Virginia Woolf is rightly considered the founder of modern feminist literary criticism. Prior to her landmark contributions to the field such as her works on A Room Of One's Own (1929), and Mrs. Dalloway (1925), these works projects her feminist manifesto of literary criticism. Jill (2002) claimed that "Virginia Woolf argued that women's experience, particularly in the women's movement, could be the basis for transformative social change". Virginia Woolf in her novel A Room Of One's Own is one of her effort to educate women to become more aware of their responsibilities and fight for their rights.
The essay opens with Woolf's main conception that, 'a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction'. Woolf in the essay highlighted that women are lacking in several aspect of opportunities to elevate themselves in public; first, they are lacking of financial freedom and second, the lack of 'space' for their own self. Woolf in this essay provoked that having money is essential for women because throughout of so many years, women are deprived in both material and intellectual. Women have no fortune and were mostly illiterate and only some were home-schooled during that time. In the essay, the narrator is considered herself as fortunate to have financial assistance from her aunt, cost $500 a year. She could survive on her own without being dependent on men or being a burden to somebody. Without financial freedom, Woolf implies that women will remain in second place to their male counterparts. The financial difference between men and women at the time of Woolf's writing is one of the effects that women were less successful gender in society. Thus by having money, women could be independent and the 'power' of having money will also open their horizon to great opportunities and possible chances to elevate in society. .
'A room' in the essay is necessary item for every woman to have as it provides time and space to engage in continuous writing or learning time.
