Эссе по книге Вирджинии Вульф про ФЕМИНИЗМ, часть 1 (Английская Литература)

To what extent are Virginia's Woolf's critiques of social attitudes towards women ("Shakespeare's Sister") still relevant to our society?

For millennia, society has perceived women as the weakest part of humanity. Such a situation was especially true in the field of creativity, where men were not ready to pay for women's literature works and the great creations of women remained unknown. While the 21st century isn't perfect, the feminist movement allows women to embrace who they are and whom they want to be. Despite the fact that society is developing and laws are being created that protect the rights of women, stereotypes and inequality still exist. It is not that women are incapable of writing Shakespeare's plays, but that they have never been given such an opportunity. Therefore, critiques of social attitudes which were written by Virginia Woolf in "Room of one’s own" towards women are relevant in today's society since women still face a lack of opportunity to choose to live their own lives, are being undervalued in their work and discriminated toward their gender.

In the book, Virginia Woolf wrote that in the 16th century, parents did not give their daughters the right to choose and decided her life themselves.

However, today after 400 years this problem remains actual in some countries.

But then her parents came in and told her to mend the stockings or mind the stew and not moon about with books and papers…… Soon, however, before she was out of her teens, she was to be betrothed to the son of a neighboring wool-stapler. (Woolf, 1977, p. 53)

In today's world, women are pulled into forced marriages without their consent like in the time of Shakespeare's sister. In her work, Virginia Woolf writes that Judith was betrothed to the son of a neighbor and was obliged to marry him, although Judith herself did not want it. (Woolf, 1977, p. 53) For instance, in such developed countries as Iran, there is a practice of child marriage. Children over the age of 12 are taken as wives, as they believe that the shariah permits such marriages (Sputnik Таджикистан, 2021, April 7). Girls who are married in childhood often contain lack of education and are at greater risk of social exclusion. Often females become domestic servants, are subject to psychological and physical abuse, and even die in childbirth than more educated women who married in adulthood. However, despite this, no one asks the girls for permission, since from childhood they are forced to do what their parents say and they do not have their own opinion At the same time, there are restrictions on the part of the parents such as participating in sport, art, doing their loved jobs. Virginia Woolf mentioned that her parents could come and send her to learn how to cook and sew instead of reading books. (Woolf, 1977, p. 53). Some parents do not allow their daughters to play sports, art, science, just because they are girls. Virginia Woolf wrote in her book that Judith's parents told her not to read the book. (Woolf, 1977, p. 53) It is not uncommon for parents to believe that control over their daughter is more important than her psychological well-being and respectful family relationships. The pressure of parents to control their daughters can lead to the fact that the daughter not only does not correspond confidentially with parents but will also be afraid to ask for help if in trouble. Controlling the privacy of girls and women is commonly associated with countries where women's rights are generally more limited. For example, the pianist Polina Osetinskaya was called a child prodigy. (Konegen, S. , 2019, Nov. 25). The girl's father forced her to play since childhood. However, at the age of 13, the girl rebelled against the constant teachings and ran away from home. Then Polina first shared with reporters: her "genius" was the result of regular beatings and humiliation by her father. Thus, a parent's decision can destroy the child's future. (Konegen, S. , 2019, Nov. 25 )

We currently have countries where women are discriminated against. Men say that women cannot work in certain areas and underestimate the abilities of women and women in general. The same situation was observed in the book by Virginia Woolf when Judith asked to take her to work in the theater.

He bellowed something about poodles dancing and women acting--no woman, he said, could possibly be an actress. He hinted--you can imagine what. She could get no training in her craft. Could she even seek her dinner in a tavern or roam the streets at midnight?. (Woolf, 1977, p. 53)

Discrimination against women is widespread in employment. According to the text, when Judith tries to get a job as an actor, she is told that women do not belong to the theater and are compared to a dog. (Woolf, 1977, p. 54) To prohibit a woman from working in a particular field is discrimination from the side of the opposite sex. Despite the talent that Judith had, the men felt that she had no place here and did not accept her, how many talented women as Judith could have existed where the opposite gender forbade them to work? There are more than 400 hundred professions in Kyrgyzstan that are prohibited for women. In 2000, the Government of the country introduced a list of professions, which to this day explicitly prohibits women from working and studying a number of professions ( Sputnik Кыргызстан, 2019, March 15), . . For instance, those professions include welder, locksmith, locksmith, excavator, asphalt concrete worker, communications installer, and bulldozer driver. Thus, the rights to work, choice of profession, and education, enshrined and guaranteed by the Constitution of the country, were violated. So, according to the National Statistical Committee for 2018, the number of able-bodied women in the country is about 1 million 800 thousand, and men - more than 1 million 800 thousand people (2018, National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz

epublic).

ased on this, more than 400 professions are prohibited for almost half of the working-age population of Kyrgyzstan. Women were discriminated against in high workplaces. Women in leadership positions are considered ineffective and their value as the staff is underestimated. As mentioned in the reading, Woolf clarified that the owner of the theater compared a woman to a white poodle (Woolf, 1977, p. 54). Such action shows how lowly the female actor was perceived in the 16th century. However, so far, how men treat women in leadership positions shows that almost nothing has changed. Countries, where women were leaders, were able to better survive the crisis and the illness itself with fewer losses. (Vinogradova, А. , 2020, April 28). Men cannot accept the fact that women are just as good as men, if not better than them. Such perceptions lead to common myths, used in different platforms, where women have less ability to negotiate, have worse analytical skills, are not inclined to take risks, are always emotional in making decisions, and do not have the ability for long-term planning.