Professions for Women
Read this essay by Virginia Woolf. In your blog, analyze the rhetorical strategies Woolf uses in this speech to reach her specific audience. Pay attention to the way she uses the tools of the novelist, such as characterization, scene setting, highly textured and specific descriptive detail, and figurative language.
DO NOT list logos, pathos or ethos as rhetorical strategies. Logos, pathos and ethos are APPEALS. The question is, how does the author employ rhetorical strategies in terms of organization, structure and form to accomplish or establish those appeals (logos, pathos and ethos) within the piece?
Gender. Sex. Woman. Man. Girl. Boy. Female. Male. All of them labels, labels that are not necessarily relevant in any way. Does a man make a better doctor because he is male? Does a woman make a better teacher because she is female? Gender should not be a measurement of what people are capable of or, for that matter, what they are able to say. But as Virginia Woolf says, even if there is nothing physically standing in a woman's way, there is an "Angel of the House" just waiting to sugarcoat her thoughts and words until she is a shadow of what she once was.
ReplyDelete"Angel of the House" is an allusion to Woolf makes to the heroine of a famous poem. This rhetorical device is very effective. Firstly, it gives a concrete form, if one could call it that, to the part of a woman's conscience that says, "I cannot do that, I am a woman". This "phantom", as Woolf calls it, keeps women from writing or saying what they truly think. Before they act they must first consider how men will react. Sounds rather exhausting, no?
Woolf also uses parallelism to create an image that helps her speech. This image is that of a girl sitting at a desk, pen in hand, deep in the pool of creativity. This girl is an example of all women as her thought process is frequently stopped at all times by the Angel telling her to sugarcoat her honest words. Through this, Woolf uses repetition, constantly coming to this troubled girl all alone in her room who must defeat the Angel in the House on her own.
Woolf utilizes irony throughout her essay. Perhaps the most noticeable it "for it is a very strange thing that people will give you a motor car if you will tell them a story". It is obvious enough that not one car dealer will just give you a car for telling a tale, but this exaggeration, as it were, makes the piece more interesting. It also supports the idea that, in my opinion, even writing can bring in money. I think it also has something to do with women only just butting their heads into the workforce and so it was rather remarkable for women to discover what they could gain from their hard work.
While most problems discussed in her essay are still true, the extent to which it affects people is slightly inaccurate. Woolf wrote this piece at a time when women were expected to stay home and take care of the family. Nowadays, that image isn't quite as vivid as it once was. Women still face discrimination, but they are making progress. If the Angel has not yet been killed, it has at least been mortally injured, and it won't be making a comeback anytime soon.
Meg, I can only agree with the idea being somewhat inaccurate. I also really enjoyed your examples of parallelism. I never even thought of those. Great work!
DeleteMeaghan, I thought it was creative of you to start out you blog post the way you did. It compelled me to read your post! You picked up on some different rhetorical strategies than I did. I did not catch the iron in Woolf's essay; however, after reading your post, I see and understand it now. I do agree with all that you said, but I think that women really do not face nearly as many problems that they did during that time. We have really come a long way, even though it does not always seems like it. Although, I do agree that we as women still have some work to do.
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DeleteBeautiful. You got the allusion to Coventry Patmore's poem. Spectacular!
DeleteBoy are supposed to be stronger. Girls are meant to wear skirts instead of pants. Females are better teachers. Men can't be nurses. All these are lies. They are but the stereotypical image of what men and women should be. As Virginia Wolfe said, there is always "an angel of the house" that gets into ones head and stops them from excelling in ways they are capable of.
ReplyDeleteMany rhetorical devices are used throughout Virginia Wolfe's "Professions for Women". The strategy I noticed the most was figurative language. When Wolfe talked about the "Angel of the House" I believe that she was actually talking about the insecurities she felt. She also felt trapped because she could not tell society her true opinion because the "Angel of the House" whispered to her telling her not to.
