Virginia Woolf Two Meals Analysis

In two passages, Virginia Woolf compares meals she was served at a men’s and at a women’s college. The contrasting meals reveal Woolf’s frustration at the inferior treatment that women face. The first meal at the men’s college is elegant, enjoyable, and satisfying while the second is plain, cheap, and bland. This clearly juxtaposes the expense and luxury afforded to the men with the “penny-pinching” nature of the women’s in order to show Woolf’s underlying attitude of dissatisfaction against the inequality that women are not granted the same privileges and investment as men. In order to show the greatness of imbalance, Woolf implements distinct choices of diction. Passage one retains a sense of elegance through selective terms such as “retinue,” “confection,” and “wreathed.” The author uses a passionate tone through positive connotative value. Rather than deciding to use a neutral connotative

Passage one uses long and complex sentences, which includes great detail of the supper she is served at the men’s college. The elegant banquet is described as follows: “The partridges, many and various, came with all their retinue of sauces and salads, the sharp and the sweet, each in its order; their potatoes, thin as coins but not so hard; their sprouts, foliated as rosebuds but more succulent.” Woolf incorporates specificities in her language to stress importance, and at many times, create imagery. The tone is breathless and awestruck. Woolf’s tone is unsatisfying when writing about the meal served at the women’s college. The short and brief sentences give no description and only state the food she is prepared. The passage would be descriptive if the occurrence is more appalling. Passage two is much shorter in length than passage 1 due to the lack of explanation. The sentence structure of passage two reveals the underlying attitude of resentment, gratefulness, and