Virginia Woolf - A Room Of One's Own

A detailed Summary of Virginia Woolf - A Room Of One's Own

"Thought - to call it by a prouder name that it deserved - had let its line down in the stream. It swayed, minute after minute, hither and thither among the reflections and the weeds, letting the water lift 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 that a good fisherman puts back into the water so that it may grow fatter and be one day worth cooking and eating. I will not trouble you with that thought now, though if you look carefully you may find it for yourselves in the course of what I am going to say. (Page 5)"

Stereotypes are often placed on certain types of literature. Non-fiction has, in many cases, been given a very dry and straightforward voice, while fiction takes up the opposite; it is allowed to be metaphoric and abstract. With the stereotypical view in mind, a reader would not expect the above excerpt to come from a piece of non-fiction literature. The classification of "non-fiction" guarantees that the personas depicted in the tale will be real people; Woolf's non-fiction tale reads l

The author's conversational manner relaxes the reader to a point that he or she forgets that they are, indeed, reading a non-fiction essay. Woolf, herself, describes this aspect at the beginning of the book. "Lies will flow from my lips," she says. "But there may be perhaps some truth mixed up with them; it is for you to seek out this truth and to decide whether any part of it is worth keeping. If not, you will of course throw the whole of it into the wastepaper basket and forget all about it." This easy manner of reading causes the reader to develop a certain rapport with the persona. The above passage from Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, is an excellent example of the interrelationship that exists between the reader and the persona found in this piece. Through this attachment, the reader acquires a better view of the meaning behind Woolf's words and develops a deeper understanding of the thoughts that the author only implies.

This association between Woolf and her reader can again be found at the end of the provided excerpt: "I will not trouble you with that thought now, though if you look carefully you may find it for yourselves in the course of what I am going to say," she proclaims. This declaration dares the reader, teasing him or her to read on so as to decipher Woolf's "sudden conglomeration of an idea" - to discover what she is, in effect, talking about. The reader can infer from this passage that she is going to discuss a "thought" and that the thought itself is not widely looked upon in favor. The phrases "thought - to call it by a prouder name that it deserved..." and "laid upon the grass how small, how insignificant this thought of mine looked" illustrate that society and Woolf, herself, do not entirely look upon the topic approvingly. But, regardless of the disapproving eyes cast its way, it will "let its line down into the stream."

It is revealed in the excerpt that the author is talking to the reader, pointing things out in his or her mind that will help them better understand Woolf's own thought process. She often addresses the reader, interrupting her own stream of consciousness to ask if he or she is following her line of conversation. For example, in the aforementioned passage, Woolf pauses in her discourse to address the reader, saying, "... you know the littl

Some common words found in the essay are:
One's Own, , trouble carefully, water grow fatter, carefully yourselves course, trouble carefully yourselves, sudden conglomeration idea, sudden conglomeration, grow fatter, laid grass, water grow, yourselves course, carefully yourselves, conglomeration idea, careful laying, hauling careful laying, hauling careful,

Approximate Word count = 1555
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English