The two essays in which Virginia Woolf pursues womens role in art and

Question

The two essays in which Virginia Woolf pursues women’s role in art and politics have traditionally been seen as a problematical adjunct to her novels. While  A Room of One’s Own , with its acerbic wit, has been given grudging respect, the outspokenly programmatic Three Guineas has been dismissed as a pacifist-feminist tract. No doubt these essays lack the subtlety and superb control of the novels, but to a recent generation of critics they remain significant because of their anticipation of many of the concerns of contemporary feminism.

A Room of One’s Own  (1929) is written in the form of a lecture “delivered” at a fictitious women’s college. Woolf begins by contrasting the paltry luncheon given at the college with the luxurious fare offered at a nearby men’s university. The difference symbolizes more profound disparities that—Woolf now comes to her main point—bear directly on the fortunes of women artists. For the woman author, financial independence, opportunities for education, tranquillity, and privacy are necessary preconditions, without which women are unlikely to produce works of genius. Great art can never be expected from “labouring, servile, or uneducated people.” (Among modern feminists, Tillie Olsen makes a similar point in  Silences , though without Woolf’s undertone of class condescension.) When a woman obtains a room of her own, in all its senses, she may, according to Woolf, develop what Coleridge termed “the androgynous mind,” one which, having united its “male” and “female” sides, “transcends and comprehends the feelings of both sexes.”

In  Three Guineas  (1938), Woolf’s central argument, again foreshadowing a key contention of later feminism, is that the process of changing gender restrictions in the public world and in the private individual areinterdependent. Such issues as childrearing (which she felt should be a shared responsibility) and professional equality between the sexes are not separate considerations, but rather different aspects of the same problem. Woolf also attempts to define women’s responsibilities in the larger political world. Discussing the probability of another world war, she argues that women with jobs in manufacturing should refuse to produce arms for use in a male-instigated debacle. Both at the time and since, many readers have found this argument naive. One working-class reader, Agnes Smith, wrote Woolf that the book was decidedly class bound; working women could hardly afford to jeopardize their employment for a pacifist idea. Current feminist critics accept the validity of Smith’s point—indeed, they acknowledge that it exposes a limitation of Woolf’s feminism generally—but they also note that the mild derision that greeted Three Guineas from the male establishment was typical of the reception often given a woman thinker’s ideas.    1 
 1. As used by Woolf, the phrase “a room of one’s own” apparently refers to all of the following EXCEPT

A. freedom from economic insecurity
B. separation of the “male” and “female” sides of consciousness
C. educational opportunities for women equal to those available to men
D. personal autonomy
E. the ability to work without distractions

2 
 2. Judging from the second paragraph, which of the following assumptions did Woolf make in the discussion of women writers?

A. The mind can be characterized as having masculine and feminine aspects.
B. All great authors have come from economically privileged backgrounds.
C. There have been no truly great women writers in the past.
D. Artistic development is independent of formal education.
E. Investigation of feelings and emotions is the most important goal of literature.

3 
 3. The passage provides information to answer which of the following questions?

A. Why did Woolf write A Room of One’s Own as a lecture when in fact it was not?
B. Why did Woolf’s tone shift in Three Guineas as compared to A Room of One’s Own?
C. How did Woolf struggle against male prejudice in her writing career?
D. What conditions foster the development of the “androgynous mind”?
E. What were readers’ responses to the ideas in A Room of One’s Own?

4 
 4. The author would state that, in comparison to her novels, Woolf’s essays on feminist themes could be regarded as more

A. original
B. familiar to the public
C. accepted by critics
D. artistically disciplined
E. blunt and direct

5 
 5. It can inferred from the passage that A Room of One’s Own and Three Guineas are similar in which of the following respects?

I. Both discuss social issues in terms of artistic development.
II. Neither presents specific ways in which women can fight a maledominated society.
III. Both deal implicitly with the concerns of economically advantaged women.

A. I only
B. III only
C. I and II only
D. II and III only
E. I, II, and III

6 
 6. Which of the following provides the most appropriate title for the passage?

A. Virginia Woolf: Pacifist Pioneer
B. The Genesis of Virginia Woolf’s Feminism
C. A Precursor of Modern Feminism
D. Virginia Woolf’s Marriage of Art and Politics: A Critical Evaluation
E. The Myth of Virginia Woolf’s Feminism

Kaplan GRE Verbal Workbook 2007

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

6. Which of the following provides the most appropriate title for the passage?

Explanation

This is a special type of global question. A  “best title”  question asks you to identify the main theme of the passage, which is what a good title will focus on. Here, the last sentence of paragraph 1 states the theme: The essays are valuable because of their  “anticipation . . . of contemporary feminism.”  This idea is directly paraphrased in correct  choice (C) . Don’t worry that this choice doesn’t mention Woolf; it focuses squarely on what the author says about Woolf. The remainder of the passage surveys two aspects of Woolf’s feminism, both of which foreshadow present-day feminism, as  paragraph 3  states directly and as the reference to Tillie Olsen in paragraph 2 suggests.

Choice (A)  focuses on supporting detail—pacifism—a relatively minor issue in the passage.

Choice (B)  is outside the scope of this passage. The genesis of Woolf’s ideas (in other words, how they originated) is not discussed.

Choice (D)  is half right, half wrong. Although Virginia Woolf’s politics are evaluated, her novels, that is her art, are not discussed.

