Professions for Women - Change
Gender
Society/Culture
Ethics
History
Women are expected to be "pure, conservative, and sycophantic" towards men
Society's conventions for women make it much more difficult for them to enter a male-dominated work force
"Be sympathetic; be tender; flatter; deceive; use all the arts and wiles of our sex. Never let anybody guess that you have a mind of your own. Above all, be pure" (357).
Woolf desires to change society's preconceptions about women, both in the workforce and as a whole
Spends the entire first 1-2 paragraphs establishing her relatability not only to comfort these women and make her more approachable but perhaps also because society has ingrained in them to not respect or value a woman's opinion without first trusting her credibility or having to be a "warm" and "nurturing" personality to be trustworthy/likable
Woolf states that all questions about human relations, morality, sex. etc. cannot be expressed by women without "killing" the Angel of the House
Moral/immoral to "kill" the Angel of the House?
Historic difficulty for women to enter the workforce, but not that hard for writers as it requires little material and can be published from a pseudonym
Change in how women have always have always been scared/intimidated to join the workforce
Maybe some consider these aspects of women to be good traits as well and being these qualities to be just as important to feminism than going against these traits that the AOTH expresses?
Buying a cat helped fight against this these preconceptions in a way as she used her paycheck in a more "frivolous" way then society deems for women, in a way buying a part of her new freedom
"Telling the truth about her own body" is a major obstacle that both Woolf and other women have yet to overcome/kill
Most obstacles for women tend to 'ghosts' or inner demons that are much more of a mental battle than an outwards one
Change in how women perceive the struggles they must overcome to start working
Change in how women view themselves overall and underestimate themselves
Establishes credibility by using a more casual or flippant tone to express that becoming a writer is not that challenging or difficult for women
Ends speech by stating the achievements women have made in the past
"You have won rooms of your own in the house in the house hitherto owned by men" (360).
States that this is the beginning of these young women's freedom and uses an encouraging tone to say that this is the first time in history that they've had the option to accessorize and decorate their lives and to take advantage and explore witht that
Constantly repeats that they are important to motivate them
Society has consistently made women feel that they are less important and the decisions or impacts they have are of lesser importance than their male counterparts
The AOTH was intensely charming, unselfish, and an excelled in the difficult arts of family life. She constantly sacrificed herself because she was pure as she "was so constituted that she never had a mind or wish of her own, but preferred to sympathize with the mind and wishes of others" (357).
Killing the AOTH was an act of "self defense" because if she didn't kill it then it would kill her first, contrasting something considered very pure and innocent with a violent and toxic act, revealing it's true intentions, could relate to fallen angels becoming demons (inner)?
Fighting against gender stereotypes/norms is much more difficult than anticipated and does not happen in one sitting, but takes time and commitment/effort
Ingrained systemic/internalized misogyny prevents women from reaching their full potential, perhaps a purposeful act?