Woolf and Mead

Virginia Woolf
1) It is useful to point out that this essay was originally delivered to women students at two Oxford colleges. Ask your students to identify what evidence there is to suggest Woolf was aware of the nature of her audience.

Woolf knew the nature of her audience because she made many references about how the condition of women was different than of men during the elizabethan time. She spoke about how women were not as successful as men even if they had the same amount of talent in order to show the women of today that they should appreciate what they have. 

2) What do the chapter headings from Trevelyan’s History of England (para. 6) reveal about historians’ concerns?

The chapter headings reveal that there was never any mention of women in major events, especially middle class women. 

3) What would Woolf propose as the most important changes in society that would alter the situation most talented women find themselves in? Why does talent make a woman’s situation especially difficult?

Woolf would propose for society to let women have more time to explore their talents. A talented woman may have more difficulty because they are caught between following society and listen to what they have been told their whole life or go against society and be judge for exploring their talent.

M. Mead

1. What are the temperamental traits of women? Of men?

The temperamental traits of men and women depend on the society they grow up in. For most women are meant to have long hair, appear feminine and do the housework. For men they are supposed to have short hair, go to work, and dress in pants.  

2. What price does a society pay for restricting the opportunities of one sex or the other?

The price society pays for restricting the opportunities of one sex and not the other is that the one that is restricted feels lesser than the one that is not. Therefore, creating problems between the two sexs.

3. Given that our culture has standardized temperamental expectations for each sex, what price does the opposite sex pay for that standardization?

The price that the opposite sex pays for the standardization is that if they go against it they are judged and excluded from society for being different from that standardization.

4. Why should our modern industrialized society be concerned about the ways of “primitive” cultures?

Our modern industrialized society should be concerned about the ways of "primitive" culture because in those cultures they might still believe women cannot play a significant role in society and so they are expected to be the house wife. It is very limiting and causes women to feel like they are below men.