1. When your secretary invited me to come here, she told me that your Society is concerned with the employment of women and she suggested that I might tell you something about my own professional experiences. It is true I am a woman; it is true I am employed; but what professional experiences have I had? It is difficult to say. My profession is literature: and in that profession there are fewer experiences for women than in any other, with the exception of the stage-fewer, I mean, that are peculiar to women, For the road was cut many years ago by Fanny Burney, by Aphra Behn, by Harriet Martineau, by Jane Austen, by George Eliot—many famous women, and many more unknown and forgotten, have been before me, making the path smooth, and regulating my steps. Thus, when I came to write, there were very few material obstacles in my way. Writing was a reputable and harmless occupation. The family peace was not broken by the scratching of a pen. No demand was made upon the family purse. For ten and sixpence one can buy paper enough to write all the plays of Shakespeare—if one has a mind that way, Pianos and models, Paris, Vienna and Berlin, masters and mistresses, are not needed by a writer. The cheapness of writing paper is, of course, the reason why women have succeeded as writers before they have succeeded in the other professions.

2. But to tell you my story-it is a simple one. You have only got to figure to yourselves a girl in a bedroom with a pen in her hand. She had only to move that pen from left to right from ten o'clock to one. Then it occurred to her to do what is simple and cheap enough after all- to slip a few of those pages into an envelope, fix a penny stamp in the corner, and drop the envelope into the red box at the corner. It was thus that I became a journalist; and my effort was rewarded on the first day of the following month—a very glorious day it was for me—by a letter from an editor containing a cheque for one pound ten shillings and sixpence. But to show you how little I deserve to be called a professional woman, how little I know of the struggles and difficulties of such lives. I have to admit that instead of spending that sum upon bread and butter, rent, shoes and stockings, or butcher's bills, I went out and bought a cat—a beautiful cat, a Persian cat, which very soon involved me in bitter disputes with my neighbours.

3. What could be easier than to write articles and to buy Persian cats with the profits? But wait a moment. Articles have to be about something. Mine, I seem to remember, was about a novel by a famous man. And while I was writing this review, I discovered that if I were going to review books I should need to do battle with a certain phantom And the phantom was a woman, and when I came to know her better I called her after the heroine of a famous poem. The Angel in the House. It was she who used to come between me and my paper when I was writing reviews. It was she who bothered me and wasted my time and so tormented me that at last I killed her. You who come of a younger and happier generation may not have heard of her—you may not know what I mean by the Angel in the House. I will describe her as shortly as I can. She was intensely sympathetic. She was immensely charming. She was utterly unselfish. She excelled in the difficult arts of family life. She sacrificed herself daily. If there was a chicken, she took the leg; if there was a draught she sat in it—in short she was so constituted that she never had a mind or a wish of her own, but preferred to sympathize always with the minds and wishes of others. Above all—I need not say it—she was pure. Her purity was supposed to be her chief beauty—her blushes, her great grace. In those days—the last of Queen Victoria—every house had its Angel. And when I came to write I encountered her with the very first words. The shadow of her wings fell on my page: I heard the rustling of her skirts in the room. Directly, that is to say, I took my pen in hand to review that novel by a famous man, she slipped behind me and whispered: "My dear, you are a young woman. You are writing about a book that has been written by a man. 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. " And she made as if to guide my pen, I now record the one act for which I take some credit to myself, though the credit rightly belongs to some excellent ancestors of mine who left me a certain sum of money—shall we say five hundred pounds a year? — so that it was not necessary for me to depend solely on charm for my living. I turned upon her and caught her by the throat. I did my best to kill her. My excuse, if I were to be had up in a court of law, would be that I acted in self-defence. Had I not killed her she would have killed me. She would have plucked the heart out of my writing. For, as I found, directly I put pen to paper, you cannot review even a novel without having a mind of your own, without expressing what you think to be the truth about human relations, morality, sex, And all these questions, according to the Angel in the House, cannot be dealt with freely and openly by women; they must charm, they must conciliate, they must—to put it bluntly—tell lies if they are to succeed. Thus, whenever I felt the shadow of her wing or the radiance of her halo upon my page, I took up the inkpot and flung it at her. She died hard. Her fictitious nature was of great assistance to her. It is far harder to kill a phantom than a reality. She was always creeping back when I thought I had despatched her. Though I flatter myself that I killed her in the end, the struggle was severe; it took much time that had better have been spent upon learning Greek grammar; or in roaming the world in search of adventures. But it was a real experience; it was an experience that was bound to befall all women writers at that time. Killing the Angel in the House was part of the occupation of a woman writer.

4. But to continue my story. The Angel was dead; what then remained? You may say that what remained was a simple and common object—a young woman in a bedroom with an inkpot. In other words, now that she had rid herself of falsehood, that young woman had only to be herself. Ah, but what is "herself"? I mean, what is a woman? I assure you, I ' do not know. I do not believe that you know. I do not believe that anybody can know until she has expressed herself in all the arts and professions open to human skill. That indeed is one of the reasons why I have come here—out of respect for you, who are in process of showing us by your experiments what a woman is, who are in process of providing us, by your failures and successes, with that extremely important piece of information.

5. But to continue the story of my professional experiences. I made one pound ten and six by my first review, and I bought a Persian cat with the proceeds. Then I grew ambitious. A Persian cat is all very well, I said; but a Persian cat is not enough. I must have a motor car. And it was thus that I became a novelist—for it is a very strange thing that people will give you a motor car if you will tell them a story. It is a still stranger thing that there is nothing so delightful in the world as telling stories. It is far pleasanter than writing reviews of famous novels. And yet, if I am to obey your secretary and tell you my professional experiences as a novelist, I must tell you about a very strange experience that befell me as a novelist. And to understand it you must try to imagine a novelist's state of mind. I hope I am not giving away professional secrets if I say that a novelist's chief desire is to be as unconscious as possible. He has to induce in himself a state of perpetual lethargy. He wants life to proceed with the utmost quiet and regularity. He wants to see the same faces, to read the same books, to do the same things day after day, month after month, while he is writing, so that nothing may break the illusion in which he is living—so that nothing may disturb or disquiet the mysterious nosings about, feelings round, darts, dashes and sudden discoveries of that very shy and illusive spirit, the imagination. I suspect that this state is the same both for men and women. Be that as it may, I want you to imagine me writing a novel in a state of trance. I want you to figure to yourselves a girl sitting with a pen in her hand, which for minutes, and indeed for hours, she never dips into the inkpot. The image that comes to my mind when I think of this girl is the image of a fisherman lying sunk in dreams on the verge of a deep lake with a rod held out over the water. She was letting her imagination sweep unchecked round every rock and cranny of the world that lies submerged in the depths of our unconscious being. Now came the experience, the experience that I believe to be far commoner with women writers than with men. The line raced through the girl's fingers. Her imagination had rushed away. It had sought the pools,the depths, the dark places where the largest fish slumber. And then there was a smash There was an explosion. There was foam and confusion. The imagination had dashed itself against something hard. The girl was roused from her dream. She was indeed in a state of the most acute and difficult distress. To speak without figure she had thought of something, something about the body, about the passions which it was unfitting for her as a woman to say. Men, her reason told her, would be shocked. The consciousness of what men will say of a woman who speaks the truth about her passion had roused her from her artist,s state of unconsciousness. She could write no more. The trance was over. Her imagination could work no longer. This I believe to be a very common experience with women writers they are impeded by the extreme conventionality of the other sex. For though men sensibly allow themselves great freedom in these respects, I doubt that they realize or can control the extreme severity with which they condemn such freedom in women.

6. These then were two very genuine experiences of my own. These were two of the adventures of my professional life. The first—killing the Angel in the house—I think I solved. She died. But the second, telling the truth about my own experiences as a body, I do not think I solved. I doubt that any woman has solved it yet. The obstacles against her are still immensely powerful and yet they are very difficult to define.Outwardly, what is simpler than to write books? Outwardly, what obstacles are there for a woman rather than for a man? Inwardly, I think, the ease is very different; she has still many ghosts to fight, many prejudices to overcome. Indeed it will be a long time still, I think, before-a woman can sit down to write a book without finding a phantom to be slain, a rock to. be dashed-against. And if this is so in literature, the freest of all professions for women, how is it in the new professions which you are now for the first time entering?

