Spatial Constructs and Subject Formation in Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own: an Analytical Inquiry

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2025.e103769

Keywords:

Spatial Constructs, Subject Formation, Gender Dynamics, Virginia Woolf, Feminist Literary Analysis

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between spatiality and the formation of feminine subjectivity in Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own. By tracing the protagonist Mary’s intellectual journey, the study examines how space — material and symbolic — shapes agency, autonomy, and visibility within gendered constraints. Drawing on theoretical perspectives from Michel de Certeau, Henri Lefebvre, Victoria Rosner, and Mark Wigley, the analysis foregrounds the role of spatial practices in negotiating identity under Victorian social norms. The article contributes to feminist literary criticism by offering a spatial reading of Woolf’s essay and reaffirming its relevance to contemporary debates on gender and space.

Author Biographies

Everton Rocha Vecchi, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora

Everton Rocha Vecchi is a master's student in the Graduate Program in Literary Studies at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Brazil, with a CAPES scholarship. He holds degrees in Law (UFJF), Business Administration and Human Resources (Estácio de Sá University), as well as teaching degrees in Portuguese, English, Spanish, and Pedagogy. A member of the research group Travessias e Feminismo, his research focuses on Virginia Woolf and her translations in Brazil.

Humberto Fois-Braga , Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora

Humberto Fois-Braga is a professor and researcher affiliated with both the Department of Tourism and the Graduate Program in Literary Studies at UFJF. He holds a BA in Tourism from UFJF, a postgraduate certificate in Literary Studies, a Master II in Industries du Tourisme from Université de Toulouse II – Jean Jaurès, an MA in Communication and Society from UFJF, and a PhD in Literary Studies from UFJF. He coordinates the research group Performances e Narrativas de Viagem (PeNaVia).

Prof. Dr., Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora

Guilherme Augusto Pereira Malta holds a PhD in Geography from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Tourism and a permanent faculty member of the Graduate Program in Geography at UFJF. His research interests include tourism, innovation, cultural landscapes, literary geography, and public tourism policy.

References

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Reed, Christopher. Bloomsbury Rooms: Modernism, Subculture, and Domesticity. Yale UP, 2004.

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Wigley, Mark. “Untitled: The Unhousing of Gender.” Sexuality and Space, edited by Beatriz Colomina, Princeton Architectural Press, 1992.

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Published

2025-06-16

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Literary and Cultural Studies Dossier

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