1. A room of one's own by Virginia Woolf
A room of one's own is an extended essay published in 1929 and it is based on the lectures she delivered in the college on the topic of Women and fiction. The title of the book is from the same lecture where she says "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction". Woolf expresses her views in the form of imaginary narrators - Mary Beton, Mary Seton, and Mary Carmichael who is in her position.
The narrator crosses the lawn at Oxbridge university and tries to enter the library but is forbidden by reminding her that women are not allowed to do such things without accompanying men. She later talks to a friend of hers about how funds raised for men colleges are in larger amount and that of women in considerably negligible amount. The reason being so impoverished and living their daughters little. If they had been independently wealthy, they could have found similar luxuries for women. The narrator then talks about the effects of wealth and poverty on the mind and the effect of tradition or the lack of tradition on the writer.
She then goes to the British Museum in London where she finds out that there are countless books on women written by men but hardly any books on men written by women. One men professor who writes about the inferiority of women angers her and then she concludes that holding a power produces anger out of fear that others will take their power. She then thinks that by pronouncing the inferiority of women, men are actually claiming their own superiority. The narrator believes that self-confidence is often attained by considering other people inferior concerning oneself. Throughout history, women have served as models of inferiority to enlarge the superiority of men.
She thinks that why there were no women writers in the Elizabethan age. She reads history books and finds out that women had few rights in the era.
She then takes the saying of the author Bishop -
Cats do not go to heaven,
Women cannot write plays of ShakespeareShe criticizes this saying by imagining what would have happened if Shakespeare had an equally talented sister called Judith. Shakespeare was blessed with all the facilities - grammar school, work at the theatre in London. His sister, however, was not able to attend school and her family discouraged her from independent study. She was married against her will as a teenager and ran away to London. The men at the theatre denied her the chance to work and learn the craft and at last, she committed suicide.
Nevertheless, some kind of genius must have existed among the women then, as it exists among the working class, but it never got translated into the paper. She thus believes that Shakespeare might not have been successful if he had the same conditions as his sister.
Female writers, then, were often forced to adjust their writing to meet the criticism that their work was pathetic. Even they did so without anger, their original work deviated and their books suffered.
The narrator recognizes that for whatever mental greatness women have, they have not made much of a mark as compared to men. Still, she believes that the great men often depended on women to provide them with some stimulus. Moreover, since everyone has a blind spot about themselves, she thinks that only women can fill the portrait of men in literature. As an avid reader, the overly masculine writing in all the genres had disappointed her greatly. She says that Judith Shakespeare still leaves within all women and that if they are given money and privacy, she will be reborn.
Undoubtedly, this essay is a wonderful example of literary criticism!!!
2. A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen
I borrowed this book from my teacher during our reading module sessions and really liked it. It is a play and I had only read one play before this so I was really looking forward to reading this one. Undoubtedly, it has not disappointed me.
This book is a three-act play written by an author of Norway - Henrik Ibsen. It became worldwide famous during the 18th century.
Act 1:
The act starts with Nora Helmet who comes to her house carrying several gift packages because it's Christmas Eve. Her husband Torvald scolds Nora for spending too much money on these things. Meanwhile, it's revealed that Torvald has got a promotion in his office.
After some time, Dr. Rank, a friend of Torvald's, arrives and goes to meet him. A second visitor also arrives who Kristine Linde-Nora's school friend. They start chit-chatting and Nora finds out that Linde's husband is dead. Nora also tells that they were very poor during the first year of their marriage. Torvalds worked very hard and became sick. They had to travel to Italy to cure him. Linde then reveals that her mother is also dead and her brothers are too old to need her. She asks Nora whether she would pursue her husband to get a job for her in the office. Nora then promises that she would try. Nora finally reveals that she illegally borrowed money that she took for a trip to Italy without her husband's knowledge. I started paying the debt by working hard and am now about to pay it completely.
Now, Krogstad, an employee at Torvald's arrives and tells Nora to use her influence to pursue her husband not to fire him from his job. When she refuses, he starts blackmailing Nora that if she doesn't do this, he would reveal all the secret of her illegal money taking to Torvald. He finally reveals that he has a contract that contains the illegal forgery and threatens Nora by saying that he will bring shame and disgrace to both Nora and Torvald if she doesn't stop her husband from firing him. Krogstad leaves. Nora tries to convince Torvald not to fire him but he doesn't listen saying that Krogstad is an immoral man and he feels physically ill when he is in his company.
Now, Krogstad, an employee at Torvald's arrives and tells Nora to use her influence to pursue her husband not to fire him from his job. When she refuses, he starts blackmailing Nora that if she doesn't do this, he would reveal all the secret of her illegal money taking to Torvald. He finally reveals that he has a contract that contains the illegal forgery and threatens Nora by saying that he will bring shame and disgrace to both Nora and Torvald if she doesn't stop her husband from firing him. Krogstad leaves. Nora tries to convince Torvald not to fire him but he doesn't listen saying that Krogstad is an immoral man and he feels physically ill when he is in his company.
Act 2:
Nora passes up and down in her room suffering from anxiety. Mrs. Linde arrives and helps Nora prepare the costume that she is going to wear for the party the following evening. Nora then tells her about Dr. Rank's increased illness and that he is not going to live more. Mrs. Linde spots the anxiety on Nora's face and asks the reason for the same. However, Nora refuses to tell her anything. Soon Torvald arrives and she again tries to convince not to fire Krogstad but Torvald refuses. They both continue to argue until Torvald sends the letter of dismissal to Krogsted through maid.
When Dr. Rank arrives, he starts talking about his death. Nora attempts to cheer him up and starts flirting with him. Actually, she just wants him to help her with the mess but is having difficulty in confessing to him. He tells her that he is in love with her. Hearing this, she lets go of the help that she wanted from him.
When Krogstad arrives, he again starts threatening Nora and changes the deal. He says that not only he should be rehired in the office but also to be rehired in a higher position. He then writes a letter to Torvald explaining the forgery and puts it in the letterbox. In her panic state, Nora tells everything to Mrs. Linde. She suggests Nora delay reading the letter for as long as possible while she tries to pursue Krogsted to change his mind. Nora then tries to distract Torvald from reading a letter by practicing a wild and violent dance in her agitated state for the party which displeases Torvald. She makes him promise that he would not touch the letterbox until the party. Meanwhile, Mrs. Linde tells that she sent a letter to Krogstad.
Act 3:
While Torvald and Nora are enjoying the party, Mrs. Linde converses with Krogstad and it is revealed that they were past lovers. She says that she had to marry a wealthier man who can look after herself, but now that she is free to do whatever she wants, she would marry him and look after his children. Becoming overjoyed, he decides to withdraw the letter but then, Mrs. Linde stops him.
When the party is over, Torvald comes to fetch the letter from the letterbox which contained two letters-one from Dr. Rank revealing that he is about to die and the other from Krogstad. Finally, he reads the letter and is outraged. He insults Nora saying that she is a hypocrite and a liar. She has ruined his life and happiness and that she can't raise their children. Meanwhile, the maid comes with a letter which said that Krogstad has returned Nora's contract. Becoming overjoyed, he tries to make up for the insults, but Nora doesn't listen. She says that even after eight long years of marriage, they never really understood each other (He became annoyed because he didn't want his wife to help him on her own as it will affect his "masculinity"). First from her father and now from her husband, she has always been treated like a "doll" to be admired and played with. She now had enough of it and she is deciding to leave the house. Torvald then asks what would she do without him and what about their children. She doesn't want children. She wants to enjoy life and live on her own. Saying that she slams the door behind her and the play ends.
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