Virginia Woolf's Views on the Necessity of Education for Girls

Abstract

This paper examines Virginia Woolf’s views regarding educational equality for women and girls. It traces her views through her non-fiction works A Room of One’s Own and Three Guineas and through the modern era with an analysis of activist Malala Yousafzai’s views on educational reform and educational equality for all children displayed in her memoir I Am Malala. The paper seeks to prove that Woolf believed a well-educated female populous could help dismantle the type of masculine, violent culture that was constantly at war, both throughout her life and throughout history, and contribute to lasting world peace and prosperity. Woolf believes that this end is possible through the influence of a well-educated woman over the men in her life, that their expanded consciousness and sense of good could be used to influence men to make more peaceful decisions. Malala Yousafzai’s memoir asserts that the world will thrive if all children have equal access to high quality education, which will be influential in their moral development and shape a worldview based on peace and total equality. A combined analysis of these texts and application of Woolf’s ideas to the modern condition reveals that her assertion very well may prove to be true.