understanding Virginia Woolf's social thought
- Categories
- Article/Artikel
- Magazine Title
- Journal of International Women's Studies
- Magazine Year
- 2000
- Magazine Number
- 2
- Creator
- Bechtold, Brigitte
- Thesaurus
- literatuur, vrouwenliteratuur, vrouwbeelden, sekse, Verenigd Koninkrijk
- Description
- This paper begins with a brief survey the basic arguments of interest to feminist social thinkers and activists that are found explicitly in Room of One's Own (1929), Three Guineas (1938) and other essays. It then turns to insights provided by Woolf's fiction. The following part outlines the usefulness of Woolf's diaries, which both provide a rich database of personal acquaintances and experiences that have become the content of her thinking. The diaries are helpful in developing our understanding that Woolf's socioeconomic thought does not merely attack male patriarchy in favor of gender equality. They contain important examples showing that Woolf despised social elitism among women as among men, and that some of the role models for women in her essays and novels were actually played by men in her life, notably young men who became emotionally and physically damaged in war. Author concludes in the final section that a thorough understanding of the importance of Virginia Woolf's social thought can only be gained if study incorporates her fiction and diaries.