"Feminist Propaganda" resembling "an almond tree in blossom"

Desmond McCarthy used these words to describe Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own in his review written in 1929. Her "feminist propaganda" sounds like sassy rhetoric, in the style of bell hooks, to me. And, Woolf certainly camoflauged  it with some beautiful writing. I love this essay and always enjoyed teaching it.

Virginia Woolf never attended University of Cambridge but her brother and husband did as well as other members of the Bloomsbury Group so Woolf visited often. Different places around Cambridge claim her, such as The Orchard, a favorite tea garden, in Grantchester Village.

In October 1928, Virginia Woolf gave a lecture, "Women and Fiction" to the two women's colleges Newnham and Girton in Cambridge. A year later after more research, she expanded the lecture into a longer essay, anonymously in the voice of Mary Beton and others in order to give a detached air. She adds the story of Shakespeare's sister and her dining experience in Cambridge and published the essay as A Room of One's Own.

When her sister
Vanessa Bell created the cover for the Hogarth anonymous first edition, she put a clock reading five minutes to eleven and making a V, slyly inserting Virginia into the essay. (Woolf's name was not on the first edition.) Woolf called it a "trifle, written with ardor and conviction."

I went on AROOO Walking Tour as part of the annual Word Fest Conference. We began at the Fitzwilliam Museum where we saw the AROOO MS written in Woolf's hand in lavender ink in a marbleized copybook.

Then we walked over to Kings College.

The Front Court of Kings facing King's Chapel

Reflection of King's Chapel

We toured the comfortable Senior Common Room Area replete with big coffee tea operation, fresh croissants on a silver tray, and newspapers. Beautiful portraits lined the walls, many from the Bloomsbury Group--one particular nice one of a jaunty romantic Rupert Brook painted by his Newnham landlady; several by Duncan Grant including a charcoal drawing of Vanessa Bell and portrait of Maynard Keynes; 2 lovely self-portraits by Roger Fry.

Below is an outside window of the SCR--I got as close as I dared for fear a Porter would wave me away. Alas, you can't see much.

In AROOO, Woolf describes a lavish lunch she has at Kings and as we walked into the elegant Wine Room, we saw a table laid (with five wine glasses) as if expecting Woolf, her hosts, and family. We listened to a tape of King's Dadie Rylands remembering the luncheon in a very complimentary way. He seems to miss Woolf's irony in contrasting the luxurious lunch at Kings with the austere dinner at Newnham where prunes and custard are eaten and wine is not drunk! She is making her point that men enjoy privilege whereas women are impoverished.

The luncheon was held in Ryland's posh suite of rooms (currently being remodeled) behind the bay window on the top floor where he lived for the next 72 years! It is here that Woolf sits on the window seat, smoking and watching the Manx cat cross the second court.

Second Court of Kings
facing Clare College

We walked over to Newnham which is red brick, women's, and "lesser." But it is my favorite college. I find the red brick warm and friendly. It is light and airy, with much of that old wavy glass. Inside are long corridors, some with Wm Morris paper and many lovely paintings of the splendid Newnham gardens and buildings, portraits of past women administrators and students, cases holding old black and white photographs of women's groups--athletic teams, acting clubs, administrators, etc. Sometimes when Kevin and I walk through the Newnham grounds, we peep into women's rooms which are big and full of lovely old furniture.

This view shows the oldest part of Newnham.

In Newnham we saw Ryland's table for the luncheon (oval, plain, and brown) and the original chairs (brown with dull green upholstered seats). They are kept in a meeting room behind the bay window below on the right. The building on the left is where Woolf gave her lecture.

And here is the inside of that Lecture Hall/ Dining Room. The room was dark with the only light on Woolf's face as she spoke.

We were also given a tour of the Newnham library, a spectacular mix of Ancient with Modern which Cambridge does well. The first editions of all Woolf's published works with the Hogarth covers were exhibited, making a dazzling exhibit.

On Saturday 14 April, Kevin and I attended a lecture by cultural historian Alexandra Harris who has written the most recent biography of Virginia Woolf (I like Victoria Glendinning's quotation: "No additional book about her is strictly necessary but then neither is chocolate.").

Harris's original thesis: "Behind the passionate and determined young woman..." Woolf has "an extraordinary capacity for finding and communicating pleasure in people, places, books and things." I enjoyed her appreciation for Woolf's sardonic humor. Her excellent talk included an impressive analysis connecting Impressionism with Woolf's writing.