Virginia Wolfe is a very metaphorical writer. The main metaphor that I noticed was when she compared a novelist to a fisherman. They were both sitting and waiting for something. However, a lot of people do not know what it is like to wait for a creative idea.She broke down her description into simpler terms so that the reader could better understand her idea.
Anaphoras are one of my favorite rhetorical devices. Wolfe used phone when she said "it is true I am a woman; It is true I am employed. She repeats words to get the effect that women are just as powerful and capable as men.
Pic have learned that too many questions in an essay normally weakens it. However, in "Professions for Women" I believe that the many rhetorical questions strengthened her paper. She asked all these questions to try and get her point across that even women themselves do not know what role they play.
The preconceived ideas of what men and women are supposed to be are just stereotypical lies. Women can do anything men can do and vise verse. Rhetorical strategies are very often used to strengthen essays like this along with making it more relatable.
Jess, you did a great job finding rhetorical devices. It was interesting to see what someone else noticed. I also really like what you said in your last paragraph about gender not making a difference. Keep up the good work!
DeleteJessica, I liked the way you constructed your blog post. It was very easy to read and detect the rehetorical devices you found. I too picked up on her use if repetition; however, you took it a step further and realized it was an anaphora, so I applaud you on that!
DeleteJess, you did a great job with this reading. I really liked your take, and it was cool to hear that you love anaphora. You definitely found some great examples. I also noticed her use of rhetoric questions. I thought that was a great strategy she used. Great work!
DeleteGreat job, Jessica. I espicially liked the way you wrote your first paragraph. And I agree, anaphora just works so well!
DeleteOverall, I found Virginia Woolf's, Professions for Women different but interesting to read. She used many different rhetorical strategies in her essay, to convince her audience of what she was trying to bring across.
ReplyDeleteOne of the rhetorical devices used by Woolf is the use of rhetorical questions. She posed questions to her audience such as, "But what professional experiences have I had?" and "What is a woman?" These questions that she puts in her essay keeps her audience alert and keeps them thinking.
Repetition is also used in her essay as well. It keeps the reading interesting, such as when she says, "it is true I am a woman, it is true I am employed." Virginia Woolf also mentions the names of some writers, including George Eliot. Even though the name makes you think it is a man, it is actually a woman. Therefore, I think this would make her essay appeal to men more, because of the use of a "male" writer.
Figurative language is used in the essay as well. An example of this would be "Angel in the House" When she is talking about the Angel, she is actually referring to herself. The Angel is like a reflection of who she is as a person/woman. Figurative Language is also used when she makes a comparison between the fisherman and a novelist. A novelist has to think and wait patiently until just the right thought comes along, just like the fisherman has to be patient until he feels a tug on his line.
Finally, Woolf spices up her essay with the use of descriptive words and adjectives. Some words that popped out at me were fictitious, illusive, and formidable.
Tori, what a great job you did! I really loved how at the end you included some of her vocabulary. It was definitely a good thing to notice as it had a big impact on how the speech read. And, your notice of the figurative language was interesting. Great job!
DeleteTori, I think that you did a wonderful job explaining some of the rhetorical devices Wolfe used. I liked them so much I used the same ones too! Good job!
DeleteTori, my favorite of your rhetorical devices was the rhetorical question. Whenever I'm reading something and hit a rhetorical question, I automatically formulate an answer, so I think they are very effective. I also really liked what you said about descriptive words and adjectives. Many wouldn't consider those as a rhetorical device, they certainly do have a positive effect on the piece. Fantastic work!
DeleteTor, I have to agree with Hanah, Jess, and Meaghan on this your strategies are creative and very true. Woolf's use of vocabulary and figurative language are key parts of her speech and emphasize her purpose. I love your blog.
DeleteNice job, Tori. I never even thought of the vocabulary and figurative language like that. Wow! Oh, and those last three words sound like great words for our weekly vocab. :)
DeleteVirginia's Wolfe's speech "Professions for Women" was an awesome read. Her style is very captivating and ironic. It draws you in and keeps your attention the whole time you are reading. The biggest ways it does this are through rhetorical strategies. Many different rhetorical strategies pop up in her speech. She uses some that aren't even on the list we received, but are situations that I thought made her article stronger.
