Question

Why is the "gifted sister" discouraged from reading and writing?

Answer 1

The 'gifted sister' faced discouragement from reading and writing due to societal expectations that women should focus on household duties, a reflection of the broader historical restrictions on women's education and literacy. This is exemplified in the experiences of both marginalized women and other oppressed groups throughout history, who faced barriers to education as a means of maintaining control by those in power.

Step-by-step explanation:

The "gifted sister" is discouraged from reading and writing because, throughout much of Western history, the societal expectations for women focused primarily on motherly and household duties. Women's access to education was severely limited, and it wasn't until the 19th century that they began attending college in significant numbers. This discouragement stemmed from long-standing beliefs that women's roles did not extend beyond the domestic sphere.

Furthermore, similar constraints were placed on other marginalized groups, such as enslaved Africans, who were often prevented from learning to read and write as a form of control. This not only hindered their ability to express themselves and share their stories but also served as a means to maintain existing power structures. Compelling figures like Virginia Woolf and Frederick Douglass highlight these struggles and the importance of access to education for self-expression and societal change.

It is clear from historical evidence that education and literacy have been essential to personal freedom and the ability to contribute to literature and culture. This is evident in Wheatley's and Douglass's writings, as they pushed against the oppressive norms of their times, showing the potential of those who were granted the opportunity to read and write freely.

Answer 2

I would say she writes this piece for women with the earnest hope that men might read this and understand what she is trying to say. Woolf posits that men historically belittle women as a means of asserting their own superiority. In her metaphor of a looking-glass relationship, men, threatened by the thought of losing their power, reduce women to enlarge themselves. However, just as women's writing suffers from the emotions of anger and fear, men's writing suffers from this aggression. The men the narrator reviews do not write "dispassionate," detached arguments that would otherwise convince the reader, but expose their own prejudices. In the end, their writing revolves around them rather than around their subject. Woolf points out that war is a greater societal byproduct of this consuming aggression and defensiveness. Woolf imagines what would have happened had Shakespeare had an equally gifted sister named Judith. She outlines the possible course of Shakespeare's life: grammar school, marriage, work at a theater in London, acting, meeting theater people, and so on. His sister, however, was not able to attend school, and her family discouraged her from studying on her own. She was married against her will as a teenager and ran away to London. The men at a theater denied her the chance to work and learn the craft. Impregnated by a theatrical man, she committed suicide.