The Essay
Surprise! The entire essay is one long allegory.An allegory is a really long—say, book-length—metaphor, where various concrete things in the text stand for various immaterial concepts. (Need a...
The Room of One's Own
Okay, let's take a break from all the subtlety. The room is right in the title of the book, so we know it's important. And at the end of the book she puts its meaning right out there. We're going t...
The Purse
Maybe you're a little disappointed that no one has any magical powers in A Room of One's Own. Maybe you were expecting a little more chicanery and legerdemain. Well, you're in for a happy surprise:...
The River
How can you tell when a simple landmark has grown up into a symbol? When it just won't stay in its place. Early on, Mary Beton is hanging out next to a river on the Oxbridge campus thinking about w...
Food
When Mary Beton eats at Fernham, her meal is a non-delicious combination of beef, prunes, and custard. And boy does she have words to say about that. Here she is on the prune: If any one complains...
The Tailless Cat
Mary's luncheon at Oxbridge is truly awesome. The food is amazing, the conversation is interesting and witty, even the cigarettes are good. It's like Thanksgiving dinner, but without the weird uncl...