7. Those are the questions that I should like, had I time, to ask you. And indeed, if I have laid stress upon these professional experiences of mine, it is because I believe that they are, though in different forms, yours also. Even when the path is nominally open—when there is nothing to prevent a woman from being a doctor, a lawyer, a civil servant--there are many phantoms and obstacles, as I believe, looming in her way. To discuss and define them is I think of great value and importance; for thus only can the labour be shared, the difficulties be solved. But besides this, it is necessary also to discuss the ends and the aims for which we are fighting, for which we are doing battle with these formidable obstacles. Those aims cannot be taken for granted; they must be perpetually questioned and examined. The whole position, as I see it—here in this hall surrounded by women practising for the first time in history I know not how many different professions-is one of extraordinary interest and importance. You have won rooms of your own in the house hitherto exclusively owned by men. You are able though not without great labour and effort, to pay the rent. You are earning your five hundred pounds a year. But this freedom is only a beginning; the room is your own, but it is still bare. It has to be furnished; it has to be decorated; it has to be shared: How are you going to furnish it, how are you going to decorate it? With whom are you going to share it, and upon what terms? These, I think are questions of the utmost importance and interest. For the first time in history you are able to ask them; for the first time you are able to decide for yourselves what the answers should be. Willingly would I stay and discuss those questions and answers--but not tonight. My time is up; and I must cease.

Words and Expressions from the Text

1. shilling: a former British coin and monetary unit equal to one-twentieth of a pound or twelve pence

2. Persian cat: a stocky domestic cat having long silky fur

3. wile: a trick or cunning procedure

4. halo: a circle of light shown surrounding the head of sacred person

5. lethargy: lack of energy or vitality; a torpid, inert, or apathetic state

6. cranny: a crack

7. to submerge: to place under or cover with water; to cover over, to suppress, to hide

8. to impede: to bar or hinder the progress of; to obstruct or delay

9. hitherto: until this time, up to now

Notes on the Background

1. Virginia Adeline Woolf (1882—1941): English novelist, critic, and essayist. in the home of her father, Sir Leslie Stephen, Virginia Woolf was reared in an atmosphere of literature and learning, receiving her education in her father's own extensive library and meeting many of the outstanding literary and intellectual figures of the day. After Sir Leslie's death. Virginia and her sister, Vanessa, hosted many gatherings of artists and writers who had been friends at Cambridge University. This began what came to be known as the Bloomsbury Group. Virginia Woolf’s books draw largely on her own life experience. Her childhood provides the background for her novel To the Lighthouse. Almost all of her characters are members of her own leisured, intellectual, upper-middle class. Many of the novels are set in London, where she lived most of her life. In 1941, profoundly depressed by the war and afraid of the recurrence of a nervous breakdown, she committed suicide by drowning. Her major works include Jacob's Room (1922), Mrs. Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927), Orlando: A Biography (1928), A Room of One's Own (1929), and essays "The Death of a Moth"(1942), "A Haunted House" (1943).

2. "Professions for Women" is a paper that Virginia Woolf read to The Women’s Service League, 1931.

3. Fanny Burney (1752—1840): English author. She published her first novel Evelina in the 1778, and owing to the prominence brought by the novel she was appointed second keeper of the robes to Queen Charlotte. She was one of the first novelists to deal with the experiences of a young girl coming in contact with the social world.

4. Aphra Behn (1640—1689): English novelist and dramatist. The first English female professional writer, Behn wrote a number of complicated comedies of intrigue. Her best-known novel is Oroonoko, or the History of the Royal Slave.

5. Harriet Martineau (1802—1876 ): English author, a writer on religion, economics, and government. She was famous for a series of stories illustrating the economic theories of such contemporary thinkers as Malthus. These tales combine fiction with fact and theory.

6. Jane Austen (1775—1817): English novelist, often regarded as the greatest of English women novelists. Jane Austen passed her days, like many an English lady of the time, almost entirely within her family circle. She never married, had little contact with London literary life, and spent all her time, when not writing, on ordinary domestic duties. Out of the materials of such a narrow world, she made great literature. Her completed novels, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion, are distinguished by their satirical wit and brilliant comedy, complex and subtle view of human nature and perfection of style.

7. George Eliot (1819—1880): George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Ann, or Marian, Evans, is of the first rank among Victorian novelists. She published her first novel Adam Bede in 1859, and in 1860 came The Mill on the Floss, followed by Silas Marner in 1861. Middlemarch was published in installments in 1871—1872. This novel is considered not only Eliot's finest work but one of the greatest novels to come out of 19th century England.

8. The Angel in the House：The title of a poem written by Coventry Patmore(1823—1896). Patmore was a librarian by profession, and originally an Anglican by creed, but he later converted to Catholicism. Inspired by his new religion, he composed some of his best religious poetry. From childhood to grave Patmore believed that he had obligations to celebrate married love, the more serious importance of which had been singularly missed by most poets of all countries, he once said. In 1854 the first part of the long poem "The Angel in the House" appeared, and the complete poem was published in 1863. For Patmore, his wife Emily represented all that was perfect about a Victorian wife and head of the home. The poem became very famous and attracted a multitude of readers.

9. Queen Victoria (1819—1901): Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India.Victoria's long reign began in 1837 and ended when she died in 1901. Victoria's reign saw the rapid industrialization of Britain, and a vast growth of national wealth, reflected in the imperialism of the late 19th century. The whole reign may be divided into two phases, each roughly thirty years long. The first period is characterized mainly by moderate and gradual political reforms, the rapid growth of industry, an enormous increase in population and the rise to power of the industrial middle class. The second period is characterized by a declining birth rate, an increasingly jingoistic nationalism, the looming specter of mass unemployment and economic crisis, the tendency of the new science to undermine deeply held religious convictions and the reflection in literature of a growing disillusionment with traditional moral values. The term "Victorian" is used to refer to the 63—year reign of Queen Victoria, to the English people of the period, to the literature written in this period, to their characteristics, and accomplishments. This term is often used to suggest sentiments, beliefs, taste qualities and attitudes prevailing in the time, such as moral severity or hypocrisy, middle-class stuffiness, and pompous conservatism that are usually associated with the time of Queen Victoria.

Notes on the Text

Para. 1

1. What is the main idea of Paragraph 1?

In the profession of literature, the author finds that there are fewer experiences peculiar to women than in other professions because many women writers before her have made the road smooth.

2. your Society: the Women’s Service League.

3. What professional experiences have I had：A rhetorical question, which the speaker does not expect the audience to answer.

4. My profession is literature. that are peculiar to women.

(1) Why does the author say that in the profession of literature there are fewer experiences for women than in any other professions, with the exception of the stage, that are peculiar to women? The answer is given in the next sentence: The road was cut many years ago by many famous women writers as well as many more unknown and forgotten women writers who have been before her, who have made the path smooth, regulating her steps. The implied meaning is that other professions, such as science, medicine, law, are newer for women, and therefore the road is harder for them, with more experiences peculiar to them. The profession of drama is an exception. Like literature drama also involves more women than other professions.

(2) the stage: With"the"the word means the theater, drama, or acting as a profession. Like literature, the stage involves more women than other professions.

5. the road was cut:路已开辟出来

6. For Fanny Burney, Aphra Behn. Harriet Martineau, Jane Austen and George Eliot, see Notes 3 to 7. All the women mentioned above are women writers who have made special contributions to English literature in their unique ways. Some lesser known women writers such as Burney, Behn and Martineau are listed here while more famous names such as the Bronte sisters are conspicuously missing. As Virginia Woolf was well acquainted with English literature of four centuries, it was easy for her to make the list longer. But perhaps the author doesn't want to make a long and comprehensive list, but intends to give the idea that early women writers like Burney and Behn had already made their way into the profession of literature as early as in the 17th century.