ReplyDeleteOnce such instance was when she used anaphora with the word "Outwardly" twice in a row, but then, this is the unorthodox part, she then uses the opposite word "inwardly" as the start of the next sentence. I liked this because it really tied it together. She uses many other examples of anaphora such as the triple use of "I do not..." and "They must...". These allow a pattern to be established that helps keep the reader's focus.
She also utilizes many metaphors in her speech. They are wisely snuck in so that you don't even notice they are there. But my favorite is when she speaks of the house that women are finally renting rooms in. They are taking over this manor previously occupied solely by men. The house represents the world of employment where women are slowly staking their claims to some of the best jobs in the market, just as they are claiming the nicest rooms of the house.
Wolfe adds in many rhetorical questions that are meant to provoke thought from her audience. One of the most important is "Ah, what is "herself". What is a woman?" She says this to a group of intelligent women, asking them to think about what a woman truly is. Are they meek, timid creatures that seek to appease men? Or are they fierce-less warriors who fight their way to the top?
One final strategy that she uses is structural parallelism. Many of her sentences have the same syllable counts. She also uses parallelism with the adjectives and lists that she uses. She keeps them similar so that it flows well and there is no interruption of the thought process when reading.
Overall, this was a great read. Virginia Wolfe's take on certain subjects are wonderfully odd but provoking. I learned a lot and really understood what she was saying about gender and the effect it has in women who have been kept in the shadows where they have allowed themselves to serve only the purpose of pleasing the males of society.
Hannah, I agree with all your strategies, you even picked some up that I had not. Like you I found anaphora but in a different place I found it towards the end when Woolf kept repeating "you." Very nice job with your blog.
DeleteHannah, I like how you spoke about Woolf's use of the words "outwardly and inwardly." There was a unique way to explain a point that is being made. I thought that you example of structural parallelism was very good too. I agree with your statement that Virginia Woolf's opinion on different topics is unusual, but intriguing. Good job!
DeleteHannah, I also noticed the use of anaphora. I picked up on it when she was describing the Angel of the House and started every sentence with "she". It is interesting to see how many times that she used this rhetorical strategy. I also liked how you noticed the metaphors, I only picked up on this the second time that I read through the article. Your analysis of "Professions for Women" was great. It was interesting that you picked up on the syllable counts. Nice post, Hannah!
DeleteIt has often been said that it does not matter what you say it is how you deliver the information that matters. That is true but knowledge on the topic is still needed which is exactly what Virginia Woolf had and did. The topic she speaks about is as the title suggests professions for women. Throughout her piece she uses many different ways to strengthen her speech and to appeal to her audience.
ReplyDeleteOne rhetoric strategy that dominated her speech was the use of metaphor. There are two obvious times she uses it in the excerpt we had to read. The first metaphor was the when Woolf spoke about the Angel of the House. The Angel was a reference to the women who lived their live traditionally and attempted to snuff out their calling to work. The Angel tried to hold women back and if they (women) did not kill her then their heart and passion for their work would die. A second metaphor is found towards the end when Woolf speaks of the empty rooms women have came to possess with nothing inside. It is their choice how their room is used, how it is shared, and it is up to the individual to decide those answers. What Woolf meant by this metaphor is women have won a spot in the work place and they are starting with nothing (an empty room) it is their job to decorate it with their awards, their accomplishments, and their works. Women need to carve out a place for themselves and decide how they want others to view them as workers.
In the ending remarks of her speech, Woolf uses anaphora to drive her point home. She repeatedly says "you" restating that women were her chief audience. Over and over again Woolf states "you are" encouraging the female audience to join in a profession, make their mark, and not be afraid to succeed. It is the women's job to change the course of history, to defy the traditionally accepted roles for them, and to share their decorated rooms with the world.
