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spooky_ellie's review against another edition
4.5
The first chapter of this entirely changed my perception of what an essay could be and I don't think I'll ever get over that.
readsbytay's review against another edition
5.0
wow. virgina outdid herself with this essay. i can only imagine how groundbreaking and shocking this essay was in the '20s, but virginia's beautifully woven and captivating sentences still offer a message today (if we are willing to actually meditate and digest her arguments and not emotionally react and make them fit to one's agenda at first glance). truly, there are quite a few out-of-pocket quotes that, taken out of context, would contribute to an anti-men movement; however, virginia forms much fairer points that do not eradicate men or their purpose in the slightest.
commenting on how men seem to exploit women for reassurance of their own identity, virginia does not scream from the rooftops that women should rule the world. however, she does capitalize on how people should treat people as people and both sexes should focus on their own reality to gain self-confidence. bluntly, she states, "However, the blame for all this, if one is anxious to lay blame, rests no more upon one sex than upon the other."
an interesting point she puts forward is how, since men and women are counterparts to one another, that the human brain functions like that as well. each sex influences the other physically, mentally, emotionally, etc., so tapping into the dual influences of the brain breeds creative success. whether you want to call it male vs. female brain or left brain vs. right brain, her connection between the complementary characteristics of the sexes voices truth that some ideologies would not stand for.
finally, virginia captures the essence of historical womanhood by tracing women in fiction through the years, imploring her readers to consider the generations of women who paved the way for free female thinking. ending with a beautiful exhortation for women to make the most of their newfound freedom, find confidence in their identity, and do justice to the legacy left by eons and eons of unknown women throughout the eras was a powerful ending to a jam-packed 112 pages. short but mighty, A Room of One's Own offers an orderly, humorous, and thought-provoking argument on how women influence fiction and vice versa.
quotes:
"The very reason why the poetry excites one to such abandonment, such rapture, is that it celebrates some feeling that one used to have... so that one responds easily, familiarly, without troubling to check the feeling, or to compare it with any that one has now."
"Women have served all these centuries as looking-glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size"
"[Woman] pervades poetry from cover to cover; she is all but absent from history"
"Some collaboration has to take place in the mind between the woman and the man before the act of creation can be accomplished"
commenting on how men seem to exploit women for reassurance of their own identity, virginia does not scream from the rooftops that women should rule the world. however, she does capitalize on how people should treat people as people and both sexes should focus on their own reality to gain self-confidence. bluntly, she states, "However, the blame for all this, if one is anxious to lay blame, rests no more upon one sex than upon the other."
an interesting point she puts forward is how, since men and women are counterparts to one another, that the human brain functions like that as well. each sex influences the other physically, mentally, emotionally, etc., so tapping into the dual influences of the brain breeds creative success. whether you want to call it male vs. female brain or left brain vs. right brain, her connection between the complementary characteristics of the sexes voices truth that some ideologies would not stand for.
finally, virginia captures the essence of historical womanhood by tracing women in fiction through the years, imploring her readers to consider the generations of women who paved the way for free female thinking. ending with a beautiful exhortation for women to make the most of their newfound freedom, find confidence in their identity, and do justice to the legacy left by eons and eons of unknown women throughout the eras was a powerful ending to a jam-packed 112 pages. short but mighty, A Room of One's Own offers an orderly, humorous, and thought-provoking argument on how women influence fiction and vice versa.
quotes:
"The very reason why the poetry excites one to such abandonment, such rapture, is that it celebrates some feeling that one used to have... so that one responds easily, familiarly, without troubling to check the feeling, or to compare it with any that one has now."
"Women have served all these centuries as looking-glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size"
"[Woman] pervades poetry from cover to cover; she is all but absent from history"
"Some collaboration has to take place in the mind between the woman and the man before the act of creation can be accomplished"
itssilvia99's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0