Analysis of 'Professions for Women' by Virginia Woolf

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In the past years, gender equality has been a subject of interest for many feminists. Women have always struggled to get equal recognition with men, especially in many professions. Society has taken too long to accept that a woman’s place is no longer in the kitchen. In this regard, Virginia Woolf, in her work, Professions for Women, examines the role of women in rising against all odds, in order to acquire a voice of their own in a male-chauvinistic society. Instigated by her speech to address the National Society for Women’s Service in 1931, Woolf seeks to compel women to rise up from the sacrificial and selfless women of the nineteenth century, so that they can reach their potential. In her own words, Woolf calls this battle by “killing” the Angel in the House, who insists that she must remain submissive and never let anyone know that she had a mind of her own (Woolf 3). For this reason, a woman must do what it takes to excel, without listening to the harsh judgments that society may have towards her.

The challenges that Woolf addresses in her speech are the same that many women are experiencing in modern society. Her main audiences are women, as they remain the weaker sex in society and thus, they have to fight for recognition, unlike their male counterparts. As a young girl and a budding writer, her first encounter with the “Angel in the House” tries to dissuade her from writing honest reviews for a book written by a man. The Angel in the House tells her that as a woman, she ought to approach any topic touching on men with care; that she ought to be tender and flattering, which is how her society perceives women. Woolf has to fight between saving her writing career or letting the Angel in the House win over her (Woolf 3). The latter is the perfect representation of the role of women in the twentieth century, to which Virginia Woolf belonged to. She is able to rise through the societal stereotypes by overpowering the Angel in the House, and strangling her by the throat, even though the battle was never easy.

Woolf argues that a woman must fight for her freedom. Society is yet to embrace change and therefore, a woman must do what she has to do in order to achieve her dreams. She gives the example of women writers versus male writers, who have great freedom in their imagination (5). A woman writer stands to be judged harshly over what she writes, as society requires that her passions remain hidden. Therefore, she must claim her freedom of expressing her thoughts and feelings, irrespective of what society deems of her. In order to excel, she has to get used to the condemnation, which she must never allow to get into her head. Because of Woolf’s ability to speak her mind when society expected her to be playing the family roles, she remains a relevant figure in the literary world. Without this freedom, Woolf likens such a woman to be under the influence of the Angel of the House, whose role is to ensure that women remain in submissive roles, thus ending up not realizing their goals. In acquiring freedom, a woman realizes the great human skill that has all along been untapped in her reserves. Such freedom is what gives Woolf the ability to mentor other women and encourage them to rise up to the challenges.

Women have the power within them and therefore, they only need to rise against every stereotype, to be able to reach their goals. After Woolf manages to kill the Angel of the House, her next step is to realize herself and unleash the full potential of her capabilities. She opens herself to the full potential of art, rising from just reviewing books, to becoming a journalist and later a renowned novelist (6). Though her journey is full of successes and failures, her breakthrough is born from ambition. Having risen against all odds, her true power comes from gaining her professional knowledge, for which she is much celebrated for many years after her death. Her ambition drives her to acquire a motor car, which would accord her more respect, and probably change their position on the capabilities of a woman (4). Female writers of her time were not regarded with much respect as their male counterparts, who dominated almost every profession, while women stuck to the roles that were considered simpler.

A woman must fight the obstacles that life presents to her. For instance, for a woman to rise to the position of a lawyer, doctor, or even a civil servant, she must be able to persevere the constant missiles thrown towards her (6). She must thus help other women climb the ladder so that in solidarity, they can overcome the obstacles. The problems that Woolf addresses are the same that most women are facing today in the workplace, especially when it comes to salaries and remunerations. Men are still paid higher than women and therefore, Woolf’s speech is a foresight of the things that were there in her time, and that still continue to persist in the modern day. Although her speech is about her own professional experiences, most women today undergo the same things and the world appreciates those that have been successful in rising above those obstacles to become role models to younger women in society. Her tone reveals a fierceness that lacks fear to be put down. Her journey toward the top has been arduous but worth the effort.

Conclusion

From Woolf’s professional experiences, it is evident that a woman has the power to rise to whatever she wishes, as long as she is ambitious enough. Her logical comparisons and symbolism prove the complexity that society has tangled women too, and thus, they alone can untangle themselves by killing their own Angel in the House. In her own experience, she had to kill the selfless and sacrificial woman, despite her peaceful nature, as she was determined to kill her career and her capability as a woman. For this reason, Woolf’s first breakthrough comes when she refuses to listen to the convincing talk of the Angel of the House, who was reluctant to leave her house and also resisted death. Therefore, Woolf argues that every woman is capable of unleashing her full potential, only if she refuses to remain bound by societal norms and expectations, which have always been unfair to them while favoring men.

References

Woolf, Virginia. ‘Professions for Women.’ The Death of the Moth and Other Essays (1942): 235-42.

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Analysis of ‘Professions for Women’ by Virginia Woolf

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