The Art of Virginia Woolf's Androgynous Mind

In the book, "A Room of One's Own," Virginia Woolf truly writes with an androgynous mind, that is a mind that is "resonant and porous...transmits emotion without impediment...is naturally creative, incandescent, and undivided "(155). Woolf believes that only by thinking androgynously will a person be capable of great writing. She notes that both Coleridge and Shakespeare have androgynous minds and goes on to suggest that this is primarily the reason why they have both become literary geniuses. She herself has become one of the most well known authors in society. In her book, Woolf explains that any work written without an androgynous mind is "written in red light of emotion, not in the white light of truth"(130). Therefore any piece of literature not written with an androgynous mind, "however hard it hits the surface of the mind, it can not penetrate within"(159). She also explains that anyone, both male and female, is capable of reaching this level of writing. Many people believe that it is near impossible to write without showing biases. However, it is because Virginia Woolf was able to think androgynously when writing "A Room of One's Own," that she is known and respected for her work as a literary master today.