7. making the path smooth: paving the way (for)

8. regulating my steps: guiding me as I move forward指导我向前走

9. Thus, when I came to write. few material obstacles in my way.

(1) Note the word "material". The implied meaning is that there are other obstacles in her way, probably obstacles opposed to material, that is, obstacles of a spiritual, mental or psychological nature. As readers, we naturally expect a discussion of those obstacles in the following parts of the essay.

(2) in my way: (in the way) in a place or position that prevents someone or something else from moving freely.

10. Writing was a reputable and harmless occupation.

(1) Why does the author say so? The answer is given in the next few sentences.

(2) reputable: in a good repute; having a good reputation; well-thought-of; respectable

11. The family peace was not broken by the scratching of a pen.

(1) Here the "family peace" has two meanings—first: calm, quiet, tranquility; second: harmony, lack of worry and quarrels.

(2) scratching of a pent the sound made by an old-fashioned ink pen when it moves on paper

12. No demand was made upon the family purse.

(1) Explain the meaning of the sentence. There was no need for a writer to spend much of the family money in order to write.

(2) The word "purse" stands for money, financial conditions, e.g. the family purse:家庭财力/经济 Here the word "purse" is used figuratively. This kind of figure of speech is called metonymy, in which the name of one thing is used in place of that of another associated with or suggested by it, e.g. "the White House" for "the President", "the crown " for "the king" or "the queen".

More examples:

The pen is mightier than the sword. (Here the instrument pen or sword is used as the name of the people wielding it.)

He succeeded by the sweat of his brow, (Sweat of one’s brow stands for one’s own hard work.)

He is too fond of the bottle. (The container is used as a name of the thing contained-wine, liqueur, or drinking in general.)

13. if one has a mind that way: A witty remark, The implication is that though everybody can afford the money to buy paper to write all the plays of Shakespeare, who has the kind of intelligence and talent that produced those great plays?

14. Pianos and models, Paris, Vienna and Berlin, masters and mistresses, are not needed by a writer.

(1) Explain the implied meaning of the sentence: If you want to be a musician or a painter, you must own a piano or hire models, and you have to visit or even live in cultural centers like Paris, Vienna and Berlin. And also you have to be taught by masters and mistresses. However, if you want to be a writer, you don't need all these.

(2) masters and mistresses, teachers or tutors; professional practitioners of music or painting: great artists.

15. The cheapness of writing paper is, of course, the reason why... in the other professions.

This sentence has a sarcastic tone. The implied meaning is that in the patriarchal society women have been forced into a lower financial status than men.

Para. 2

16. What is the function of Paragraph 2?

In this paragraph the author responds to the host's suggestion that she should tell the audience something about her own professional experiences. So she now tells her own story-how she became a book reviewer when she was a girl. Paragraphs 1 and 2 can be read together as the beginning part of the whole speech, introducing the topic under discussion.

17. figure: to represent mentally, to imagine

18. from left to right: A set phrase. Note the absence of articles before the words "left" and "right".

Other examples:

from morning till night

from beginning to end

from top to tail

19. Then it occurred to her to do what is simple... into the red box at the corner: Instead of saying straightforwardly that she wrote s book review and mailed it to a journal, the author tells her story by using concrete details of posting a letter. The red box is the mailbox in England.

20. ... and my effort was rewarded... one pound ten shillings and sixpence.

(1) To put this in a straightforward way, she would have said that her article had been accepted by the journal and that she was paid one pound ten shillings and sixpence for the article.

(2) shilling:(先令)a former monetary unit of the United Kingdom, equal to 1/20 of a pound or12 pence(便士)

21. But to show you how little I deserve to be called a professional woman...with my neighbours.

(1) The implied meaning is that in the lives of professional women there are usually struggles and difficulties. When they make some money, they would spend it on bread and butter, rent, shoes and stockings or butcher's bills, all of which are basic daily necessities.

(2) bread and butter, This set phrase means food and the most important and basic things. This phrase, when hyphenated, can be used as an adjective before nouns. Examples: bread-and-butter issues such as jobs and housing; a bread-and-butter account; a bread-and-butter item. Here the words "bread" and "butter" are used figuratively. This figure of speech is called synecdoche by which a part is used for a whole, an individual for a class, a material for a thing, or the reverse of any of these. A good synecdoche is based on an important part of the whole and not a minor part and, usually, the part selected to stand for the whole is the part most directly associated with the subject under discussion.

Examples:

(a) We need 50 hands for the work. (Hands rather than feet are used to stand for people.)

(b) It was a fleet of 20 sails. (Sails for ships)

(e) Have you got any coppers?( Coppers for pennies, coins made of copper)

(d) He is a foot soldier. (Foot for infantry)

(3) butcher's bills: butcher’s bills stand for meat bought from a butcher. This is

metonymy. For metonymy, see Note 12(2) to the test.

(4) a Persian cat: a stocky domestic cat having long silky 波斯猫

(5) Which very soon involved me in bitter disputes with my neighbors: A touch of humor.

Para. 3

22. What is the main idea of Paragraph 3?

This paragraph is an important part of her speech. In this paragraph the speaker focuses on the first obstacle to becoming a professional woman writer. She uses a figure of speech "killing the Angel in the House" in describing her determination to get rid of the conventional role of women in her writing. Now here are a few words about figurative language. Figurative language is a form of writing using comparison to go beyond the literal meanings of words. The two most common types are simile and metaphor. The simile uses the word "as" or "like" to indicate the comparison; for example, "He is as strong as horse." The metaphor equates the objects being compared and does not use a connecting word, as in "He was a lion in battle." "Killing the Angel in the House" is a metaphor.

23. What could be easier than to write articles, wait a moment.

(1) The speaker begins this part with a rhetorical question, which expects no answer. The question implies that writing articles and buying Persian cats with the profits were very easy.

(2) "Wait a moment" calls for a second thought or more attention from the audience signifying that things may not be as easy as they seem to be, and that something important is coming up. The two sentences serve as a transitional device linking her simple story with a discussion of a more serious nature.

24. Mine, I seem to remember, was about a novel by a famous man：Note the contrast between a girl, who is writing for the first time, and a famous man. The girl's task of writing a review about a novel by a famous man cannot be easy at all.

25. And while I was writing this review, do battle with a certain phantom.

(1) do battle with: to argue with someone or fight against someone, e. g. We had to do battle with the authorities over planning permission for the project.

(2) phantom: The word "phantom" is well chosen for the discourse. It has a literary meaning and a figurative meaning. The literary meaning of "phantom" is something that seems to appear to the sight but has no physical existence, a specter(鬼怪,幽灵).The word is used metaphorically, meaning an apparition, a vision, something feared or dreaded, something that exists only in the mind, an illusion, any mental image or representation. Both meanings suit the context here. In the text, the phantom appears to the sight in the form of an angel, and also it is a mental representation of the stereotyped Victorian woman.

26. I called her after the heroine of a famous poem, The Angel in the House.

(1) after:(especially in British English) given the same name as someone else, especially an older member of your family, e. g. Her name is Elizabeth, after her grandmother.

(2) heroine: the central female character in a novel, play, etc, with whom

The reader or audience is supposed to sympathize

(3) The Angel in the House, See Note 8 in the textbook. Coventry Patmore, the author of the poem, The Angel in the House, sees his wife Emily as a perfect Victorian wife and head of the home, thus comparing her to an angel.

(4) angel: The original meaning of the word "angel" is a messenger of God and a supernatural being to whom are attributed greater than human power, intelligence, etc. The conventionalized image of an angel is one of a white-robed figure in human form with wings and a halo. When used figuratively, the word means a person regarded as being as beautiful, good, innocent, etc. as an angel, especially said of women and children. Since an angel is supernatural and often female. it is appropriate for the author to call the phantom an angel.

