Throughout time, the treatment of women has varied tremendously. In some of history's greatest civilizations, women were seen as equal to men. However, as centuries passed, their rights began to slowly slip away. Virginia Woolf, a female writer in the early 1900s, held strong opinions of the place women had in society. In two particular passages, she used intricate diction, imagery and detail to convey her underlying negative attitude.

In the first passage, the diction relays the pessimistic mind-set Woolf has toward women's place in society. The reader can see her anger when she writes, "I shall take the liberty to defy that convention." The word "defy" portrays a rebellious attitude similar to Woolf's rebellion, which is sparked by the favoritism of men. Another proving example of Woolf's viewpoint is her description of the main course of the served to the men; "the partridges...with their retinue of...