Virginia Woolf's speech is a very powerful one that makes women believe that they are capable of working. It was an inspiring speech that caused many women to obtain their empty room in the male dominated house and to make it their own.
Erin, I like how you explained about Virginia Woolf used metaphors throughout her essay to appeal to audience. I also enjoyed how you talked about the use of an anaphora. There is no doubt about it that "Professions for Women" was a powerful speech. Good work!
DeleteErin, I really like your first statement about how delivery is key. I think English and writing are so important in our lives. If you can write and speak well I think that you can work your way through anything, because writing is essentially how you sell yourself to your audience. I also noticed the two metaphors in her speech. They both painted visual images in my mind and made her speech really easy to comprehend.
DeleteNice job Erin!
Virginia Woolf’s “Professions for Women” was an impressive article. She used many diverse rhetorical strategies throughout the article to grab the attention of the audience. The main goal for Virginia Woolf in her essay was to make people look at women differently than they ever have before. She was rather successful in reaching this goal.
ReplyDeleteIt was very easy to pick out repetition as one of the rhetorical strategies that was utilized in the article “Professions for Women.” When she attempted to explain what The Angel in the House was all about she used a rhetorical device. The rhetorical device was repetition. “She was intensely sympathetic. She was immensely charming. She was utterly unselfish. She excelled in the difficult arts of family life. She sacrificed herself daily.” Repetition was an essential component of the essay because when it was used Woolf was making a point. She was listing all of the characteristics and qualities of The Angel in the House, but made sure to start each sentence with “She”. This is because her entire article was fighting for women.
Another rhetorical strategy that was included in “Professions for Women” was an anecdote. “I must tell you about a very strange experience that befell me as a novelist.” Virginia Woolf gave the audience an easy way to relate to her by telling a story about one of her personal experiences as a writer. Anecdotes are always good to use when writing an article because it makes the information in the piece of work that much less complex. People do not have a difficult time comprehending the details.
Rhetorical questions were a rhetorical device that Virginia Woolf implemented into her essay. She used questions that weren't necessarily meant to be answered out loud, but the questions gave the audience something to think about. “Ah, but what is "herself? I mean, what is a woman?” What is a woman? It is such a simple question, yet it forces people to truly think critically. It is a challenging question that makes it difficult to formulate an answer.
“Professions for Women” goes into depth on the topic of women. It demonstrates the different types of obstacles and challenges that women have to face. Woolf explains that women have the ability to make a difference in the world. She states that there is always something blocking their path to greatness. She is looking for people to allow women to play a major part in the success that is to come in the future.
Drew, I noticed many of the same rhetorical devices that you did. The anaphora and repetition were Woolf's most noticeable strategies. I, too, agree that her anecdotes strengthened her work. I actually could picture her sitting there and writing as a journalist. I really enjoyed your last paragraph, especially the second sentence: "It demonstrates the different types of obstacles and challenges that women have to face." The only other major strategy that I noticed was the allusion she created with "Angel of the House". Nice job, Drew!
DeleteDrew, I noticed you and I found the same rhetorical questions. I also think that rhetorical questions are simply, yet great. They evoke a lot of thinking in the reader. I did not notice the anecdote, but I agree that it helped her relate to her audience through personal experience. I, like Sam, also liked your last paragraph. I like how Woolf did not tell women to cry about their misfortune, but rather challenged them to do better.
DeleteNice job Drew!
I thought Virginia Woolf's "Professions for Women" was very interesting. This essay grabbed the attention of a large audience, particularly women. Woolf was a genius writer because she structured her work with rhetorical devices.
ReplyDeleteAn allusion is a brief reference to a person, place, or thing. In this particular case, Woolf alludes to a poem by Coventry Patmore. With a little research, I learned more about this poem. It was first published in 1854, but only became popular in the 19th century. Patmore idealizes his first wife, Emily. He considers her to be the perfect woman: submissive, obedient, and selflessly devoted to her husband. Virginia Woolf effectively uses this to her advantage because females constantly worry about the reactions from men. Once she "killed the Angel of the House", she could write with her own words from her own heart, instead of just flattering men.
