Women's History Month: Digital Read In

Virginia Woolf (January 25, 1882 – March 28, 1941) was a pioneering modernist writer, literary critic, and feminist thinker whose works reshaped 20th-century literature and gender discourse. Known for her innovative use of stream-of-consciousness narration, Woolf explored themes of identity, mental illness, gender roles, and the constraints of patriarchal society in novels such as Mrs. Dalloway (1925) and To the Lighthouse (1927). Her seminal feminist essay, A Room of One’s Own (1929), argued that women need financial independence and personal space to create art, a revolutionary idea that continues to influence feminist thought today. Throughout her life, Woolf struggled with bipolar disorder, experiencing episodes of severe depression. On March 28, 1941, overwhelmed by the pressures of World War II and her mental illness, she died by suicide, filling her pockets with stones and walking into the River Ouse. Despite her tragic death, Woolf’s literary and feminist legacy endures, inspiring generations of writers and activists to challenge gender norms and redefine storytelling.