A Room of One's Own

On pages 37-39 of A Room of One’s Own Virginia Woolf begins to describe the importance of a woman having an individual income by explaining how the state of mind of the narrator changed upon receiving an inheritance.
The narrator says that she received news of her inheritance shortly after women had finally succeeded at acquiring the right to vote. However, even to the narrator, a thoughtful, world-wise woman, the money seemed the more important of the two discoveries. The sum, 500 pounds a year, was not extravagant, but merely enough to live comfortably and free from worries of poverty. This security was of the utmost importance to the woman as it allowed her the freedom to move beyond the day-to-day struggle to make a suitable income, and truly consider her own ambitions.
At this point, the narrator takes a moment to criticize the working world for women, mentioning how incredibly few possibilities exist for the semi-respectable woman. Her options are constrained to menial supportive tasks or nurturing children. The only jobs that were deemed fit for women were those that perpetuated the stereotype of women as nurturers or inferior assistants to men. The narrator describes the bitterness that these jobs engender by in women by forcing them to work in demeaning tasks, and also forcing them to use flattery instead of merit to excel at a position.
But as soon as the narrator had a fixed income, she said that this bitterness faded. When she was no longer directly confronting the issues faced by poor women, she forgot about them and was more content to accept the circumstances as regrettable but immovable. In some ways this seems like an indictment of Virginia Woolf herself. Woolf was not poor, and did not have to work to support herself. Therefore it is possible that in this passage she is really examining her own feelings, and wondering if her isolation from working women keeps her from working towards women’s reform as arduously as possible. It seems that she is urging all women to pay more attention to the plight of working women, instead of letting their own circumstances veil the bitterness that all women should feel.
Even when the narrator has gained her independence, she is still not truly an accomplished person. She did not do anything to earn her income, and therefore is still owes her independence to someone else. But Woolf seems to be saying that this kind of good fortune is necessary for a woman to excel in her own direction and follow her own ambition. She needs the freedom to think and act on her own accord. Also, it is only when the narrator has been liberated from daily labor that she begins to tolerate men without resentment, and only when she is free of that resentment that she is able to ‘see the sky’, or look at the world through a clear, unaltered perspective.

Excerpt from A Passage to India

A Passage to India, pages 206-08:

“Heard about Miss Quested’s servant?” reinforced the Major.

“No, what about him?”

“Heaslop warned Miss Quested’s servant last night never to lose sight of her. Prisoner got hold of this and manager to leave him behind. Bribed him. Heaslop has just found out the whole story, with names and sums—a well-known pimp to those people gave the money, Mohammed Latif by name. So much for the servant. What about the Englishman—our friend here? How did they get rid of him? Money again.”

Fielding rose to his feet, supported by murmurs and exclamations, for no one yet suspected his integrity.

‘Oh, I’m being misunderstood, apologies,” said the Major offensively. “I didn’t mean they bribed Mr. Fielding.”

“Then what did you mean?”

“They paid the other Indian to make you late- Godbole. He was saying his prayers. I know those prayers!”

“That’s ridiculous…” He sat down again, trembling with rage; person after person was being dragged into the mud.

Having shot this bolt, the Major prepared the next. “Heaslop also found out something from his mother. Aziz paid a herd of natives to suffocate her in a cave. That was the end of her, or would have been only she got out. Nicely planned, wasn’t it?

Neat. Then he could go on with the girl. He and she and a guide, provided by the same Mohammed Latif. Guide now can’t be found. Pretty.” His voice broke into a roar. “It’s not the time for sitting down. It’s the time for action. Call in the troops and clear the bazaars.”

The Major’s outbursts were discounted, but he made everyone uneasy on this occasion. The crime was even worse than they had supposed—the unspeakable limit of cynicism, untouched since 1857. Fielding forgot his anger on poor Godbole’s behalf, and became thoughtful; the evil was propagating in every direction, it seemed to have an existence of its own, apart from anything that was done or said by individuals….”

This lengthy passage is illuminates the nature of the racial divide in Chandrapore. Only a few hours after the scandal occurred, the battle lines are already drawn between the races. The Anglo-Indians have gathered together at the Club to decide what to do to avenge Miss Quested.

The situation has escalated from involving only Miss Quested and Aziz, to encompass the entire community. Major Callendar accuses Mohammed Latif, Professor Godbole, the unnamed servant, and the entire group of servants of being involved in the affair. Ronny, Fielding, and Mrs. Moore have all become victims of the conspiracy. The speed at which the hatred spreads indicates the extremity of racial divides, as the Angol-Indians are ready to accept the guilt of any and all Indians without any evidence at all.

In considering this passage, I split it into four sections. The first and third sections are similar. Major Callendar is making brash accusations toward Indians, to which the others in the room make no direct response. As I mentioned, The situation has escalated and split the community down the middle, between the Anglo-Indians and Indians. The men in the club are all Anglo-Indians, and therefore are willing to accept Callendar’s remarks passively.

The second section is interesting, because it contrasts the other two I mentioned. When Major Callendar hints that an Englishman might share the blame, there is an immediate reaction. The others do not particularly like Fielding, but still he is on their side (this will change in a few moments when Fielding expresses doubts that Aziz is guilty, but that is a different matter). The mere fact that Fielding is English means that he deserves the benefit of the doubt and cannot be blamed in such an off-handed fashion. As soon as Callendar clarifies his statement to direct guilt toward an Indian, the crowd is again silent.

In the final section we see that while the crowd does not necessarily accept Callendar’s accusations they do accept the generalization that the evil of the situation spreads farther than they originally thought. The door has been opened to a greater level of suspicion. Fielding is apparently the only character that realizes that the situation is getting out of hand, growing beyond anyone’s control. He seems to realize that this situation has sparked deeper tensions in the community.

The reference to 1857 is a reference to the mutiny that Professor Steele described in class. By alluding to such an event Fielding is worrying about the possibility of a similarly violent event that would occur on a smaller scale, but would be equally devastating to race relations in the community. By this passage we see that any isolated scandal can become a major event if it crosses the strict racial boundaries of the community.