The Idea of an Essay, Volume 2

72 a woman” to speak or write “about the body, about the passions” as men did (P. 352). Woolf expressed that “men sensibly [allowed] themselves great freedom in these respects” but “[condemned] such freedom in women” (P. 352). Unlike the last obstacle Woolf addressed in her speech, she did not feel as though she, nor any female writer, had conquered this one, but that was eighty years ago. Today, this obstacle has indeed crumbled at the feet of female writers. The stigma that existed for women in Woolf’s day is nowhere to be found. It has become acceptable for women to write about whatever they choose. However, while this barrier is no longer in place for female writers, women still fight a losing battle with the passions. This is evident in the attitudes towards promiscuity, adultery, and the like. Awoman found guilty of one of these things is typically judged more harshly and viewed more critically than a man would be in the same circumstance. This trend does not exclude the workplace, which potentially leaves professional women susceptible to unequal treatment when compared to male colleagues. This is one example of how the barrier mentioned by Woolf has morphed and continues to torment women in their professions. Woolf considered writing to be “the freest of all professions for women,” yet she still encountered obstacles in her professional experiences (P. 352).Acknowledging this, she addressed the “ghosts” and “prejudices” that women faced in “the new professions which [they] are now for the first time entering” (P. 352). She suggested that “the obstacles against [professional women] are still immensely powerful—and yet they are very difficult to define” (P. 352). This is one assertion that holds just as true today as it did in Woolf’s day. In the decades since Woolf gave her speech, women have infiltrated just about every occupation. Women can be found prosecuting in court, serving in Congress, fighting in the military, performing surgery in the operating room, selling stocks on Wall Street, announcing sporting events on live television, researching cures for terminal diseases in the laboratory, or sitting behind a fancy desk at a large corporation—and not always as a secretary or assistant, either. Modern day women have no problem gaining access to whichever field of work they desire to pursue. This does not mean, however, that women have eliminated all of the obstacles opposing them in their professional endeavors. In more than a few cases, women still earn less than men do. Pay gaps have not