Virginia Woolf explains the angel in her house as the pure spirit that would come between her and her paper when writing reviews about men. " You are writing about a book that has been written by a man. Be sympathetic, be tender, flatter, deceive, use all these arts of our sex." She was able to slay this angel because of a trust fund left to her by family, which paid her a handsome living. These payments liberated her from the need to use charm and the arts of her sex to provide sustenance and lifestyle maintenance. This mentality was widely held during her career. As society changed, it paved the way for other female writers to be less encumbered by gender, and appreciated for their works. I wonder how the writings of Joan Didion would have been accepted fifty years earlier during the start of Woolf's career. Would she posses the same confidence in her work?

Orwell writes "What I have most wonted to do throughout the last ten years is to make political writing in to

Expression is not free, for a price must be paid for it. Opinion is not ours unless it is coveted. We must in most respects dance to the beat that society drums in order to live the lives that Dillard speaks of. Orwell, Woolf, and Dillard all speak of the struggle of life in their essays. They tell how it is necessary to efface ones self. To use all the arts of your sex, and other quotes of the like, described through their eyes. The need to be herd, understood, rewarded, appreciated and valued can only come through perceived distance and irony. They use these tools in order that writings are readable to society. Tales must be told in such a manner as not to overly offend or become too personal. Offences of this unspoken law are often met with misunderstanding, misinterpretation, failure, or loss of the sustenance required to live the good life. Artist, writer, employee, student, we all suffer from this block that society imposes. We allow these trespasses against us because we serve as societies foundation.

an art. One can write nothing readable unless one constantly struggles to efface one's own personality." Society dictates what is and is not readable, what is and is not acceptable, what is expected and what are success and or failure. We are all shaped and trapped by the popular opinions of our time. We are not free to i

Some common words found in the essay are:
Joan Didion, Woolf Dillard, Virginia Woolf, , meet expectations, arts sex, daily lives, live lives, appreciated valued, public opinion, art literature, opinion idea,
Approximate Word count = 903
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)