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“Professions for Women”. Before we start going over the homework questions, look at Question for Discussion #2. Research “The Angel in the House” and explain why it is an appropriate frame of reference for Woolf. “Professions for Women”. Narrative poem by Coventry Patmore, 1854.
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“Professions for Women” • Before we start going over the homework questions, look at Question for Discussion #2. • Research “The Angel in the House” and explain why it is an appropriate frame of reference for Woolf.
“Professions for Women” • Narrative poem by Coventry Patmore, 1854. • Popular at the time and argues that the ideal woman is one who exists to dote on and provide comfort and kindness to her man. • Became a household “how-to” guide in Victorian times. • Good allusion – it infuses speech with irony due to the unrealistic expectations it sets forth for women. • Killing the angel is a powerful image for the women in her audience.
“Professions for Women” • 2. • Understatement: “It is true I am a woman.” • Repetition of parallel structure in “It is true” phrases creates contrast with… • …the rhetorical question, “but what professional experiences have I had?” • Irony: “of course” being embedded in final sentence. Irony works by understatement. • Metonymy: “the scratching of the pen” and “the family purse”
“Professions for Women” • 3. • Since the audience is likely all women, Woolf appeals to pathos when discussing her younger self. • Describing herself in third person makes it easier for the audience to imagine themselves in her place. • Humorous cat example.
“Professions for Women” • 8. • Convention of her day was to revert to the generic “he” to refer to everyone. • The “he” statements also powerfully contrast the parallel “I” and “she” statements that follow. • By switching, she highlights her point about women’s creative development being dampened by male expectations.
“Professions for Women” • 9. • Analogy between the girl with the pen in her hand, and the “fisherman lying sunk in dreams on the verge of a deep lake with a rod held out over the water.” • Dreams are the most important part of this analogy, not the rod/pen or her imagination/lake. • Paints a vivid picture with the smashing…concrete example of more abstract idea of an artist creating.
“Professions for Women” • 12. • Passionate (killing the Angel in the House, describing her creativity being squashed), yet analytical (referring back to the women who are working and not in literary careers, analyzing the effect of men on women) • Reflective (own personal anecdotes and experiences), yet forceful (suggesting that women have to find the answers to the questions at the end of the piece).
