Of course, she was doing this all along, but when she got straight to her point of why women need money and a roof over their heads, she was clearest and commanded the most attention. Throughout the essay, I found myself questioning when this piece by Woolf was written. When I realized she was talking about the late 1920's, I felt better about what I was reading. What she was saying fit in the time period. Some things have changed for the role of women in politics and the work place, for example.
Women are no long so tied to the home and are, in many cases, free to make a career for themselves.
As a writer, I can understand this responsibility. Although Woolf was using this example in connection with poetry and fiction, I believe this statement is pertinent, if not more so, to the work of non-fiction and news. We certainly do have a responsibility to report things accurately and clearly. It is interesting how Woolf uses her point about reality to lead into her opinion that writers should earn a living and have a roof over their heads. The last sentence of her essay is especially strong on this point.