Vol. 58 No. 3 (2010)
Research Article

Naming Shakespeare's Sister: Why Woolf Chose Judith

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  • Dorothy Dodge Robbins
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1179/002777310X12759861710547

Published 2010-09-01

Keywords

  • BIBLE,
  • AMERICAN HISTORY,
  • SLAVERY,
  • CIVIL RIGHTS,
  • AMERICAN LITERATURE

Copyright (c) 2010 Maney Publishing

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Abstract

In her classic feminist treatise, A Room of One's Own (1929), Virginia Woolf creates both a sister and a creative equal for William Shakespeare and names her Judith. Historical, biblical, and literary sources establish the aptness of Woolf's onomastic decision, if not the definitive answer to the question posed. Shakespeare's daughter, Judith, and Woolf's niece, Judith, are considered as possible models for the Bard's sister. Additionally, the title character of the Old Testament “Book of Judith” and of the early English poem fragment Judith is examined as an onomastic source. Finally, Judith Shakespeare is considered as a pseudonym for Woolf herself.

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References

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