How A Room Of One’s Own Inspired Generations Women Writers

This book is a little more unusual than the books I normally talk about. That’s because it’s not technically a ‘book’ but really a series of lectures in book form.

These lectures actually do provide us with a fictional character to focus on, but she’s a composite allegory. She’s not there to make a story, but rather drive a point home through story.

And what was the point?

Simple.

In Virginia Wolf’s time, women were considered inferior by birth.

Men would point to women’s lack of accomplishment in all fields and use this as evidence of this supposed fact. Even great thinkers like Darwin believed this.

Virginia Wolf was among the first to push back against this well-accepted notion, pointing out that lack of accomplishment on a woman’s part had nothing to do with ability, but rather opportunity. She set out to show that if a woman had the same support and resources as a man that she could accomplish just as much.

It’s a book about class, gender, and equality for all. When it came out, it created both a sensation and a scandal. Some men realized they were complicit in a type of slavery and felt ashamed. Others felt threatened. Some women even accused her of going against the bible and nature for saying such things.

But despite all its criticisms, it gave hope to a generation of women. It made them realize they were not ‘inferior’ because of their gender, but rather because they lived in a society that worked towards making sure they stayed in their place.

And like any revolution, once women saw what was clearly going on, they choose NOT to ‘stay in their place’, and the world changed forever.

Virginia Wolf’s book inspired countless numbers of new women writers. It also inspired the ‘Room of One’s Own’ Gift of Freedom Grant.

That’s how her book changed the world. How will your book change the world?