27. It was she who used to come between me and my paper when I was writing reviews.

(1) She used to cause arguments or problems between me and what I was writing. Here the word "paper" stands for what she was writing. If something comes between two people (or things), it causes an argument or problems between them.

(2) Translate the sentence into Chinese:就是她,在我写评论时,总是在我和我的写作之间制造麻烦。

28.as shortly as I can：as briefly as I can

Shortly： in a few words, briefly

29. She was intensely sympathetic. She was immensely charming. She was utterly unselfish.

In the three short simple sentences, the author lists three important qualities of a Victorian woman. Short as they are, all the three sentences are effective and powerful. The three adverbs before the three adjectives are all for emphasis. Each of the adverbs suits the adjective it modifies perfectly. "Intensely" means having or showing strong emotion, firm purpose, and great seriousness. If she is intensely sympathetic, her sympathy is firm and serious. "Immensely" means limitless, vast, and huge. "Utterly" means not only totally, completely but also unqualified and unconditionally.

30. She excelled in the difficult arts of family life, sacrificed herself daily.

(1) These two sentences list two more qualities of a Victorian ideal woman. All these qualities, at the same time, reveal women’s subordinate role and position in the family and society.

(2) excel: to do something very well

31. If there was chicken, she took the leg: Example One to prove the utter unselfishness and the spirit of sacrifice of the Angel in the House. An interesting thing to note is that while many Chinese may think the chicken leg is juicier and tastier than the other parts of the chicken, most Westerners prefer the chicken breast to other parts of the chicken. Certainly they don't eat the chickens head or feet. Differences in eating habits are to be noted here.

32. ... if there was a draught she sat in it: Example Two to prove the utter unselfishness and the spirit of sacrifice of the Angel in the House. "Draught" (chiefly British spelling for draft) here means a current of air in a room. As the English weather is typically chilly, it is not pleasant to sit in the draught. The most comfortable place in an English house is by the fireplace.

33. She was so constituted that she never had a mind or wish of her own: She was made up, formed or designed in such a way that she never had an opinion or wish of her own. By the word "constituted" the author does not mean physically she was built that way, but the traditional values that were so deeply planted in her mind deprived her of n mind of her own. The word "mind" has multiple meanings. In this sentence it means what one thinks; opinion, as in "Speak your mind."

34. but preferred to sympathize always with the minds and wishes of others; but preferred to think and act in harmony with other people’s minds and wishes

36. In those days- the last days of Queen Victoria- every house had its Angel.

(1) For Queen Victoria, see Note 9 in the textbook.

(2) Explain the implied meaning of the sentence: This sentence can be interpreted on two levels. On the first level. in the last days of Queen Victoria, every house had a woman like that, who was sympathetic, charming, unselfish and above all pure. On a deeper level, in the last period of the reign of Queen Victoria, the belief that every woman should be sympathetic, charming, unselfish, and above all, pure was prevalent in English society.

37. Directly, that is to say, I took my pen in hand... and whispered: As soon as I began to review that novel by a famous man, she slipped behind me and whispered. Here "directly" is a conjunction (in British English), meaning "as soon as". Example: She hurried to the hospital directly when she got the message.

38. Be sympathetic be tender: flatter; deceive; ...

(1) These words said by the Angel in the House reflect the traditional Victorian values about gender roles. As soon as the author began to write her review, she seemed to hear a voice telling her what to do.

(2) To be sympathetic means to understand the mind of men and not to disagree with them.

(3) To be tender means she must not be too harsh in her criticism.

(4) To flatter, she must praise the book in an insincere way in order to please the public.

(5) To deceive indicates that she could not write what she really thought; she would tell lies instead of telling the truth.

39. all the arts and wiles of our sex: Look up an English-English dictionary and note the different meanings of the word "art". Here the word "arts" (in the plural form) is a synonym of the word "wiles", both meaning sly, cunning tricks. The meaning of the word "arts" in this sentence is different from that of "art" in Paragraph 3, which is ability, skill or application of a skill. The author is urged to use tricks of the female sex because a woman has to do so in order to be successful in a men-dominated profession. Although the author does not mention what tricks of the female sex should be used, we can infer from her later remarks that charm is one of them when she says, "... it was not necessary for me to depend solely on charm for my living."

40. And she made as if to guide my pen: She moved in a way that made it seem that she was going to guide my writing.

make as if to do something, to move in a way that makes it seem that you are going to do something. Example: Fred, still grinning, made as if to hit me.

41. I now record the one act for which I take some credit to myself... for my living.

(1) Translate the sentence into Chinese:下面我要说说多少是我自己决定做的一件事情,当然做此事的功劳主要还应归功于我的了不起的祖先,是他们给我留下了一笔财产—比如说每年五百英镑吧—这样我就不必完全靠女人的魅力去谋生了。

(2) credit: praise; approval for an act, ability or a quality Example: You should at least give him some credit for all the efforts he's put in.

(3) five hundred pounds a year: Back in the early years of the 20th century, this was a good sum of money.

42. I turned upon her and caught her by the throat.

(1) I turned upon her: Suddenly I attacked her violently.

turn upon: to suddenly attack someone or treat them badly, using physical violence or unpleasant words

(2) caught her by the throat: 扼住她的喉咙Note "catch somebody by the throat" , not catch somebody’s throat. Other examples: to slap somebody on the face; to lead somebody by the nose; to hit somebody on the head

43. if I were to be had up in a court of law:

if I were to be taken to court

have somebody up: (British English) an informal set phrase, meaning to take someone to court, especially to prove they are guilty of a crime. Example: Last year he was had up for drunken driving.

44. Had I not killed her she would have killed me: The inversion is used in the subjunctive mood. If I had not killed her she would have killed me. Remember that the phantom and the angel are used metaphorically, applied to a stereotyped Victorian woman, or rather, the traditional role of a Victorian woman and the traditional values about such a stereotype. So by killing the angel, the author means getting rid of these Victorian attitudes completely. If she had not done so, these conventional ideas would have destroyed her. It is a life-and-death struggle.

45. She would have plucked the heart out of my writing.

(1) The author is using the metaphor of killing the Angel in the House in an extended way.

The implied meaning of the sentence is that those conventional attitudes would have taken away the most important part of her writing, that is, the essence of her writing, which is, as explained in the next sentence, having a mind of your own, expressing what you think to be the truth about human relations, morality, and sex.

(2) pluck, to remove by picking or pulling out or away

46. For, as I found, directly I put pen to paper... about human relations, morality, sex.

(1) Explain the meaning of the sentence: For, I found that as soon as I began writing, one must have an ability of independent thinking and have the courage to express what one thinks to be the truth about human relations, morality and sex.

(2) put pen to paper: a set phrase, to write something

47. All these questions, according to the Angel in the House, cannot be dealt with... to succeed: According to the Victorian attitudes, women are not supposed to discuss and explore these questions freely and openly. They must use their feminine charm to gain recognition from men; they must make concessions in their arguments; they must tell lies in order to succeed in the profession of writing.

48. Thus, whenever I felt the shadow of her wing or the radiance of her halo... flung it at her.

(1) Explain the implied meaning of the sentence in your own words: Thus, whenever I felt the influence of the Victorian attitudes on my writing, I fought back with all my power. Note that this sentence is part of her extended metaphor of killing the Angel in the House.

(2) halo: a circle of light, radiance surrounding the head of an angel (or a sacred person)

(3) flung: To fling something is to throw something quickly with a lot of force.

49. She died hard: She didn't die easily. She had to be killed. The implied meaning is that one had to fight against the Victorian traditions bravely and resolutely in order to get rid of them.

50. Her fictitious nature was of great assistance to her... than a reality:

(1) The phantom or the Angel in the House is not a real person. The author is only personifying it. It does not have a physical form. In fact it is a mental image and has an imaginary nature. It is far more difficult to deal with a phantom than a reality. The reason is explained in the next sentence.

