Women Writers Such as Virigina Woolf Silenced in the 1930s: Dominated by a Male Chauvinist Society

Virginia Woolf was a woman before her own era. Woolf considered herself to be a humanist, rather than a feminist, because she was not "obsessed with women". In her essay A Room of One's Own she discusses the hardships of being a woman writer. By revealing Woolf's hardships, she exploits fears, inhibitions and struggles that she, and other women writers, faced in the 1930s.

In A Room of One's Own Woolf describes the fact that if a woman writes what she believes is the truth, men perceive what she writes to be an opinion. Woolf states, "When a subject is highly controversial -and any question about sex is that -one cannot hope to tell the truth. One can only show how one came to hold whatever opinion one does hold. One can only give one's audience the chance of drawing their own conclusions as they observe the limitations, the prejudices, the idiosyncrasies of the speaker" (Woolf, 1929). In the 1930s women were afraid to write the "truth", they were fearful that the scholarly world, which consists mostly of males, would discredit their work and not take them seriously. In the 1930s, women were not on the same playing field as men, they were inferior.

Often times the reasons why women authors were fearful of telling the truth and writing, is because they could not stand up to the scholarly aspects of males. Woolf states, "A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction" (Woolf, 1929). She is implying that women must be able to have their own space, i.e. a room of their own. During this time, women were viewed as possessions, the males owned the women.

Very rarely did a woman have her own space where she could turn on the lights and close the door from any distractions, such as the duties of being a housewife. Woolf is stating that yes, women can perform all of their expected household duties and maintain a career as an author. On the contrary, women then must rely on their husbands to bring in the "five-hundred pounds" in order to live a quality life. Women were simply window dressings, staying at home and taking care of the household and child; meeting the expectations of the man. A man could come home to his woman after work, as if they are objects.

Woolf states, "Women have served all these centuries as looking-glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size" (Woolf, 1929). During this time women were fearful of men. Women had the most first-hand experience dealing with the male species, which allowed for women to have misconstrued conceptions. While writing, it is possible that Woolf held grudges against men. During this time, men were holding women down; they were taking away their freedom of expression. Woolf was actively involved in the feminist movement and took an active role as a citizen.

Virginia Woolf was a pioneer in the woman's suffrage movement, and through her literature she has changed the perceptions and views of women writers during the 1930s. As Woolf said, "for most of history, Anonymous was a woman" (Woolf, 1929) due to the advancements in literature, women no longer go unnoticed and anonymous.

Alice Walker was an African American author, mother, feminist, and grandmother to many. Walker led a life of disparity and hardship - she did not have her life handed to her like so many white women did at that time do. In, "In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: The Creativity of Black Women in the South" she states "For these grandmothers and mothers of ours were not 'Saints,' but Artists; driven to a numb and bleeding madness by the springs of creativity in them for which there was no release" (Walker, 1974). During this time women were unable to express their ideas and opinions. They were held back by the men in the society. In the south, women were restrained more so than in the other parts of the country. This is primarily due to the prominent Christian orthodox beliefs and the prominent conservative nature. Men in the south were old fashioned and had very strong beliefs about women.

Walker describes African Americans as being "mules", women, especially African Americans', put up with the world's angers. Walker continues to define herself and her people, "Black women are called, in the folklore that so aptly identifies one's status in society, 'the mule of the world,' because we have been handed the burdens that everyone else-everyone else-refused to carry" (Walker, 1974). As an African American writer Walker faces even more challenges than a white feminist, such as Woolf. Walker encountered more difficulties than other women writers at the time due to the battles of racism and poverty. At the same time, her struggles with race relations and poverty established her career as a writer.

Walker found it surprisingly easy to put her words on paper, most of which she wrote about were stories from her mother, or stories in which she had personal experiences and connections with the subjects. Walker was fearless. She did not fear what she wrote, as everything was creative and the men could hold nothing against her. Writing, for Walker, was in a sense therapeutic, writing allowed her to expel anger and other emotions without guilt.

