How does Virginia Woolf use interior consciousness in “The Mark On The Wall” to express feminist critique of social expectations placed on women?
Keywords:
interior consciousness, feminist critique, narrative voice, stream of consciousness, domestic space, male interruptionAbstract
This study examines how Virginia Woolf employs interior consciousness in The Mark
on the Wall to construct a feminist critique of the social expectations imposed on
women. Using a qualitative literary approach, the research focuses on the narrator’s
stream of consciousness as a form of intellectual freedom that allows her to think
beyond societal constraints. Through close reading and engagement with relevant
scholarly sources, the study demonstrates that Woolf’s narrative technique creates a
private mental space in which the female voice can exist independently. However, the
abrupt male interruption at the end of the story reveals the fragility of this autonomy.
The findings suggest that Woolf’s use of narrative voice functions not only as a
stylistic innovation but also as a subtle critique of patriarchal authority
References
? Al-Ali, A. T. & SAVAP International. (2012). FILLING IN THE BLANKS:
PERCEIVING SPACE THROUGH GENDER IN VIRGINIA WOOLF’S “THE
MARK ON THE WALL.” In Academic Research International (Vol. 1).
SAVAP International.
http://www.savap.org.pk/journals/ARInt./Vol.3(1)/2012(3.1-07).pdf
Hai-Ying, N. W. (2018b). A picture of “Subjective Reality”: a narrative analysis
of Virginia Woolf’s “The Mark on the Wall.” Journal of Literature and Art
Studies, 8(3). https://doi.org/10.17265/2159-5836/2018.03.006
? Siyuan, L. (2024). The Stream-of-Consciousness in the mark on the
wall. Communications in Humanities Research, 27(1), 120–125.
? Woolf, V. (1919). THE MARK ON THE WALL (Second Edition, p. 604).
https://ia801606.us.archive.org/30/items/markonwall00wooluoft/markonwa
ll00woolu oft.pdf
