Welcome to Breaking Down Patriarchy. I'm Amy McPhee, All the Best. Today's text is called

Killing the Angel in the House, and it's a collection of lectures and essays written by Virginia

Wolf between 1905 and 1941. That phrase, killing the angel in the house, and what it represents,

has been really, really important in my life.

So I cannot wait to share it and discuss it with my reading partner today, Rochelle Burnside.

Hi, Rochelle.

Hi, Amy.

Thank you so much for being here, Rochelle.

Before we get started, we need a review of who Virginia Woolf was. We talked about her in detail during our

most recent episode, which was a room of one's own. But just as a review, I'd like to talk about

her just a little bit and with a slightly different emphasis based on the text that we'll be reading.

So, Rochelle, could you tell us some details about Virginia

Wolf? Sure. So Virginia Woolf was born Adeline, Virginia, Stephen in Kensington, London, England

in 1882. Her father, Leslie Stephen, was a respected man of letters, and as a young girl,

Wolf was introduced to many literary figures, including

Henry James and others. Wolf also made great use of the family home's vast library, working

her way through much of the English literary canon as a teenager. Her summers were spent in St. Ives

Cornwall, which would later form the setting for her famous novel to The Lighthouse.

Virginia's mother died when she was just 13, which led Virginia to have a mental breakdown.

Virginia wrote in her journals about being sexually abused by an older stepbrother throughout

her entire childhood, and she struggled with severe bouts of depression her entire life.

However, she did experience happy times as well, particularly as part of a robust and dynamic

...