(2) fictitious: referring to that which is invented by the imagination and is therefore not real , true, or actually existent

51. She was always creeping back... I had dispatched her:

The implied meaning is that it is hard to overcome those prejudices once and for all. When you think that you have done away with them, you will find they are back again. So the struggle takes a long time, as explained in the next sentence.

52. Though I flatter myself that I killed her in the end... in search of adventures:

(1) Although I made myself believe that I killed her in the end, the struggle was severe and it took so much more time than had been expected that one would rather spend all that time on learning Greek grammar or traveling in the world in search of adventures.

(2) flattered myself: If you flatter yourself that something is true about your abilities or achievements, you made yourself believe it is true, although it is not. So when the author says that she flattered herself that she had killed the phantom in the end, she implies that actually she had not really put an end to the existence of the phantom: it may come back again.

53. But it was a real experience... the occupation of a woman writer.

The last two sentences of this paragraph sum up the main idea of her first experience as a woman writer: killing the Angel in the House. To put it in a non-figurative way, all women writers had to make continuous efforts to fight against the strong influence of the Victorian attitudes about the traditional role of women.

Para. 4

54. What is the main idea of Paragraph 4?

After the Angel was dead, the question which remains to be answered is "What is a woman?" It is a transitional link between the author’s first and second experiences.

55. She had rid of herself of falsehood...

(1) Explain the meaning of the sentence: She had got rid of those wrong ideas and stopped telling lies.

(2) falsehood, the practice of telling lies

56. I mean, what is a woman: I mean, what is the identity of a woman? The seemingly simple question of what is a woman addresses the very basic questions about the identity and the role of a woman in society. When traditional values are criticized, it takes time for new values to be shaped and accepted. This is a long process.

57. I do not believe that anybody can know... human skill.

(1) Explain the meaning of this sentence: I believe that to know what is a woman, we women have to participate in all the arts and professions open to human knowledge and understanding and to give expressions to our feelings in creative forms.

(2) Translate the sentence into Chinese:我相信,只有妇女在人类知识所涉及的全部文学艺术和专业领域中用创造形式表达自己的情感后,她们才能知道什么是妇女。

(3) expressed herself: to express oneself means to state one’s thoughts; to give expression to one’s feelings, imagination, etc. in creative or artistic activity

(4) human skill: Here the word "skill" means knowledge, understanding, judgment. This definition is no longer in use.

Para. 5

58. What is the main idea of Paragraph 5?

In this paragraph the author talks about her second experience in her profession of literature. As a novelist, she wished to remain "as unconscious as possible" so that nothing might disturb or disquiet the imagination. But she was faced with the conflict between her own approach to art and the conventional approach expected of her by male critics. She believed that sex-consciousness was a great hindrance to women’s writing. To illustrate this point, she employs a second figure of speech, "the image of a fisherman lying sunk in dreams on the verge of a deep lake."

59. proceeds: (plural) the money or profit derived from a sale, business venture, etc.

60. a still stranger thing:更奇怪的事情 Here the word "still" is an adverb, meaning even, yet, used as an intensifier with a comparative form. Example: It was cold yesterday, but it is still colder today.

61. I hope I am not giving away professional secrets...as possible.

(1) Translate the sentence into Chinese:如果我说小说家的主要愿望是尽量处于无意识状态,我希望我没有泄露行业秘密。

(2) giving away: To give away is colloquial, meaning to expose, reveal, or betray.

(3) unconscious: "Unconscious" means not aware of one's existence, not conscious of one’s self." The unconscious (or somebody’s unconscious)" is a term of psychoanalysis, referring to the sum of all thoughts, memories, impulses, desires, feelings, etc of which the individual is not conscious but which influence the emotions and behavior; that part of one’s psyche which comprises repressed material of this nature.

(4) Why does the author say that a novelist’s chief desire is to be as unconscious as possible? It's a difficult question to answer. First, Woolf’s use of "unconscious" seems to have at least two levels of interpretation. She could be thinking in Freudian terms, that is, expressing a desire to have the subjects of her unconsciousness, which may reflect ancient angers and anxieties, rise up into her authorial perspective. Also she may be reacting against the notion expressed by Henry James (1843-1916) in "The Art of Fiction", which explicitly expresses his sense that an author should above all attempt to be fully conscious. In this latter sense, Woolf would seem to be taking a "modernist" point of view. Dissatisfied with realistic fiction, she explored the psychological nature of consciousness. In her psychological novels, the emphasis is not on plot or action but on the psychological realm occupied by her characters. For Woolf, the description of the immediate flow of her characters’ thoughts and their feelings of the moment was more important than the realistic depiction of their physical behavior. Basically, she conceives of the imagination as shy and hidden so that the writer can only draw the deepest inspiration by suspending everyday rational consciousness in order to liberate an imaginative expression of their deepest creativity. So, the "unconscious" state would allow her to bring her imagination into the fullest play, to see and express her reality in stream of consciousness, fragmentation, or to develop her feminine writing.

62. He has to induce in himself a state of perpetual lethargy.

(1) Explain the meaning of the sentence: He has to cause in himself a particular condition in which he will remain abnormally drowsy and sluggish for a long time.

(2)induce: (formal) to cause a particular physical condition Example: this drug may induce drowsiness.

(3) lethargy: a condition of abnormal drowsiness; a great lack of energy; sluggishness, dullness, apathy This word is similar to the word "trance" used later in the same paragraph.

63. He wants life to proceed with the utmost quiet and regularity... that very shy and illusive spirit, the imagination.

(1) Why does he want life to proceed with the utmost quiet and regularity? Why does he want to do the same things day after day and month after month? To respond to this question, we have to use some Freudian terms: the ego and the id. Freud postulated the existence of three internal forces that govern a person’s psychic life (1) the id(本我), the instinctual force of life- unconscious, uncontrollable, and isolated; (2) the ego(自我), the external force that has contact with the real world; (3) the super-ego (超我), the governing force, or moral conscience, that seeks to control and direct the ego into socially acceptable patterns of behavior. In the Freudian sense, Woolf is asking that the ego manage the external factors of her life- the routine, the predictable social events, etc. so that the id (or unconscious) would be unrestrained. In other words, she seeks tranquility in her surroundings in order not to distract her imagination/unconscious away from the creative task. Disturbances would involuntarily draw her attention and her inner energy to relatively trivial and mundane concerns. She believes that beneath the appearance of change and disorder that marks daily life is a timeless reality that becomes apparent only during pure "moments of being".

(2)Meeting people, reading books and doing things are some of the external factors of the author’s life, the routine, and the predictable social events. Wanting to see the same people, to read the same books and do the same things further explains her idea about life with the utmost quiet and regularity. Reducing everyday life to unchanging routines avoids having to pay much attention to the people or the events. This orientation has led to the establishment of some writers’ colonies or retreat centers where for a time writers do not have to worry about meals, children or housecleaning but only write.

(3) Translate the sentence into Chinese:他希望在他写作时,他每天见的人,读的书,做的事都是相同的,这样任何事物都不会打破他生活的幻想,也不会搅乱他的四处探求以及对那令人难以捉摸的东西一想像力的突然发现。

(4) the illusion in which he is living: Here the illusion is the fictional world a writer is creating in words and living in his imagination. The fictional world refers to the developing of the unconscious flow of the narrative, of the expression. If the author is deeply involved in listening to the unconscious and responding to it through language—new words and sentences, new images and characters—he does not want the routines of his ordinary life to interfere, and yet he needs these routines to maintain his life.

(5) disquiet: To disquiet means to disturb. The author uses two synonyms for emphasis.

(6) nosing: To nose means to look closely and inquisitively. "Nosings about" is similar in meaning to the following phrase "feelings round".

(7) darts: A dart is a sudden, quick movement in a particular direction.

(8)dashes: A dash is a sudden, swift movement, similar to a dart. Alliteration and synonyms are used for emphasis.

(9) The author uses these words and phrases metaphorically, indicating that a modernist novelist has to search new and experimental ways of expressing himself and to discover his imagination, which is a shy and illusive spirit.

