Shakespeare's Sister

This chapter of Virginia Woolf's book "A Room of One's Own," she speculates on what life might have been like for the sister of Shakespeare. Assuming that this sister had the same talent and imagination as Shakespeare. In doing so, she shares the expected role of women during Shakespeare's time.
Women were basically seen as appendages of the men in their lives. They were not their own person. As an unmarried female, you were expected to do as you were told by your father. If you did not obey him, you could be beaten, scolded or punished freely at the hands of your father. This went the way for married women. As a wife, you were expected to obey your husband always. If you did not, you could be beaten and punished as he saw fit. Women had no choices in terms of marriage. Once married, usually to a man of your father's choice, you were no longer a person, you were seen as an appendage of your husband. "Marriage was not an affair of person affection, but of family avarice..." (Woolf 765).
Woolf goes on to express her dismay with the non-existing history of women. "...nothing is known about women before the eighteenth century" (Woolf 768). This entire passage goes on and on about the injustices that women of the past have faced. I especially like how Woolf uses the phrase referring to women and dogs, "...poodles dancing and women acting" (Woolf 769). She then goes on to show how this simple phrase, has evolved and carried on for centuries. All in all, I found this reading interesting and somewhat infuriating. It's a great piece of work, primarily because even after 70 years, it's underlying truths still hold some merit in today's society in regards to women and how they are viewed and treated in the everyday world.

Woolf, Virginia. "Shakespeare's Sister." A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers." Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. 7th ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins. 2006. pp. 764-776.