On page 69 (at least in my copy) of A Room of One’s Own, Woolf criticizes an excerpt of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.
“. . . but if one reads them over and marks that jerk in them, that indignation, one sees that she will never get her genius expressed whole and entire. Her books will be deformed and twisted. She will write in a rage where she should write calmly. She will write foolishly where she should write wisely. She will write of herself where she should write of her characters.”
I will include Brontë’s passage below (it is a bit lengthy). But first I would like to ask: how is Brontë’s writing angry? How does she write foolishly and how is she writing of herself? I do not understand these claims that Woolf has made, and I would greatly appreciate if anyone could help me out.
“then I longed for a power of vision which might overpass that limit; which might reach the busy world, towns, regions full of life I had heard of but never seen: that then I desired more of practical experience than I possessed; more of intercourse with my kind, of acquaintance with variety of character than was here within my reach. I valued what was good in Mrs Fairfax, and what was good in Adele; but I believed in the existence of other and more vivid kinds of goodness, and what I believed in I wished to behold.
‘Who blames me? Many, no doubt, and I shall he called discontented. I could not help it: the restlessness was in my nature; it agitated me to pain sometimes. . . .
‘It is vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquillity: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it. Millions are condemned to a stiller doom than mine, and millions are in silent revolt against their lot. Nobody knows how many rebellions ferment in the masses of life which people earth. Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.'”
by Western_Use_1650
1 Comment
This post is a fascinating look at how Virginia Woolf’s criticism of Charlotte Brontë’s work sets the stage for modern feminist movements. As someone who has been a lifelong fan of the Brontë sisters, it is interesting to see Woolf’s take on their novels and how they’ve impacted both literary critics and readers alike. Kudos to you for breaking down this important piece of feminist history!