Choice (E)  is too critical. Woolf’s feminism is taken seriously and is not criticized as a myth.

Answer: C

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

2. Judging from the second paragraph, which of the following assumptions did Woolf make in the discussion of women writers?

Explanation

This is an inference question. According to  paragraph 2 , one goal of a woman writer is to develop an  “androgynous mind,”  one that has united  “male”  and  “female”  characteristics. Thus Woolf’s assumption is that there is a division of mental processes according to gender, one that is  “transcended”  by genius. The assumption in  choice (A)  is required for Woolf’s discussion to make sense.

Choice (B)  makes an all-inclusive generalization that distorts Woolf’s emphasis on financial security; it implies that no great artists have come from lower-class backgrounds—a distortion of the idea that women writers must gain financial security.

Choice (C)  is beyond the scope of the passage. That Woolf would think there has never been a great woman writer is implausible; paragraph (2) merely says that without financial independence, women are unlikely (not unable) to produce great art.

Choice (D)  is contrary to Woolf’s argument; she is saying that education is needed for women to become great writers.

Choice (E)  mistakes one goal of the  “androgynous”  mind (comprehending the feelings of both sexes) for the main goal of all literature.

Answer: A

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

4. The author would state that, in comparison to her novels, Woolf’s essays on feminist themes could be regarded as more

Explanation

This is another detail question. The novels are mentioned only in the  first paragraph,  where the author concedes that the essays  “no doubt . . . lack the subtlety”  of the novels. The essays, then are  “unsubtle,”  and this idea is expressed in  choice (E) .

Answer: E

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

5. It can inferred from the passage that A Room of One’s Own and Three Guineas are similar in which of the following respects?

Explanation

This is a lengthy inference question that requires you to skip between the last two paragraphs.

Taking the statements one at a time, you can see  Statement I  is not true; only  A Room of One’s Own  discusses artistic development.

Statement II  is also incorrect; specific ways of fighting against male domination are brought up only in  Three Guineas  (pacifist action against a “maleinstigated” war).

Statement III  is correct. As  paragraph 2  makes clear,  A Room of One’s Own  discusses the achievement of financial independence by women who already possess some education and freedom from poverty; the fictitious setting of the college underlines this point.  Three Guineas , as demonstrated by the criticism of Agnes Smith, was  “class-bound” — relevant mainly to non-working-class women. The author refers to this as a  “limitation of Woolf’s feminism generally,”  further strengthening III.

Answer: B

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

1. As used by Woolf, the phrase “a room of one’s own” apparently refers to all of the following EXCEPT

Explanation

For this detail question, go to  paragraph 2 , in which the preconditions needed for women to produce works of genius, which are then figuratively summed up as  “a room of   own, in all its senses,”  are described. These preconditions provide our wrong answers.

Choices (A)  and  (C)  are virtual paraphrases of  “financial independence”  and  “opportunities for education,”  respectively. If a writer is no longer  “labouring and servile,”  she is then relatively autonomous (choice (D)).

Choice (E)  refers to the need for  “tranquility and privacy.”  That leaves  choice (B) , the correct choice. It is something to be overcome after one obtains a  “room of one’s own.”

Answer: B

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

3. The passage provides information to answer which of the following questions?

Explanation

A detail question is being asked here. The conditions for the development mentioned in  choice (D)  are discussed in  paragraph 3.  If a woman author obtains a room of her own in all its meanings (education, financial independence, etc.), she may then go on to develop an  “androgynous”  mind.

Choice (A)  goes too far, since no information is given on why Woolf used the  “lecture”  format in A Room of One’s Own.

Choice (B)  is also unmentioned; although a tone shift between A Room of One’s Own and Three Guineas is implied by the terms used to describe them (paragraph 1), the cause of the change is not specified.

Choice (C)  is out since the passage gives only one example of apparent male prejudice against Woolf—the response to Three Guineas—and we don’t learn what Woolf’s reaction to this was.

Choice (E)  is tricky. We are told how the public reacted to Three Guineas, but not to A Room of One’s Own.

Answer: D

gmatcat8 · Answer

Not too happy with question 3 between D and E.

D. What conditions foster the development of the “androgynous mind”?
E. What were readers’ responses to the ideas in A Room of One’s Own?

I wasn't convinced with D. The following is the only mention of the condition that FOSTERS the development of the androgynous mind

When a woman obtains a room of her own .

I don't see any further conditions outlined. The rest of the paragraph details what constitutes the androgynous mind, not what fosters it

I went with E due to the following, though still not too happy with this option either

While A Room of One’s Own, with its acerbic wit,  has been given grudging respect

It doesn't really detail out the reader's responses to any specific ideas, just the essay as a whole, so its vague at best

Could you please help me with the analysis?

GMATNinja 
 MartyMurray 
 KarishmaB

guddo · Answer

I’d say (D) is actually supported more directly than it may seem. The paragraph explicitly lists  financial independence, opportunities for education, tranquillity, and privacy  as necessary preconditions for women’s artistic development. Then it says that when a woman obtains  “a room of her own, in all its senses,”  she may develop the androgynous mind. So “a room of her own” is not just one literal condition, but a shorthand for that broader set of conditions.

(E) is weaker because “has been given grudging respect” tells us the general reception of the essay, not how readers responded to its specific ideas.

So (D) is clearly the better answer.

The two essays in which Virginia Woolf pursues womens role in art and

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The two essays in which Virginia Woolf pursues womens role in art and

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