Anaphora is a rhetorical term for the repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses. For example, Woolf stated, "She was intensely sympathetic. She was immensely charming. She was utterly unselfish. She excelled in the difficult arts of family life. She sacrificed herself daily."
Hypophora is the rhetorical strategy of raising questions and then answering them. Woolf did this several times throughout her essay, and I believe it strengthened her points. I started to critically think about my own opinion, and then I read what she had to say. For example, she wrote, "Ah, but what is 'herself'? I mean, what is a woman?" She then spends the rest of that paragraph explaining what she thinks that answer may be.
Woolf even used an anecdote near the beginning of the essay. "But to tell you my story -- it is a simple one." She explains how she once was a journalist who wrote reviews. With her first paycheck, she "bought a cat -- a beautiful cat, a Persian cat". This particular story is not too important; however, she builds off of it and often refers back to it. Woolf even gets to her main points about gender when she puts this anecdote back on the table. She wrote, "But wait a moment. Articles have to be about something. Mine, I seem to remember, was about a novel by a famous man. And while I was writing the review, I discovered that if I were going to review books I should need to do battle with a certain phantom." From this point on, Woolf was able to kick off her article.
Piece by piece, an individual could tear that essay apart and find tons of rhetorical strategies. There are simple metaphors along with hints of parallelism as well as repetition. Woolf tells stories that her audience can picture in their minds. She also is very descriptive when she explains with different characteristics. Virginia Woolf organized "Professions for Women" in a smooth and excellent way. It was very pleasing and appealing to her audience. She was successful and accomplished everything that she set out to do with her rhetorical strategies.
Sam, I too thought the anecdote was a great way to start her essay. That is often a good way to open up to people. She was very skillful in the use of her retorical stragities. Great thinking!
DeleteVirginia Woolf’s “Professions of a Women” is filled with rhetorical devices that making the reader really think and reflect. She is not clear-cut in her writing; she rather seeks to evoke thinking and meditating with her words.
ReplyDeleteWoolf uses parallelism in the beginning of her essay. Parallelism is when a pair or chain of words is similar in structure. For instance she talks about famous women before her “making the path smooth” and “regulating (her) steps”. The similar structure of “making” and “regulating” makes Woolf’s writing have a nice rhythm that is not stagnant or choppy. Her parallelism just makes her essay easy to read, and thus it is very enjoyable as well.
Woolf painted images in the mind of the reader throughout her essay. She was great at using figurative language, that is to say describing something by comparing it with something else. In her first metaphor she describes the “Angel” in the “Angel of the House”. The Angel seems to reflect her own insecurities and also the oppressive feelings brought on from a society that does not allow her to express her true self. Woolf, however, metaphorically “kills” this Angel allowing her to put her true ideas and opinions on paper. Another example of figurative language occurs when Woolf makes the comparison with a novelist and a fisherman. Much like a fishermen, novelists have to spend time with their line in the water, waiting to reel for that inspirational idea that will propel their writing forward. Woolf is a very metaphorical writer, allowing her imaginative diction to speak to the reader.
Woolf ends her essay with a powerful mix of anaphora and rhetorical questions. She says “How are you going to furnish it, how are you going to decorate it? With whom are you going to share it, and upon what terms? For the first time in history you are able to ask them; for the first time you are able to decide for yourselves what the answers should be.” The repetition of the word “you” constitutes the anaphora, but it is not just a simple repetition. It places a huge emphasis on the choices that women have to make, because it is up to them to make the changes and hopefully find equality. It is up to the women to better themselves, because no one is going to hand them anything. Woolf leads the reader in a state of reflection and urgency.
Through her writing, Woolf seeks to challenge women to battle for a better tomorrow, a tomorrow that is filled with more opportunities and chances. She does not want women to wallow in their sorrows, but rather hopes that women who face oppression will stand up and make a difference. Woolf’s writing is very powerful and she provokes a lot of thinking and reflection.
