This passage is from A Room of Ones Own Chapter 3 In the 5th paragraph. The paragraph began with ” A very queer, composite being thus emerges” . Virginia Woolf then goes on to say “Imaginatively she is of the highest importance; practically she is completely insignificant. She pervades poetry from cover to cover; she is all but absent from history. She dominates the lives of kings and conquerors in fiction; in fact she was the slave of any boy whose parents forced a ring upon her finger” . My understanding of A Room of ones own so far is that the author is speaking to the injustices which were being done to women in those times.
“imaginatively she is of the highest importance”
this statement helps helps me to understand that In those times In order for a woman to be of importance she could only have imagined it. I however do respect the fact that although women were not treated with the respect that they were deserving of , there was still an idea in their minds that they should be accepted and respected. “Practically she is completely insignificant “. In fact that statement confirms the thought that women were said to be of little or no relevance in those times. Though this passage is in reference to writing it signifies the notion that women were not recognized for their literary work, or looked at as intellectual beings. In the rest of the passage it mentions her being present In history, dominating and conquering through her poetry. Women in those times could have absolutely been more intelligent than they were given credit for. Women were actually very significant , but treated in a way which made them unaware of their worth. This passage for me ties itself into the entire reading because it helps me to visualize the ongoing battle in which women fight with society.
Great passage selection! Two important points of clarification: 1-Woolf is referring not to her own time but to a time far in the past. Look for details that indicate the time period she’s writing about, and 2-the women are not the writers who dominate the poetry. They are the subjects. Woolf is criticizing that it was acceptable to write about women, but not for women to write. Look at the pattern she makes when she writes that sentence: first she’s talking about that imagined woman, then about her life practically, as she does in that first sentence.
Now that you understand that, do you want to add anything or change anything in your discussion of the passage?