Literature was an arena for men for a very long time. They wrote about women and looked at these characters through the masculine gaze. Thus, there wasn’t a proper representation of women.

However, when women eventually started writing publicly, the aim was to be inclusive- to include all the women whose feelings and thoughts never got reflected in literature. Eventually, women writers started using this space to rebel against the unfair normativity of society. One of these women was Virginia Woolf – the revolutionary writer who influenced many to think their thoughts out loud and trace them. 

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Writing about the stream of consciousness in the 20th century was not as popular as it is today. Through words, Woolf tried to cultivate a practice of tracing thoughts. It was during this literary period called Modernism that characters were going on an inward journey. Virginia Woolf was one of those writers who started this trend. Her novel ‘To The Lighthouse’ used the stream of consciousness as a narrative device as she took her readers on a journey through the mind of the protagonist.

At that time, it was not very popular for stories to have female protagonists. In books written by men, they were almost always something to someone – a daughter, wife, or mother. However, Woolf and other feminist writers like her broke this pattern by making space for these women’s voices in literature.

‘A Room of One’s Own’ is an essay-book that further explores the agency of a female writer. She talks about the importance of women having financial independence and a room of their own to write fiction. Through her words and practices, she gave women agency in literature.

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Virginia Woolf is one of the most important writers in the wave of Modernism that changed the way people read and wrote literature. Breaking away from the shackles, this period witnessed the liberation of minds. Literary and social movements change the way common people think and thereby make history. Woolf’s writing made people think deeply about their behavioural patterns, and today she has been read by millions, her works translated into fifty-plus languages. Even today, her works encourage people to self introspect.