Virginia Woolf's Bridges: Point of View and Epistemology of the Outsiders in Three Guineas

Abstract

In this paper, I analyze the figure of the bridge and its key role in the development of Woolf's arguments in Three guineas. I will argue that the bridge symbolizes the notion of point of view elaborated by the author: a situated and differentiated perspective constructed from the experiences of women. I will argue that a different experience results into the construction of a non-hegemonic, different point of view that provides an "other" knowledge, the knowledge of outsiders. As a consequence, the unsolvable dilemmas as seen from the dominant perspective can be resolved if they are approached from the perspective of outsiders, which has epistemological and axiological implications. I will also argue that these ideas are to be found decades later in contemporary feminism, both as acknowledged legacies and through unexplored affinities. Finally, I will showcase thematic and methodological affinities between Woolf's approach, Anglo-Saxon feminist epistemologies and those of radical women of color in the United States.