The Financial Autonomy in Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of One’s Own”

Abstract

The essay “A Room of One’s Own” by Virginia Woolf was published in 1929 and was based on two papers at Newnham College Arts Society and Girton College in October 1928. This essay investigates the relationship between gender, economic freedom, and creative expression. Woolf contends that for women to reach their full intellectual and artistic potential, they must have their own physical space as well as a reliable source of money. The researcher goes into the historical, social, and economic issues that contributed to women's financial insecurity in the early twentieth century. The researcher also emphasizes how Woolf's request for economic independence as a prerequisite for artistic expression was both a reflection of her own experiences and a rallying cry for the larger feminist movement. Woolf illuminates the status of women, particularly female artists in a male-dominated world. This challenge exposes women to financial difficulties since they cannot compromise to put their thoughts or ideas down on paper. Woolf uses unique literary skills in her piece of writing to prove that focusing on looking for money or financial autonomy fosters women in controlling their own lives and space rather than strengthening men into being more dominant.