A Room of One's Own

     In the last post, I talked about a part of Virginia Woolf's wonderful book on writing, A Room of One's Own.  Her basic argument is that for a woman to flourish as a writer, she needs a room of her own (no intrusions, no overwhelming list of duties to perform) and enough money to live simply.  Wouldn't that be great? 

     She also pointed out that many great writers came from a wealthy background, meaning that they had the room of their own and sufficient means to live so that they didn't have to earn a salary.  Is that what it takes to be a great writer?

    I must confess that I read her book with some envy and a touch of bitterness.  I do have to earn a salary, my to-do list is often overwhelming, and I have a room of my own only for short periods of time.  Perhaps it is my life lesson to learn to live with limitations:  of time, of health, of money, of energy and opportunity to devote to creative works.  It is a source of occasional frustration, but something I need to learn, obviously.

(photo courtesy of pixabay.com)