Maxine Hong Kingston's "No Name Woman", the novel illustrates the struggles and hardships women authors went through at the time. According to Kingston, women are seen as inferior to men in different cultures. Kingston states, "To be a woman, to have a daughter in starvation time was a waste enough" (Kingston, 1982). The Chinese culture finds males to be more valuable because they can harvest the fruits of their labor. Women are viewed, and portrayed in literature, as ovulation machines and child-producing organisms. Women are of very little value, even including the tedious household duties they perform, such as cooking, cleaning, child-raising, and the duties associated with marriage. Gender relations are old fashioned and biased towards men. Many of the important jobs, especially in the government, are given to men. Women are given jobs such as teachers - which incorporates their nurturing nature. Men owned their women, and at the time when married the bride had to pay the groom a dowry. It is as if the man is making a purchase.

Women were viewed as property in the Chinese, and American, cultures to an extent. Kingston states, "Her husband's parents could have sold her, mortgaged her, and stoned her. But they had sent her back to her own mother and father, a mysterious act hinting at disgraces not told me" (Kingston, 1982). If her husband's parents did not approve of her, they had the right to "return her" or "auction" her off to a third party in exchange for money, goods, or services. The family plays a large role in marriage within the Chinese and Asian cultures. It is quite often that before even proposing a man will introduce his wife-to-be, asking for approval. During this process the wife is treated like a business trade.

The prevalence of inhumanity among families in China is absurd. Kingston states, "And one day he brought home a baby girl, wrapped up inside his brown western-style greatcoat. He had traded one of his sons, probably my father, the youngest, for her. My grandmother made him trade back. When he finally got a daughter of his own, he doted on her" (Kingston, 1982). On the surface it appears that children, and women, are treated like baseball cards. Men have the right to "trade up" or "trade in" their possessions at any time.

Women never have independence, even after marriage. They do not have their own lives, everything they do goes through the male. If a woman was to publish a novel, it is technically the husband's property, and they can author it under their name instead. It will take several movements, and new legislature to change the perceptions of the world.

In "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a husband tries to silence his mentally ill - borderline insane - wife. According to the wife, she is not insane and is trying to voice her opinion. Gilman says, "I have a schedule prescription for each hour in the day; he takes all care from me, and so I feel basely ungrateful not to value it more. He said we came here solely on my account that I was to have perfect rest and all the air I could get. 'Your exercise depends on your strength, my dear' said he, 'and your food somewhat on your appetite; but air you can absorb all the time.' So we took the nursery at the top of the house" (Gilman, 1899). Her husband placed her in an attic of the building on purpose, she is now a separate part of the house, blocked, and silenced from society. He is trying to keep her confined to the room by using her health as an excuse. Whether her health does depend on it is a mystery, however; one can predict that the husband was simply trying to control his wife.

Her husband states, "'You know the place is doing you good,' he said, 'and really, dear, I don't care to renovate the house just for a three months' rental'" (Gilman, 1899). Women are inferior to men, powerless in many ways. The husband continues to by stating that he knows what is best for his wife. She is better off without him, where she is able to exercise her freedom of speech and expression.

The husband slowly exiles Gilman out of society. She states, "Well, the Fourth of July is over! The people are gone and I am tired out. John thought it might do me good to see a little company, so we just had mother and Nellie and the children down for a week. Of course I didn't do a thing. Jennie sees to everything now" (Gilman, 1899). Women are like property to John, he no longer cares about his wife's feelings or emotions, and he is acting in his self interest. John is imprisoning his wife based on an assumption that she can no longer think sanely. Although he is a doctor, what if he is purposely silencing her out? Perhaps her thoughts and beliefs were "out of the box", and were "new wave."

Through the writings of Virginia Woolf, Alice Walker, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, women have endured years of under representation and suffering in the literary world. The fears and struggles the women overcome and fight to simply be equal to the male author is breath-taking. Women writers in the twentieth century had to overcome many more obstacles than women writers of the twenty-first century. In many respects, the literary world is more or less equal now; there is representation from both males and females of various social classes.