The Love of Reading is a short literary essay written by Virginia Woolf in 1931, a well-known modernist and feminist writer of the 20th century. The essay explores many different concepts, from how one should read a book to why we can read in general. He discusses the notion of reading and how it is more than just a fundamental process, but what Woolf calls a “complex art” (Woolf and McNeillie 271). Although Woolf presents some thought-provoking and thought-provoking ideas, there seems to be one important aspect that appears throughout the essay and in the specific passage provided above. In other words, the mention of writers and readers, moreover, the essay demonstrates that male readers and writers take precedence over female readers. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Throughout the essay a distinctive voice can be heard, this voice is that of Woolf. It doesn't overwhelm the reader, but it does strike a somewhat familiar and conversational tone. However, it also appears that the reader here would be someone who knows something about literature, who wants to read more precisely, who wants to understand and have explanations of how the reading should be carried out. There is a method, there are certain steps that the reader must follow to truly do justice to the writers and their works – there must be a certain level of impartiality. When reading each line, it feels like Woolf is engaging with the reader, having a free-flowing conversation, filled with thoughts and opinions. Yet, through the writing, the author's critical and analytical style transcends the whole. Almost as if the essay should be considered a fundamental piece to read, to adopt a more serious disposition and to truly articulate what the work is trying to express or illustrate. The essay presents an argument from the outset about how readers should read. In the chosen passage, what can be highlighted is the use of the literary canon. In this context, literary canon refers to literary works that have been considered important national literature by critics and scholars. Woolf states in the following line: “Great writers therefore often require us to make heroic efforts to read them correctly.” Woolf states, “Going from Defoe to Jane Austen, from Hardy to Peacock, from Trollope to Meredith, from Richardson to Rudyard Kipling…” (Woolf and McNeillie 272). The reader may imagine that these names uttered by Woolf constitute a remarkable selection of writers, but there is something important here that needs to be brought to light. References are made largely to those of male writers, Daniel Defoe, Thomas Hardy, Thomas Love Peacock, Anthony Trollope, George Meredith, Samuel Richardson, Rudyard Kipling and, with the exception of Jane Austen. This indicates that male writers take precedence over female writers. Not only does this highlight a form of superiority, but it echoes the notion of social and historical context and how it plays out in the essay. In Woolf's time as in previous literary periods, women were not considered "great writers", it was a male-dominated field (Virginia Woolf's Cambridge Companion). Literature and writing were reserved for men and there was a form of oppression towards the opposite sex. This can be highlighted from other sentences written in the essay. For example: “…We receive the greatest number of judgments from the great critics – the Johnsons, the Drydens andthe Arnolds” (Woolf and McNeillie, p. 273). Once again, these “great critics” are none other than men. Samuel Johnson, John Dryden, and Matthew Arnold are considered “great critics,” but this also reveals how male-dominated the literary field was. Critics or reviewers played a major role in selecting important or valuable literary works. Affecting the overall nature and type of literature that was produced/published during a specific period of time. Once again, the literary canon comes into play. Critics, scholars, and reviewers were all important figures in the publication of manuscripts and literature. However, as highlighted above, many positions were held by men. Not only was literature a male-dominated field, but it was also assumed that those who read the works were also primarily men or people from higher backgrounds or dispositions. With this sense of dominance, male writers were given a certain level of authority and influence. Allow them to control certain opinions and political positions expressed, most often through their own works and literature. The audience or reader that these books were aimed at here were mostly male readers or individuals from the middle/upper and upper classes of the society. The women played a very small role, they simply observed what was happening. Unfortunately, many were forced to work harder to be heard and many of their works often remained unpublished. As critics, critics and the field of writing was dominated by that of men. Women's work was primarily considered weak, of low quality, or even not taken seriously. Many women often wrote under different names (male pseudonyms) or anonymously in order to be accepted for publication. This level of prejudice and oppression was the norm. Another statement from Woolf is important: "Everyone has a point of view, a temperament, an experience of his own, which may conflict with ours but must be given full expression if we are to do it justice." And the writers who have the most to give us often do the most violence to our prejudices, especially if they are our own contemporaries… (Woolf and McNeillie 272). Many of these authors had their own opinions that would conflict with those of the readers, but from reading this it seems that their opinions conflict with Woolf's. With reference to the aforementioned writers and critics, the notion of male dominance is circulating again. Their effects on politics and their overall writing did not always agree with that of the readers, in this case Woolf. That of “contemporaries” and the disagreements that may arise in their works, but “to do it justice”, the reader must put them aside in order to fully benefit from them (reference). Woolf's use of word choice is interesting; in this case, the word "violence" is harsh or negative and expresses a feeling of contempt towards the writers. When analyzing this, the reader must try to articulate what is actually being said or conveyed. Additionally, the language and use of pronouns “we,” “us,” and “our” are inviting and primarily address the reader. It's engaging, almost as if the author intended to build a relationship with the reader. This focus creates a feeling of openness but also allows the reader to be aware of his character and potentially his argument. This allows the reader to try to understand what he is expressing, arguing and stating’.