There truly is nothing like a well written piece of literature to get you thinking. Virginia Woolf's Professions for Women was a great read. Different, but great none the less. Woolf used a lot of rhetorical devices, and they sure did work. She pulls the reader in and keeps them there, eager to read on.
ReplyDeleteThe first rhetorical device that I noticed was her use of rhetorical questioned. Rhetorical questions are a way of getting the audience to form a conclusion or answer for themselves, while guiding them to agree with what you think. I love this rhetorical device. When used well, it is so sneaky.
Another rhetorical strategy that really popped out was her use of repetition. While explaining the Angel in the house, instead of making a list of adjectives and descriptions, she separated them all into different sentences. Each sentence begins with with "she", adding emphasis to her point.
I also noticed the rhetorical device, anaphora. When Woolf began, she had said "It is true I am a woman; it is true I am employed." She made it clear that you don't have to be a man to be successful, and she made it clear that woman are more than capable.
Without a doubt, there are plenty more rhetorical devices embedded into Woolf's essay. In her case, I think that they all helped her in making her point and backing her argument. Like always, she has written another thought provoking read.
Felicia, like how you pointed out the use of retorical questions. Those always make me stop and think about what she is trying to prove. She utilized them very well. Nice work!
DeleteFelicia, I agree with Erin about the rhetorical questions! Good job at pointing out repetition and anaphora!
DeleteFelicia, I found similar rhetorical devises to yours and I agree that they all helped her essay a bunch! Great work!
DeleteHas there ever been a time in your life where you have done or said something based on what you want others to thing of you? Why would someone do this if does not reflect their true self? Often times society pushed people into different groups or categories. Like organizing a stack of papers into different folders, only we are not papers. We are individual humans that think differently and we should accept that we are not everyone fits into a classification.
ReplyDeleteThis is not different with gender and in Virginia Woolf's piece she clearly defines that. She has many ways of introducing this idea to her readers. She uses parallelism to show the clear difference between herself and other women of that time period. She wanted to prove to herself and others that she wasn't going to follow in the classification of typical women. She was going to write with her own thoughts and ideas and not care what other people think.
She used the Angel of the House as a symbol of the mindset of a women who of that time, who would not find it acceptable to stand out. And when she kills that angel, she uses imagery to describe vividly how she strongly she wanted the angel gone. You can tell how much she wants for herself to be set free from the stereotypes of women.
Woolf uses repetition toward the end of her piece when she repeats you in many of her sentences. This is to show how important you are to sticking up for yourself and standing out to be unique. Virginia Woolf expresses a lot of emotion through this piece, she shows her extreme desire to break the barrier between men and women. I believe that today we are still doing the same thing.
Erin, I love the way you started your blog! I didn't even notice the parallelism. Also, good job at picking up the symbolism Woolf portrayed!
DeleteErin, like Natalie said the way you started your blog was awesome. I didn't notice some of the devices you pointed out. Really good job!
DeleteVirginia Woolf's "Professions for Women" was a great read. Her use of rhetorical devices made it flow better.
ReplyDeleteOne of the first rhetorical devices that popped out to me was anaphora. An anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase as the beginning of successive clauses. I recognized this twice during her speech. The first was when she talked about the poem, The Angel in the House, by starting the next several sentences with "She." The other example of anaphora was near the end. Woolf began two sentences in a row with the word "Outwardly."
Another rhetorical device Woolf used was anecdote. In her second paragraph, she said, "But to tell you my story--it is a simple one." Usually anecdote is fairly noticeable, but I only recognized this one after scrolling to the top of the speech. I retread that paragraph, and I really liked that Woolf had that in there. It made her speech more personal.
Woolf also used an apostrophe in her speech. An apostrophe is when an absent or imaginary person is addressed. I believe this was when she talked about her phantom. I noticed this rhetorical device when Woolf said, "And when I came to write I encountered her with the very first words. The shadow of her wings fell on my page; I heard the rustling of her skirts in the room."