64. Be that as it may, I want you to imagine me writing a novel in a state of trance.

(1) Translate the sentence into Chinese:尽管如此我请你想像我在迷睡的状态中写小说。

(2) be that as it may:(formal) This phrase is used to say that even though you accept that something is true it does not change a situation, despite the fact that it may be so.

(3)trance: a state in which you behave as if you were asleep but are still able to hear and understand what is said to you, similar to the unconscious state

65. The image that comes to my mind when I think of this girl...out over the water.

(1) Translate the sentence into Chinese:当我想到这女孩时,脑海里浮现出一个形象:一个深的湖边有一位钓鱼者,他手握鱼竿,沉浸在梦境中。

(2) Both "trance" and "dreams" echo the idea expressed earlier in the paragraph that a novelist’s chief desire is to be as unconscious as possible.

(3) The image of a fisherman is the second metaphor the author uses in describing her profession experiences.

66. She was letting her imagination sweep unchecked... our unconscious being.

(1) Explain the meaning of the sentence in non-figurative English: She was letting her imagination explore freely every corner of her inner world that lies hidden in the deepest of our unconscious existence.

(2) cranny: crack

(3)submerged: covered with water, suppressed, hidden

(4) the depths of our unconscious being：无意识的最深层

being: state or fact of existing or living, existence, life; fundamental or essential nature

67. Now came the experience, the experience that I believe to be... than with men.

(1) What was the experience? The answer is found in her following remarks: Her imagination no longer worked, as the consciousness of what men will say of a woman who speaks the truth about her passions had roused her from her artist's state of unconsciousness.

(2) Why does the author believe that this experience was far commoner with women writers than with men? Again the author gives the answer later in the paragraph: For though men sensibly allow themselves great freedom in these respects (such as speaking the truth about their passions), the author doubts that they realize or can control the extreme severity with which they condemn such freedom in women.

68. The line raced through her fingers... dashed against something hard

(1) In these sentences the author goes on with her metaphor of the fisherman. The fisherman (a "fisherwoman", in this case) intended to seek the pools, the depths and the dark places where the largest fish would be. But suddenly, the line slipped through her fingers because it had hit upon something hard. As a result there was an explosion, foam (from the disturbed water) and confusion. Her fishing was interrupted, and she was roused from her dreams. The process of fishing is compared to the process of creative writing. That means the writer's imagination freely explored and examined the depths of the unconscious being, where hidden thoughts, feelings and impulses were to be found. Then suddenly the writer's imagination came across a big obstacle, and she was roused from her artist’s state of unconsciousness.

(2) slumbers: to sleep

(3) smash: a hard, heavy hit or blows a violent collision

(4) dash: to strike (against, on)

69. To speak without figure she had thought of something... would be shocked.

(1) to speak without figure:不用修辞手段、直截了当地说 figure: figure of speech.

Up to now, she has been talking about her second experience in a figurative way comparing the novelist to a fisherman lying sunk in dreams on the verge of a deep lake with a rod held out over the water. At this point she turns to non-figurative, plain language.

(2) Explain the meaning of the sentence: Her imagination was exploring freely until she thought of something, something about the body, about the passions, But she realized that it was unfitting for her as a woman to tell the truth about the body and about the passions because men would be shocked.

(3) something about the body: In the next paragraph Woolf sums up her second professional experience as "telling the truth about my own experiences as a body". This is something that D. H. Lawrence was also seeking to do with more directness and success, particularly in his novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover (1928). Of course he was writing from a male body perspective. Woolf wants to talk about a woman’s sense of her sexuality. She is expressing her sense of the need for an original feminine writing. This issue goes back to her central concern with women in this piece. Getting rid of the Angel in the House helps clear the decks for inner exploration, but it does not guarantee access to the somatic dimension of womanhood, which had been repressed in the process of socialization. She is not satisfied with the acknowledgement that she as woman has a body, which is different from that of a man; she wants to find an imaginative means (in words, in fiction) whereby that body can express itself. One of her experiments along these lines is her novel Orlando. In this fantastic novel the main character Orlando begins as a young Elizabethan nobleman and ends, three hundred years later, as a contemporary young woman. One of the interpretations of this novel is the inner history of England as being sexually described at one period as masculine and then changing to feminine. The novel reflects the author’s idea of androgyny: being both male and female in one, a blend of male and female characteristics and roles.

(4)The word "passion" implies a strong emotion that has an overpowering or compelling effect. It also means strong love or affection, sexual drive or desire, and lust.

70. The consciousness of what men will say of a woman... her artist's state of unconsciousness.

(1) Explain the meaning of this sentence: She realized that men didn’t approve of a woman daring to tell the truth about the body and her passions. They would surely say bad things about such a woman. This realization interrupted her imagination and roused her from the state of unconsciousness, in which an artist desired to be.

(2) Translate the sentence into Chinese:她意识到男人们会如何议论一个敢讲有关激情真话的女人,这使她从艺术家的无意识状态中惊醒了。

71. they were impeded by the extreme conventionality of the other sex: The progress of women writers was hindered by men’s extremely conventional thoughts and behaviors.

72. For though men sensibly allow themselves great freedom in these respects... in women.

(1) Explain the meaning of the sentence: It was a sensible thing for men to give themselves great freedom to talk about the body and their passions. But if women want to have the same freedom, men condemn such freedom in women. And I do not believe that they realize how severely they condemn such freedom in women, nor do I believe that they can control their extremely severe condemnation of such freedom in women.

(2) doubt: The verb "doubt" is not to be mixed up with "suspect". To doubt means to question, to feel distrust; to be inclined to disbelieve. While to suspect means to think it probable or likely; to guess or to surmise; to suppose. Compare the following sentences:

(a) I doubt that any woman has solved it yet. (Para. 6) (I don’t think that any woman has solved this problem yet.)

(b) I suspect that this state is the same both for men and women. (Para. 5)(I suppose that this state is the same both for men and women.)

(3) severity: the quality or condition of being severe; strictness, harshness The adjective "severe" applies to a person or thing that is strict and uncompromising, and connotes a total absence of softness, laxity, etc.

Para.6

73. What is the main idea of Paragraph 6?

(1) This paragraph sums up the author’s two experiences, pointing out that the second obstacle is more difficult to overcome than the first. Women have many prejudices to overcome in the profession of literature and especially in new professions that women are entering.

(2) Why is the second obstacle more difficult to solve? The first has to do with the conscious way of thinking, one’s education, social attitudes and traditional values, etc. The second experience has to do with one’s unconscious, the depths of the unconscious being. Thus it is more difficult to define, to examine and certainly harder to deal with.

74. telling the truth about my own experiences as a body: telling the truth about my body and passions as a woman

75. Outwardly, what is simpler than... rather than for a man? The author is making a contrast between the outward and the inward. Here "outward" means clearly apparent, observable, and visible while "inward" is situated within, on the inside, of or belonging to the inner nature of a person, mental and spiritual.

76. Inwardly, I think, the case is very different; she has still many ghosts to fight, many prejudices to overcome.

(1)The word "ghosts" is similar to the word "phantom" used in Paragraph 3.

(2) Translate the sentence into Chinese:从内心精神方面看,情况颇为不同。妇女还要与许多鬼怪展开斗争,还有许多偏见需要去克服。

77. Indeed it will be a long time still... a rock to be dashed against. It will take a long time for women to rid themselves of false values and attitudes and to overcome the obstacle to telling the truth about their body and passions.

Para.7

78. What is the main idea of Paragraph 7?

In this last paragraph Woolf concludes her speech by raising some important questions concerning the new role of women and the new relationship between men and women.

79. Those are the questions that I should like... yours also. These two sentences link up the author as an individual woman with the other women as a group, making her personal experiences common to all women.

80. Even when the path is nominally open... looming in her way.

(1) Explain the meaning of the sentence: Even when the path is open to women in name only, when outwardly there is nothing to prevent a woman from being a doctor, a lawyer, a civil servant, inwardly there are still false ideas and obstacles impeding a woman’s progress.

