A Room of One's Own

By: Virginia Woolf

Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson

A Room of One's Own, based on a lecture given at Girton College Cambridge, is one of the great feminist polemics. Woolf's blazing polemic on female creativity, the role of the writer, and the silent fate of Shakespeare's imaginary sister remains a powerful reminder of a woman's need for financial independence and intellectual freedom.

©2011 CSA Word (P)2011 CSA Word

A classic that resonates today

I really had no idea what this book was about, I simply knew it was a classic. It’s also the first thing I’ve ever read by Woolf. Unprepared as I was, I was initially charmed by the lecture format, greatly enhanced since I was listening to the audio book performed by Juliet Stevenson. Within minutes I was completely entranced by the amazing writing . . .

“The river reflected whatever it chose of sky and bridge and burning tree, and when the undergraduate had oared his boat through the reflections they closed again, completely, as if they had never been. There one might have sat the clock round lost in thought. Thought --to call it by a prouder name than it deserved-- had let its line down into the stream. It swayed, minute after minute, hither and thither among the reflections and the weeds, letting the water lift it and sink it until --you know the little tug -- the sudden conglomeration of an idea at the end of one's line: and then the cautious hauling of it in, and the careful laying of it out? Alas, laid on the grass how small, how insignificant this thought of mine looked; the sort of fish that a good fisherman puts back into the water so that it may grow fatter and be one day worth cooking and eating.”

And unlike so much of what gets written, the ideas behind the writing were even more well-considered than were the words themselves. As I read, my mind flitted between feeling grateful that I was born in a post-feminist world, where many women do have “rooms of their own” and incomes to support them in pursuit of their dreams, and realizing that so much of what Woolf describes as the subjugation of women is still going on today.

El papel de las mujers atraves de los años

If you could sum up A Room of One's Own in three words, what would they be?

Este libro te muestra como las generaciones ha tomado la mujer atraves de los años, y no es por la religion, es por el echo que siempre tomaron las mujers menos inteligentes.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Esta pregunta no va con este libro.
Este libro es una analisis de la mujer en ficcion, que Virginia Woolf queria contestar a cerca de que la mujer debia tener su pripia casa y tener dinero.

Which character – as performed by Juliet Stevenson – was your favorite?

La vos de ella es muy agradable y perfecta para el libro. No habian caracters en este libro, el caracter es Virginia Woolf.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No. Esta pregunta no va con este libro

Any additional comments?

Audibles. Antes de poner este tipo de preguntas generales debe analizar la clase de libro que la persona va a revisar. Muchas de estas preguntas no VAN CON ESTE LIBRO.

Highly Recommended

An invaluable reading of the history of women’s writing during the 17th through 20th centuries. A tremendously enjoyable and I formative listen.

A necessary read for every woman.

I only wish I had read it early in life. Woolf exposes the uneven playing field between men and women.

Essential

Re-experiencing this masterpiece by listening to Juliet Stevenson’s fabulous reading was inspiring. Highly recommend this.

not the feminist manifesto i wanted it to be

i admit that woolf is a fantastic writer and definitely a product of the times in which she wrote, but the final chapter's regression of all the statements made in preceding chapters took away from the novel as a whole. A Room of One's Own is eloquent and forward-thinking, but heavily influenced by Woolf's internalized misogyny and, at times, self-contradictory.

Big Bad Woolf

I can not express how much I loved this book , there are no words that do not pale in comparison to the strength,integrity and humor of this delight.
I fell I'm tarnishing the alphabet by writing this review but I need to say that one Juliet Stevenson should read every book she is amazing ,her voice gives such gravity to Virginia wisdom and two the fact that a woman was fighting for her sex's rights back in her day and age makes me proud to be a woman and a feminist . In my time where the word feminism has become something to hide or be ashamed take strength form this book , it will make you scream your a feminist from the roof tops ..

A classic every woman should read

Would you listen to A Room of One's Own again? Why?

I'd knew Virginia Woolf mainly by reputation and knew I should read her. I was right. She has a message for today's women and despite the time that has passed, it is still relevant. This was a perfect book for listening. The narrator was clear and the book was informative. Listening to it was the perfect way to approach Woolf.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Room of One's Own?

My most memorable phrase is that women need support in order to achieve and that only comes with the ability to earn a living.

A MISOGYNIST SEA

Virginia Woolf is a woman outside of time. As Woolf implies in the early twentieth century, women are drowning in a misogynist sea. Woolf is born when female inequality breaches that existential threat with a first wave; i.e. American Women’s Suffrage in 1920 and British Women’s Suffrage in 1928. The preeminent feminist, Betty Friedan, is just born (actually, 1921). (Friedan later writes “The Feminine Mystique”–published in 1963.)

“A Room of One’s Own” contemplates –“why women are not great poets or fiction writers?” With the exception of Harriet Beecher Stowe, there are no 19th century women renowned for fiction. Apocryphally, the unlikely story of Lincoln saying “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this Great War” is an apt coda for the public’s view of women writers.

Woolf’s point is that women had no money because they were dependent on men or family inheritance. Often, young ladies are discouraged from college by their families who feel marriage and bearing children are their primary duties. Without educational support and few opportunities for gainful employment, women (on their own) had little money. Without money, there is little opportunity for independence; without money, there is little chance of having “A Room of One’s Own”.

Misogyny still roils the sea but more women writers have a room of their own. The second wave is forty years in the future but Friedan steadies the helm-bearing toward equality. At $.79 cents to the dollar in 2016, there is still a long way to go. As Aristotle once said, contemplation is the highest form of activity for the soul. Woolf implies great literature; great fiction, and poetry come from authors who have money and a room of their own.

Beautiful. Expressive. Accurate.

Juliet Stevenson's rendition brings the text to life. Extremely helpful to work out the long, complicated syntax Woolf employs. It feels as is if a friend is making a point to you over coffee. However, not a single comma or inflexion is missed. Awesome, all around.