Donne e diritti

lesquels cascadent sautoir en perles et chaînettes dorées, dans les sacs

matelassés et les escarpins bicolores. La maison Chanel est dirigée,

depuis 1983, par Karl Lagerfeld.

Virginia Woolf

In Gran Bretagna è invece Virginia Woolf, con il suo femminismo

intellettuale e distaccato, a mettere in rilievo il ruolo della donna. Vorrei

focalizzare l'attenzione sul testo estratto da “Professions for Women” che

mette in luce le opportunità di lavoro per le donne.

Adeline Virginia Woolf, born Stephen (London, January 25, 1882 -

Rodmell, March 28, 1941) was a novelist, essayist and activist in Britain.

Regarded as one of the leading writers of the twentieth century, actively

engaged in the fight for equal rights between the sexes. In the period

between the Wars she was a member of the Bloomsbury Group and an

important figure in the literature of London. Her most famous works

Mrs. Dalloway Lighthouse

include the novels (1925), To the (1927) and

Orlando The Common Reader A

(1928). Among the works: (1925) and

Room of One's Own "a

(1929), in which appears the famous saying

woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write

fiction”. Professions For Women:

“Professions for women” is the title of a lecture of 1942 written by

Virginia Woolf, in which she talks about the professional opportunities for

women in the 20 century and, particularly, about the profession of

th

writer.

In this, Virginia talks about “professions” and not “jobs” in order to

dignify women’s activities.

In particular, she talks about writing as a reputable and cheap profession;

for this reason literature is a profession in which women have succeeded

before than in others.

In addition, Woolf refers to writing as the only space in which women

could fulfil themselves without particular problems.

Her subject of writing was not as important as the very experience of

writing: indeed, she had to fight against the “Angel in the House”, that is,

the phantom of a woman who didn’t allow her to write.

The Angel in the House is the stereotype of the woman: sympathetic,

compassionate, tender, deceiving, charming, pure.

So, to be able to write all that she really thought, Woolf had to break free

from this figure: she had to kill that feminine part of herself that had

2

been inculcated into her through education.

Once killed the Angel, Virginia is free to be herself, but now she had to

discover what is herself, so, what is a woman.

At this point, she has a more perturbing experience than that of killing

the Angel in the House: Virginia experiences the state of mind of the

novelist, pointing out that it is different for men and women writers: men

are repetitive, offer always the same elements in order to give the reader

security and in this way men writers lack imagination.

Women writers, on the contrary, rely on their unconscious, their

passions: so, the experience of writing for women is like an explosion

exhaling foam that, like the foam of the sea, is sign of vitality, energy,

life and so is the symbol of the artistic creation.

This is a quotation from “The Angel in the House”

The Angel In The House

“...And while I was writing books I should need to do battle with a certain

phantom. And the phantom was a woman, and when I came to know her

better I called her after the heroine of a famous poem, The Angel in the

she

House. It was who used to come between me and my paper when I

was writing reviews. It was she who bothered me and wasted my time

You

and so tormented me that at last I killed her. who come of a younger

and happier generation may not have heard of her – you may not know

what I mean by the Angel in the House. I will describe her as shortly as I

can. She was intensely sympathetic. She was immensely charming. She

was utterly unselfish. She excelled in the difficult arts of family life. She

sacrificed herself daily. If there was chicken, she took the leg; if there was

a draught she sat in it – in short she was so constituted that she never

had a mind or a wish of her own, but preferred to sympathize always with

the minds and wishes of others. Above all – I need not say it – she was

pure. Her purity was supposed to be her chief beauty – her blushes, her

great grace. In those days – the last of Queen Victoria – every house had

her

its Angel. And when I came to write I encountered with the very first

words. The shadow of her wings fell on my page; I heard the rustling of

her skirts in the room. Directly, that is to say, I took my pen in my hand

to review that novel by a famous man, she slipped behind me and

whispered: “My dear, you are a young woman. You are writing about a

book that has been written by a man. Be sympathetic; be tender; flatter;

deceive; use all the arts and wiles of our sex. Never let anybody guess

you

that have a mind of your own. Above all, be pure”. And she made as

if to guide my pen. I now record the one act for which I take some credit

to myself, though the credit rightly belongs to some excellent ancestors

of mine who left me a certain sum of money – shall we say five hundred

pounds a year? – so that it was not necessary for me to depend solely on

3

her

charm for my living. I turned upon and caught her by the throat. I did

my best to kill her. My excuse, if I were to be had up in a court of law,

would be that I acted in self-defence. Had I not killed her she would have

killed me. She would have plucked the heart out of my writing. For, as I

found, directly I put pen to paper, you cannot review even a novel

without having a mind of your own, without expressing what you think to

be the truth about human relations, morality, sex. And all these

questions, according to the Angel of the House, cannot be dealt with

freely and openly by women; they must charm, they must conciliate,

they must – to put it bluntly – tell lies if they are to succeed. Thus

whenever I felt the shadow of her wing or the radiance of her halo upon

my page, I took up the inkpot and flung it at her. She died hard. Her

fictitious nature was of great assistance to her. It is far harder to kill a

phantom than a reality. She was always creeping back when I thought I

had despatched her. Though I flatter myself that I killed her in the end,

struggle

the was severe; it took much time that had better have been

spent upon learning Greek grammar; or in roaming the world in search of

it

adventures. But was a real experience that was bound to befall all

women writers at the time. Killing the Angel in the House was part of the

occupation of a woman writer.” 4

Dolores Ibárruri, La Pasionaria.

(Gallarta, Vizcaya, 1895 - Madrid, 1989).