(2) looming: To loom is to appear, take shape, or come in sight indistinctly as through a mist in a large, threatening form. Example: The peak loomed up before us. The word is also used figuratively. Example: The specter of war loomed ahead.

81. To discuss and define them is I think of great value and importance; for thus only can the labour be shared, the difficulties be solved.

讨论和界定这些障碍是十分重要的,因为只有如此我们才能共同努力克服困难。

82. But besides this, it is necessary also to discuss the ends and the aims... obstacles.

(1) ends: The word "end" (usually plural) means an outcome, result, and consequence.

(2) formidable: causing fear or dread; hard to handle or overcome

83. Those aims cannot be taken for granted; they must be perpetually questioned and examined.

那些目的是什么,对这个问题我们不能想当然,而要不断地提出疑问和进行审视。

84. You have won rooms of your own in the house hitherto exclusively owned by men.

(1) "A room of one's own" is the third metaphor Woolf uses in this piece. A room is a space, not only space for living, but also space for creative activity. Here a room is compared to freedom, while the house is compared to the whole society. The implied meaning of the sentence is that through fighting against the Angel in the House, through great labor and effort, some women have gained a position or certain freedom in a society which has been up to now dominated by men.

(2) hitherto: adv. (formal) until this time; to now Example: The Internet has made large quantities of information available to people hitherto unable to obtain them.

85. You are able, though not without great labour and effort, to pay the rent.

"Not without" is double negative. The sentence may be explained like this: You are able to pay the rent, though you have to do this through great labour and effort.

86. But this freedom is only a beginning; the room is your own... it has to be shared.

(1) Here Woolf is continuing with her metaphor of a room of one’s own. She is saying that when women are able to pay the rent or earn five hundred pounds a year, they have won financial independence to a certain extent. She thinks that this freedom is only a beginning, and that women still have a long way to go. For when the old ideas, attitudes and values have been done away with, a void is left. And that void has to be filled with new ideas, attitudes and values.

(2) bare: empty, not covered by anything, or not having any decoration Example: This room looks very bare- you need some pictures on the walls. Here the words "bare", "furnished" , "decorated" and "shared" are all part of the metaphor.

87. How are you going to furnish it, how are you going to decorate it... upon what terms?

(1) terms.(plural) conditions of a contract, agreement, etc.; mutual relationship between or among persons; footing

Examples:

Under the terms of the agreement, Hong Kong returned to China in 1997. I bought this car on reasonable terms. If I agree to do this it will be on my own terms. We are on good terms with all our neighbors. They were barely on speaking terms. Chinese companies want to be able to compete on equal terms with their overseas rivals.

(2)By these questions, which are phrased figuratively, Woolf alerts her audience that women are now faced with a set of new questions such as"What is the new role of a woman?" "What should be the relationship between men and women? "She only raises these questions in her concluding remarks of this piece, without attempting to answer them. These issues are fully explored in her famous feminist critical work A Room of One’s Own.

88. A Room of One's Own: Considered to be the most persuasive of all feminist literary manifestos, this work deals with the status of women, the difficulties of a woman artist, the future of fiction and woman’s part in it. In his article "Habits of Thought" John Burt outlines the main ideas of the book in this way:

A Room of one’s Own is primarily about the effects of women’s poverty upon their art, but it is also about growing uneasiness between sexes... The central argument of the book might be summarized in five theses:

1) Patriarchal society imposes economic and social restrictions upon women on account of its own need for psychological support.

2)These restrictions limit the experience upon which art depends, causing creative women to suffer and depriving the general culture of their contributions.

3)As the material condition of women has improved, women writers have emerged, and the integrity of their work, its freedom from the scars and kinks of personal limitations, has risen in proportion to their status.

4) The rise of women has deprived the patriarchy of its psychological support, causing uncomfortable relations between the sexes that reflect themselves in the limitations of contemporary art.

5)When the emancipation of women is complete, a more adequate sexuality and a more adequate imagination, marked by androgyny or sexual openness, must emerge.

In reviewing this critical book, V. Sackville- West, who was a very close friend of Virginia Woolf and whose life and family history formed the basis of Orlando, makes the following comments," Mrs. Woolf, as you probably know, is a critic as well as a novelist; but this little book, which is not a novel, is not pure criticism either. In so far as it is ‘about’ anything at all, it is a study of women, their circumstances (especially in the past), and the effect of those circumstances upon their writing... The burden of Mrs. Woolf’s exhortation to women is that they should be themselves, and should exploit their own peculiar gifts instead of trying to emulate the gifts proper to the masculine mind... Mrs. Woolf is too sensible to be a thorough-going feminist. There is no such thing as a masculinist, she seems to say, so why a feminist? And she goes on to wonder(amateurishly, she says) whether there are two sexes in the mind corresponding to the two sexes in the body, and whether they also require to be united in order to get complete satisfaction and happiness? I know of no writer who fulfils this condition more thoroughly than Mrs. Woolf herself. She enjoys the feminine qualities of, let us say, fantasy and irresponsibility, allied to all the masculine qualities that go with a strong, authoritative brain; and it is precisely this combination added to her profound knowledge of literature which fits her so admirably to discuss women in general, and women who write in particular."

Translation of the Text

女性的职业

弗吉尼亚•伍尔夫

1. 你们的秘书邀请我时对我说你们妇女服务团关注的是女性就业问题，她提议让我讲一讲我就业的亲身体验。我是女性，这是事实;我有工作，这也是事实。但我又有什么职业体验呢？这很难讲。我从事的是文学职业，与其他职业相比，当然不包括戏剧行业，在文学职业里几乎没有什么女性体验，我的意思是几乎没有女性特有的体验。多年前，路已开辟出来。许多知名的女性—范妮•伯尼、艾弗 拉•本、哈丽特•马蒂诺、简•奥斯汀、乔治•艾略特—和许多不知名以及已被人忘记的女性在我之前铺平了道路并指导我向前走。因此，在我从事写作时，几乎没有物质障碍阻碍我。写作这个职业既受人尊敬又没有危险。写字的沙沙声不会打破家庭的和平，写作也不需要什么家庭开销。花16便士买的纸足够用来写莎士比亚的所有戏剧——要是你有那样的才智的话。作家不需要钢琴和模特，不用去巴黎、维也纳和柏林，也不需要家庭教师。当然，廉价的写作纸张是女性作为作家成功而先于其他职业的原因。

2. 我讲讲我的故事，那只是个平常的故事。你们自己设想一个姑娘，手里握着一支笔坐在卧室里。 从十点钟到一点钟她只是不停地由左向右写，然后她想到做一件既省钱又省力的事——把那些纸张放进信封，在信封的一角贴上一张一便士的邮票，把信封投进拐角的一个红色邮箱。我就是这样成了一名撰稿人。我的努力在下个月的第一天得到了回报—那是我一生中非常快乐的一天。我收到了一个编 辑寄来的一封信，里面装有一张一英镑十先令和六便士的支票。为了让你们了解我不值得被称作职业女性，对人生的艰难和奋斗知之甚少，我得承认我没用那笔钱买食物、付房租、买袜子和肉，而是出去买了一只猫，一只漂亮的波斯猫，这只猫不久就引起了我和邻居间的激烈争端。

