Tuesday, July 2, 2013

"Thoughts on Peace in an Air Raid" Response

What exactly should women be fighting for freedom from--other people (like from Germany in the war) or their own social restraints?
 

Will thoughts and words alone be able to bring "peace" to the world?
 

Are men's hearts filled with "Hitlerism" or are they filled with the feeling of male superiority and dominance?

 

Virginia Woolf talks of freedom from the German bombing and freedom from war.  Then she talks about the possible freedom from societal restraints, especially the restraints on women (question 1).  For the women, she points out that other than "making arms, or clothes or food" (1) women are stuck at home to take care of the house and the family.  Women were supposed to partake in what was labled the "cult of domesticity", which was basically a society in which women enjoyed staying at home to take care of the house and familiy while the men were away at work making money to support the family.  However, as society rapidly progressed, women like Woolf developed the view of a gender-equal society where men and women could share their views, where everyone's voice is heard.  Therefore, besides "making arms, or clothes of food", Woolf argues that women too can fight, not with firearms, but with the mind.  Woolf believes if women were able to voice their opinions and ideas, maybe the world would not be in fear of war day and night.  In my opinion, indeed women should fight for social equality since the world has progressed to the point where if all voices weren't heard, society might blow up in chaos--the women might hold a rebellion and there would be social unrest.  Maybe if women were able to voice their opinions at that time, the seeds of war would not have been planted and many lives saved.  However, during these critical times, I think it best if social problems were delayed until after the war since countries should unite to solve the problem faster and not be distracted by other problems.  Possibly if women had gained social equality before the war, countries would have had freedom from other countries penetrating their boundaries.  Nowadays, I feel like women--and everybody else--should be fighting for freedoms that would benefit the entire population, not just one particular group.

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