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In her essay, “Shakespeare’s Sister,” novelist Virginia Woolf states that women in the Renaissance era were rejected by society. Society rejected them for being women becasuse they believed that only men were superior. They also believed that only men should be the one to work not women. Woolf in her essay makes a lot of similes to compare women of society. She gets to the point without trying to offend anybody because it isn't her intention to insult anyone. It may seem vicious at first, but in reality it is for us to reflect on this social issue.
Woolf wrote "Shakespeare Sister, for everyone to stop and think about this social issue that has been going on for years. In her essay, she explains how women were being mistreated back then. Women did not have the same opportunity as men. These women were not able to educated themselves because they were expected to stay at home, take care of their household, and were expected to marry as young as the age of thirteen. On top of being married so young, their parents selected their husbands for them. As soon as they got married, they had to start raising a family. Men on the other hand, got to make something of themselves. They were able to educate themselves. Men went to school to learn so they could later provide for their families by the means of work. Women were always stuck home while men were able to go out and enjoy their freedom. Besides everything, women were beaten till their men were satisfied. Woolf even states that a historian Professor Trevelyan’s “History of England”, claims, “the daughter who refused to marry the gentleman of their parents’ choice was liable to be locked up, beaten, and flung about the room…” (693). Woolf is claiming that if the women did not listen to their husbands/parents they were tortured. These women from this era did not have a voice. Even though they were severly injured, they could not do or say anything. They basically had to suck it up and take the beating. Woolf also explains in her essay that some of these women were so talented but could not expose their amazing talents.
The writer appeals to ethos in a way that she does give other writers their credibility. For example, she gives credit to the historian she mentioned in her essay. Woolf mentions she went to the book shelf and took “Professor Trevelyan’s History of England” (693). She doesn’t only say that she read a history book, but she also gives him his authority that he well deserves. She also gives credit to others such as poets and writers. Another example Woolf gives authority to be a well-known poet. Woolf claims that “it scarcely seems necessary to consider again the influence of the tragedies of Joanna Baillie upon the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe” (696). Again, Woolf gives credit to the poet and doesn’t try to claim it as hers. She doesn’t make a misrepresented of the viewpoints of the opponents. She uses them to help make her point that she is trying to argue.
Another appeal that the author makes is pathos. Pathos appeals to emotion and Woolf uses it a lot throughout her essay. For starters she starts off her essay by comparing women to objects. She argues that, “women are poorer than men because of this or that…it would be better to give up seeking for the truth and receiving on one’s head an avalanche of opinion hot as lava” (692). In other words, what Woolf is trying to say is how badly women were treated. She compares an opinion hot as lava because women couldn’t speak up. If they did they were beaten, locked up, etc. As someone keeps reading her essay, they’re coming to an understanding of the position these women were in. Woolf creates a fictional character who is Shakespeare’s sister. Shakespeare is a famous writer known for his plays. She mentions further in her essay that if Shakespeare’s sister was just as genius as him, her work wouldn’t have been seen. She states that “his extraordinarily gifted sister, remained at home…he was as adventurous, as imaginative, as agog to see the world as he was…but she was not sent to school” (697). Even though she was as smart as her brother, she wouldn’t have been able to show her true self. She may write here and there but it wouldn’t make it far. As a reader, we could feel sorry for this young girl. Nowadays we have more freedom and are able to do things that women were not able to do back then. Woolf continues in her essay how this young girl would be betrothed to a young man. She was opposed to the issue but went forward with it. She later on killed herself because she couldn’t live with it. We see how women in that era sometimes go insane. It makes us reflect on how they had to be strong to go through with these arrangements.
The last appeal is logos. The writer does use a lot evidence to support her arguments. She uses other people such as poets, historians and writers. She carefully researched their arguments of women to support her claim of the issue of women. This appeal really does strengthen her message because it’s not just about her opinion. She has facts and uses the others to back her up. Overall she uses a cool tone. She doesn’t try to offend anybody. Woolf just wants to get her point across.
Reading Woolf’s essay, it makes the reader reflect on how society thinks. Society rejected women and believed they were inferior to men. They thought women were only good for taking care of the household. Which is not true because these women were gifted but were not allowed to expose their gifts. Till this day, women are still being rejected. Their voices are being heard but they’re still seen worthless. I thought everyone was supposed to be treated equally, but it still isn’t. Society should reflect on this issue and change their way of believing.