3. 什么会比写文章并用賺得的钱买波斯猫来得更容易？但再想一想，文章得有内容。我好像记得 我的文章是评论一部名人写的小说。在写那篇评论时，我发现要想写书评我就必须和某个鬼怪做斗争。 这个鬼怪是个女子，在我逐渐对她有进一步了解后，我用一个有名的诗歌里的女主人公的名字“家里的天使”来称呼她。就是她，在我写评论时，总是在我和我的写作之间制造麻烦。就是她总是打扰我，浪费我的时间，如此地折磨我，最终我杀死了她。你们年轻及快乐的这一代人可能没听说过她—你们可能 不知道我说的“家里的天使”是什么意思。我要简单地讲一讲。她有极强的同情心，非常有魅力,一点都 不自私，做髙难度的家务非常出色，天天做自我牺牲。如果有只鸡，她就吃鸡腿，如果屋里通风，她就坐在风口。总之，她就是这样的人，没有自己的想法和期望，总是准备为他人的想法和期望做出牺牲。首要的是—我不需要这么说—她纯洁。纯洁被认为是她的最美之处—她爱脸红，典雅大方。在那时，维多利亚时代后期，每个家庭都有天使。我刚一提笔写字就会遇见她。她那翅膀的影子映在纸上, 在屋子里我能听到她裙子沙沙作响。也就是说，我一拿起笔写那位名人的书评，她就会悄悄地溜到我身 后悄声对我说:“亲爱的，你是个年轻姑娘，你在给男人写的书写评论。要有同情心，要温柔,要奉承，要说假话，要使用女性全部的小伎俩。不要让任何人看出你有自己的见解。首要的是要纯洁。”她就这样 引导我的写作。下面我要说说多少是我自己决定做的一件事情，当然做此事的功劳主要还应归功于我 那了不起的祖先，是他们给我留下了一笔财产—比如说每年500英镑吧一这样我就不必完全靠女人的魅力去谋生了。我对她发起突然迸攻，扼住她的喉咙。我尽最大努力杀死她。要是因此被带上法庭的话，我的辩护词就是我是自卫，如果我不杀死她，她就会杀死我，她会拔掉我进行写作的心。因为我 发现在写作时.要是没有自己的见解，不能真实表达人与人之间的关系、道德和性的话，你一本小说的评论都写不出来。依照“家里的天使”，所有这些问题女性都不能公开和自由地讨论。她们必须使用魅力，必须做出让步，更直接地说，她们想要成功就必须说假话。因此，无论何时在纸上感到有她的翅膀或光晕的影子，我就会拿起墨水瓶，向她砸去。她不容易死去，她那非真实的特性对她是极大的帮助。杀死 鬼怪要比杀死真实的人艰难多了。在我认为我已杀死她时，她就会悄悄地溜回来。尽管我自己确信我最终杀死了她，但搏斗得很激烈，消耗的时间要比学希腊语语法或周游世界体验冒险经历的时间多多了。但是，这是真实的体验，这种经历在那时会降临到所有女作家的头上。杀死“家里的天使”是女作家职业中的一部分。

4. 继续讲我的故事。天使死后，还有什么东西留下来了呢？你们会说留下的是一个简单又普通的物体一个年轻姑娘坐在有墨水瓶的卧室里。换句话说，既然她已经摆脱掉说假话的错误观念，那么这个年轻姑娘可以做回自己了。噢，什么是“她自己”呢？我的意思是什么是妇女。我向你们保证我不知道，我相信你们也不知道。我相信，只有妇女在人类知识所涉及的全部文艺艺术和专业领域中用创造形式表达自己的情感后，她们才知道什么是妇女。这就是我来这里的原因之一，出于对你们的敬重。你们通过实验在向找们展示什么是妇女;你们通过自己成功与失败在为我们提供重要的信息。

5. 下面接着讲我的职业体验。我的第一篇评论赚了一英镑十先令和六便士，我用那笔钱买了一只波斯猫。接下来我雄心勃勃，我说，波斯猫不错，但还不够，我一定要有一辆汽车。我就这样成为一名小说家——要是你给人们讲故事他们就会给你一辆汽车,这可是很奇怪的事情。更奇怪的事情是世界上 没有比讲故事更令人快乐的事情了，讲故事要远比写评论有趣。然而，如果听从秘书的建议，讲述我作为小说家的职业体验的话，我必须告诉你们发生在我身上的一个很奇怪的经历。要想明白这一点，你们必须想像小说家的意识状态。如果我说小说家的重要愿望是尽量处于无意识状态，我希望我没有泄露行业秘密。他得使自己处于持久的昏睡状态，他想要过一种最安静、最有规律的生活。他希望在他写作时，每天见的人、读的书、做的事都是相同的，这样任何事物都不会打破他生活的幻想，也不会扰乱他的 四处探求以及对那令人难以捉摸的东西即想像力的突然发现。我认为这种状态对于男人和女人是一样的。尽管如此，我请你们想像我在迷睡的状态中写小说。请你们想像一个女孩坐在桌旁，手里握着笔，几分钟甚至儿小时都未曾动过墨水瓶。当我想到这女孩时，脑海里浮现出一个形象:一个深深的湖边有一位钓鱼者，他手握鱼竿，沉浸在梦境中。她在让想像力自由自在地在位于无意识的最深层里的世界的各个角落畅游。现在这种体验来了，我认为这种体验发生在女人身上要比发生在男人身上平常得多。 鱼竿在女孩的手指间快速地转动，她的想像力被冲跑了。想像力搜寻了池塘、池塘的最深处以及最大的鱼生活的暗处。就在这时传来了猛烈撞击声、爆炸声，出现了水花，一片混乱。想像力撞到了坚硬的东西。那个女孩从睡梦中惊醒，她陷人了一种最深刻和最艰难的痛苦状态。不用修辞手段、直截了当地说，她想到了一件事情，一件不适合女人讲的有关身体和激情的事情。她的理智告诉她，男人会感到震惊的。她意识到男人们会如何议论一个敢讲有关激情真话的女人这使她从艺术家的无意识状态中惊 醒了。她再也写不下去了，迷睡结束了，想像力也不再起作用。我认为这是女作家非常普遍的切身体验——另一性别非常传统的观念阻碍着她们。尽管男人们理智上在这些方面给自己极大的自由，我认为他们未必会认识或控制他们谴责女人这种自由时的猛烈程度。

6. 这些就是我自己的两个真实体验，我职业生涯中的两个异乎寻常的经历。第一个—杀死“家里的天使”，我认为我已经解决了，她死了。但第二个——真实地讲述我的身体和激情，我认为还没有解决。我认为任何女性都还没有解决这个问题。不利于她的那些障碍还有很强大的力量，也很难给它们下定义。从外表看，什么比写书更容易呢？从外表看，有什么障碍阻碍女人而不是男人呢？从内心精神方面看,情况颇为不同。妇女还要与许多鬼怪展开斗争，还有许多偏见需要克服。当然，我认为，女人不用杀死鬼怪，不用击碎岩石就能够坐下来专心写书还需要很长时间。如果在文学领域——女性最自由的职业里情况如此的话，那么在你们第一次从亊的新职业里情况又会如何呢？

7. 如果有时间,这些就是我要问你们的问题。当然,如果我重点强调我的职业体验的话，那是因为 我相信，尽管方式不同，它们也是你们的体验。即使道路名义上是宽阔的没有任何事情可以阻碍妇女成为医生、律师和公务员，但我相信前面仍有许多鬼怪和障碍若隐若现。讨论和界定这些障碍是十分 重要的，因为只有如此我们才能共同努力克服困难，除此之外，还有必要讨论我们为之奋斗，为之与难以克服的障碍做斗争的目的。那些目的是什么,对这个问题我们不能想当然，而要不断地提出疑问和进行审视。在我看来，在这里，在这个被有史以来第一次从事这么多种不同职业的妇女所包围的大厅里，整个状况都非常耐人寻味，而且还有重要意义。在这个迄今为止专门由男人控制的房子里，你们已经贏 得了自己的房间。尽管不可能不付出很大的劳动和努力，你们能够自己付房租了，能够每年挣自己的500英镑。但是,这种自由才刚刚开始，房间是你的，但里面空无一物。房间还需要置办家具，需要装饰物，需要有人与你分享。你准备置办什么样的家具，准备进行什么样的装修，准备和谁一起合用这个房间,有什么条件？我认为这些问题非常重要，非常耐人寻味，因为有史以来你们第次提出这些问题，第一次自己能够决定这些问题的答案。我非常愿意留下来和你们一起讨论这些问题并找到这些问题的答案，但今晚不行。我的时间到了，就讲到这里吧。