While I read Woolf's speech, I didn't even notice any logos, pathos, or ethos. I guess I've grown used to them, but that growing has also helped me branch into learning new ones.
In the exert from Virginia Woolf's "Professions for Women", she addresses the topic of the invisible obstacles that prevent women from expressing themselves. It is written much like a letter and describes two events that unfolded as she was attempting to become a female writer. But before she introduces her own struggles, Woolf refers to female writers who came before her. She stated "...the road was cut many years ago--by Fanny Burney, by Aphra Behn, by Harriet Martineau, by Jane Austen, by George Eliot--many famous women..." meaning that she was not acting as a revolutionary and paving the path for future women. She does, however, admit that even without the physical trials it is still hard for a woman to speak her mind freely.
ReplyDeleteWoolf refers to her greatest barrier as the Angel in the House, a literary illusion to a famous poem. The Angel in the House serves as a metaphor representing the "ideal" woman. She is the doubt in the back of every woman's mind, is this a proper thing for me to do? It is not enough to overcome the Angel. Woolf says it must be killed, and even then it continues to haunt because it is the undying idea of "perfection." Woolf creates a second metaphor, comparing the imagination to a body of water. This metaphor is beautiful and accurate; the mind must be allowed to wander freely, exploring every area it can. Until it hits a rock, that is. And the rock, of course, was the Angel in the House who once more asked the question, should a lady be saying these things?
The exert consists of two anecdote-like areas where Woolf describes her own struggles. She draws a parallel between herself and "...a girl in a bedroom with a pen in her hand." This girl is her as she defeats the Angel and is hit by the realization of the fact that she is not expected to have a mind of her own. The girl does not only represent Woolf, though. The girl seems to be all of the women who tried to write but failed because they did not think they could express their own thoughts. In the beginning, once the girl has bought her paper and holds her pen, it seems simple enough to be a writer. But once the Angel and the doubt creep in the girl, the women, find it impossible to proceed unless they conquer the fear of thinking for themselves.
Woolf's writing style is beautiful. Her metaphors in particular impress me because, when done poorly, they can seem unnecessary or over used. However, her comparisons are so vivid and real that they seem to enhance the whole idea. Also, she does not only speak of herself, although it can initially seem that way. She refers to women who write as one girl who thought it would be easy to buy the paper and write. The hard part, as Woolf explains, is not being afraid to use our own words and thoughts regardless of what anyone, male or female, will think because a writers greatest allegiance is to them self.
Virginia Woolf is the definition of an un-stereotypical woman. She is not afraid, but she is strong. Women are typically supposed to be soft-spoken, but Woolf writes in here literature "Professions for Women" that women and, I guess on a broader scale everyone, should be able to do a job that they want. Stereotypes should not keep people from what they want to do in their life and surely should not keep people from happiness.
ReplyDeleteThe first rhetorical strategy that I noticed in Virginia Woolf's essay was rhetorical questions. She used these questions to get people to ask themselves questions about her essay. This rhetorical strategy is super effective at getting the reader into deeper thought and making the reader want to continue reading the essay. Rhetorical questions is a very effective rhetorical strategy and especially in this essay
Another rhetorical strategy Woolf used was repetition. She used this very often throughout her entire essay. This repetition really catches attention and perhaps is part of the reason the essay flows as well as it does. Another way she used repetition is when she talked about the angel of the house which is possibly the most important part of the essay.
A third rhetorical strategy is anaphora. When she says "It is true I am woman; It is true I am employed" she truly draws your attention. It especially a big deal in her time because not many women in her day had any occupation like hers, and she was saying if men can do it so can women.
Virginia Woolf's essay "Professions for Women" is an extremely special one. She is nearly fearless for writing this essay in her day in age. This essay surely got the attention of men and women everywhere and made people think, women can get good professions too.
Time is up.
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