Having a Place is about Money

Money always plays a vital role in a person's life. It affects what they dream about and how they go about achieving that dream. The issue of money is very difficult when the discussion of women are involved. When I say this, I mean women in the nineteenth century and earlier. Whether that woman was a writer or had another career, there were always social guidelines about women and their money, followed. For a female writer, it was very hard to know what to do socially; it was looked down if a woman was a famous female writer, who made money off of her books. It was lady like, and she rarely was accepted in certain social circles, even if she was 'born' in it. It was always a difficult decision for a woman to become a writer, they may have to give up certain dreams if they wanted to be dedicated to their work, also many women were afraid that men would not want to marry them, if they did not depend on him for money. Even though this thought is not common today, it was the norm in Austin's and Bronte's time, and it happened on occasion in Woolf's lifetime. When they were little they were told certain things had to be certain ways,

"...girls could go to their parents and say, You need not give me an allowance; I can make money by my pen. Of course the answer for many years to come was, Yes, by living the life of Aphra Behn! Death would be better!" (Woolf 64)

This passage indicates that a female used to believe that the life of an authoress was the worst thing that she can do with her life. It was improper, no matter what success they earned. If a woman wrote and made money she often did not find welcomed gratitude, unless she was anonymous, which Jane Austin did. For a female writer to be famous, have her own income, and be successfully married was something that was never done, it was unheard of; of course that happens when no one tries to defy the stereotype. In modern day literature there are many famous authoresses, that have it all, by most people's definition. By obvious example, a authoress can have it all, if they have the right encouragement to allow them to defy the odds that was set against them.