The Idea of an Essay, Volume 2

70 “The Professional Woman’s Journey” by Casey Morrone Instructor’s Notes In this essay, Casey Morrone responds to Virginia Woolf’s essay, Professions for Women. Casey effectively achieves her purpose for this essay by writing a thesis that applies Woolf’s message to a current context. What do you think works well in this essay? What could be improved upon and how? Writer’s Biography Casey Morrone, a native New Yorker, is a Molecular and Cellular Biology major pursuing a career in medicine. She has a penchant for exploring new places and daydreaming about different cities she’d like to live in one day. Casey finds enjoyment in a broad range of activities including her current job as a resident assistant, watching football, and appreciating art of all sorts--spanning from literature to fashion. The Professional Woman’s Journey In today’s modern era, the conversation about women’s rights and feminism is in vogue. Like the latest must-have item in fashion, feminism is the garment that everyone is eager to slip into. Feminism and women’s rights are currently being applied to a wealth of different situations. The topic of women in the workplace, however, can be traced all the way back to the beginning of the 20th century, if not further. In fact, Virginia Woolf spoke of the barriers that women faced in their newfound professions, such as writing, back in 1931. In her speech from which the essay Professions for Women is derived, Woolf addressed both specific and abstract challenges that women faced in the professional environment, especially the environment of writing. In the modern day, some of these challenges have been conquered, some still remain obstacles, and others still have not yet been identified but oppose professional women all the same.