In Spagna in questi anni, a distinguersi è Dolores Ibárruri: una donna che

ebbe il coraggio di opporsi al regime filofascista di Franco e diventata poi

Presidentessa del Partito Comunista Spagnolo.

Nacida en una familia minera conservadora, Dolores

Ibárruri se interesó por la lucha obrera bajo la influencia

de su marido, un militante socialista con el que se casó

en 1915.

Desde que pasó a la acción con motivo de la huelga

general revolucionaria de 1917, Dolores Ibárruri fue

adquiriendo prestigio como oradora y articulista

política, a pesar de que había interrumpido muy pronto

su formación escolar para ponerse a trabajar como

sirvienta.

Impresionada por el triunfo de la Revolución

bolchevique en Rusia, Dolores Ibárruri participó junto

con la agrupación socialista de Somorrostro, de la que era miembro, en

la escisión del PSOE que dio lugar al nacimiento del Partido Comunista de

España (PCE). En 1931 se trasladó a Madrid para trabajar en la redacción

del periódico del Partido, Mundo Obrero.

Su activismo de luchadora incansable le llevó a la cárcel por dos veces

en 1931-33. Elegida diputada por Asturias en 1936, la sublevación de los

militares contra el gobierno de la República acrecentó su carisma

popular, al desplegar durante la siguiente Guerra Civil (1936-39) una

gran actividad de propaganda; su prosa apasionada, sensible y

coherente la convirtió en símbolo de la resistencia y combatividad de la

España republicana.

Pues se exilió en la Unión Soviética, continuando su labor como

representante de España en la Internacional Comunista. Al morir Díaz

(secretario general del partido) la Pasionaria será secretaria general del

PCE, hasta el 1960 y serà presidenta del PCE.

Dolores Ibárruri regresó a España tras la muerte de Franco y la transición

a la democracia, resultando elegida de nuevo diputada por Asturias. Pero

aquejada por problemas de salud, abandonó pronto su escaño y se retiró

de la política activa.

Para comprender mejor la importancia de esta mujer en la polìtica

antifranquista, quiero reproducir su célebre discurso.

5

¡No Pasarán!

(Llamamiento pronunciado por la Pasionaria, el 19

de julio de 1936.)

¡Obreros! ¡Campesinos! ¡Antifascistas! ¡Españoles patriotas!... Frente a la

sublevación militar fascista ¡todos en pie, a defender la República, a

defender las libertades populares y las conquistas democráticas del

pueblo!...

A través de las notas del gobierno y del Frente Popular, el pueblo conoce

la gravedad del momento actual. En Marruecos y en Canarias luchan los

trabajadores, unidos a las fuerzas leales a la República, contra los

militares y fascistas sublevados.

Al grito de ¡el fascismo no pasará, no pasarán los

verdugos de octubre!... los obreros y campesinos

de distintas provincias de España se incorporan a

la lucha contra los enemigos de la República

alzados en armas. Los comunistas, los socialistas y

anarquistas, los republicanos demócratas, los

soldados y las fuerzas fieles a la República han

infligido las primeras derrotas a los facciosos, que

arrastran por el fango de la traición el honor militar

de que tantas veces han alardeado.

Todo el país vibra de indignación ante esos

desalmados que quieren hundir la España

democrática y popular en un infierno de terror y de

muerte.

Pero ¡NO PASARÁN!

España entera se dispone al combate. En Madrid el pueblo está en la

calle, apoyando al gobierno y estimulándole con su decisión y espíritu de

lucha para que llegue hasta el fin en el aplastamiento de los militares y

fascistas sublevados.

¡Jóvenes, preparaos para la pelea!

¡Mujeres, heroicas mujeres del pueblo! ¡Acordaos del heroísmo de las

mujeres asturianas en 1934; luchad también vosotras al lado de los

hombres para defender la vida y la libertad de vuestros hijos, que el

fascismo amenaza!

¡Soldados, hijos del pueblo! ¡Manteneos fieles al gobierno de la

República, luchad al lado de los trabajadores, al lado de las fuerzas del

6

Frente Popular, junto a vuestros padres, vuestros hermanos y

compañeros! ¡Luchad por la España del 16 de febrero, luchad por la

República, ayudadlos a triunfar!

¡Trabajadores de todas las tendencias! El gobierno pone en nuestras

manos las armas para que salvemos a España y al pueblo del horror y de

la vergüenza que significaría el triunfo de los sangrientos verdugos de

octubre.

¡Que nadie vacile! Todos dispuestos para la acción. Cada obrero, cada

antifascista debe considerarse un soldado en armas.

¡Pueblos de Cataluña, Vasconia y Galicia! ¡Españoles todos! A defender la

República democrática, a consolidar la victoria lograda por el pueblo el

16 de febrero.

El Partido Comunista os llama a la lucha. Os llama especialmente a

vosotros, obreros, campesinos, intelectuales, a ocupar un puesto en el

combate para aplastar definitivamente a los enemigos de la República y

de las libertades populares. ¡Viva el Frente Popular! ¡Viva la unión de

todos los antifascistas! ¡Viva la República del pueblo! ¡Los fascistas no

pasarán! ¡No pasarán!”

I Balletti Russi di Diaghilev

7

Nella sua vita, Coco, ha avuto modo di collaborare con altri grandi artisti

del suo tempo in occasione dei Balletti Russi di Diaghilev.

Serge Diaghilev fu un impresario teatrale, organizzatore e direttore

artistico dei Balletti Russi. Impresario teatrale e di gusto, apportò nella

storia della danza le maggiori innovazioni. Si rivelò inoltre capace nello

scoprire talenti e di realizzare grandi collaborazioni con i migliori