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 should read in general. She 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). While Woolf presents some thought-provoking and thought-provoking ideas, there seems to be one important aspect that stands out throughout the essay and in the specific passage provided above. That is, the mention of writers and readers, even more so, the essay demonstrates that male readers and writers take precedence over female ones. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't 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, yet it strikes a rather familiar and conversational tone. But it also seems that the reader here is someone who understands literature, who wants to read more precisely, who wants to understand and have it explained to him how the reading should be done. There is a method, there are certain steps that the reader must take, to truly do justice to the writers and their works – there must be a level of impartiality. When reading each line, it seems like Woolf is interacting with the reader, having a free-flowing conversation full of thoughts and opinions. Yet, through writing, the author's critical and analytical style transcends everywhere. Almost as if the essay should be considered a fundamental piece to read, to accommodate a more serious nature and to truly articulate what the work seeks to express or illustrate. The essay lays out an argument from the beginning for how readers should read. In the chosen passage, what can be highlighted is the use of the literary canon. In this context, the literary canon refers to literary works that have been considered important and national literature by critics and academics. Woolf states in the next line: “Great writers therefore often require heroic efforts from us to read them correctly.” Woolf states “To go 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 spoken by Woolf constitute a noteworthy selection of writers, yet there is something important here that needs to be brought to light. References are made largely to those of male writers, from Daniel Defoe, Thomas Hardy, Thomas Love Peacock, Anthony Trollope, George Meredith, Samuel Richardson, Rudyard Kipling, and with one exception to Jane Austen. From the above, there is a clear indication that male writers take precedence over female writers. This not only highlights a form of superiority, but echoes the notion of social and historical context and how it plays out within the essay. In both Woolf's time and in previous literary periods, women were not seen as "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 underlined by other sentences written within the essay. For example, “…We receive the highest judgment from the great critics: the Johnsons, the Drydens, and the Arnolds” (Woolf and McNeillie 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. Both reviewers and critics played a roleimportant in selecting literary works that were important or valuable. Which influence the general nature and type of literature produced/published in a given period of time. Once again the literary canon comes into play. Critics, scholars, reviewers were all important figures in the publication of manuscripts and literature. However, as highlighted above, many positions have been filled by men. Not only was literature a male-dominated field, but it was taken for granted that those who read the works were also primarily men or from more esteemed backgrounds or dispositions. With this sense of dominance, male writers were provided a level of authority and influence. Allowing them to have control over certain opinions and political positions that were expressed, most commonly through their works and literature. The audience or reader these books were aimed at were mostly male readers or middle/upper-middle and upper class individuals in society. Women had a very small role, they simply observed what happened. Unfortunately, many were forced to work harder to be heard and many of their works often remained unpublished. As critics, reviewers, and the field of writing was led by that of men. Women's work was considered essentially weak, low-level, or even not taken seriously. Many women often wrote under different names (male pseudonyms) or anonymously to be accepted for publication. This level of prejudice and oppression was the norm. Another statement by Woolf is important: “Everyone has a vision, a temperament, an experience of their own which may be in conflict with ours but must be able to express itself fully if we want 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 contemporaries… (Woolf and McNeillie 272). Many of these writers had their own opinions that would conflict with readers, but after reading this, it seems that the opinions conflict with Woolf's. Referring to the aforementioned writers and critics, the notion of male dominance circulates again. Their effects on politics and their writing in general were not always concordant with those of their readers, in this case Woolf. That of "contemporaries" and the disagreements that may arise in their works, however "to do them justice" the reader must put them aside in order to truly enjoy them (reference). Woolf's use of word choice is interesting, in this case the word "violence", which is harsh or negative and expresses a sense of contempt towards the writers. In analyzing this, the reader must try to articulate what is really being said or conveyed. Additionally, the language and use of the pronouns “we,” “our,” and “ours” are inviting and essentially reader-facing. It's engaging, almost as if the author intended to build a relationship with the reader. This direction creates a sense of openness but also allows the reader to be aware of their own character and potentially their own argument. It allows the reader to try to understand what he is expressing, discussing and stating on a deeper level. Not only does this language and use of words appear in this passage, but it recurs throughout the essay. It is important to note that a certain sense of contradiction arises from this essay and the passage above. Although male writers were considered the most important, there is no doubt that Woolf as an author no longer mentioned women. Woolf, as a feminist, did not play the role of advocate in this essay. Woolf might have been expected to refer to or’.