument is that money is the main thing that prevents women from having a space of their own, so without money and privacy, women cannot write with genius.





This space without interruptions was considered a luxury of women in Virginia Woolf’s [watch this video - it's short yet informative] time. And Woolf repeatedly clarifies the prerequisite of an inheritance that requires no obligations in order to have what men take for granted and enjoy without question, a space to engage in uninterrupted writing time. She believes that writers who obsess about gender issues write with anger, and often put their own gender above the other. She talks in detail about Aphra Behn and applauds her for being the first female to make a living off of her writing, and then paving the way for future women like Jane Austen.

“Intellectual freedom depends upon material things. Poetry depends upon intellectual freedom. And women have always been poor, not for two hundred years merely, but from the beginning of time . . .”

Because the narrator believes that material things lead to intellectual freedom, and poetry requires intellectual freedom, women must have money before they can be successful at writing poetry. Since women have always been poor, according to her, that is why, she elucidates, so few women have thrived in writing poetry. Women are subject to various and constant interruptions without a room, so the narrator believes it is more likely that a woman would more easily accomplish writing a novel, instead of poetry, because that type of writing lends itself to a more start-stop type of pace.


She uses the room as a symbol for the larger issues that make women second-class citizens in society and in their works to men, and claims that it will remain that way until women rectify these inequalities. Concerned with more than just the room, Woolf uses it as a symbol for independence, privacy, and creativity, the room in “A Room of One’s Own” is arguably the strongest motif of the essay; without money or a room, women will remain subordinate in second place to their male counterparts.

Chapter Six Analysis

On twenty-sixth day of October, 1928, the narrator, in the final chapter reflects on her work with the essay. She admits that looking for differences between men and women has been straining, but is at the same time calmed by watching a young couple get into a taxi. This unity represents both man and woman living in harmony, just as the mind works best if both male and female parts work together to be naturally creative, and as Coleridge described as an “androgynous” mind that he said was both “…incandescent and u n d i v i d e d”.

Nevertheless, Woolf is constantly reminding herself and refraining from writing without fear or anger. This was a tad confusing but... Ultimately, the androgynous mind that that the narrator speaks of seems to be gendered, but not necessarily preferring one gender over the other. It takes the fusion and productivity of both sexes in the mind to “fertilise” and cultivate innovative writing. Making another comparison to Shakespeare, the narrator claims he is a fine example of this androgynous mind, but believes that he is destructive by asserting the superiority of his own sex, in turn putting down the opposite gender. She also judges this standard on other various famous writers and concludes that the mind needs to hold both of the sexes at equal levels for full capacity and a fostering “perpetual life.”

Woolf takes over the position of the narrator in order to address criticisms she anticipates will be brought against her original narrator. First, that she didn’t opinionate the relative merits of males and females; and second, that her audience might have thought she was being classist and focusing too much on material things. I ask, isn't a mind is strong enough to work without money and privacy? But back to $=Freedom, she still argues that without money, the mind can’t experience intellectual freedom. Only with this freedom will great writing follow.

The essay is wrapped up by Woolf maintaining and insisting that women’s writing is important. Good writers are connected with "reality", and are the people who can relate this heightened sense of reality to their audience. Today, we can see that her point (backed up by the professor) that genius buds only in the rich and educated is wilted, but many of Virginia Woolf's other ideas about gender and writing still hold true in feminist thought.