Naming Shakespeare's Sister: Why Woolf Chose Judith

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.

Epiphany of Woolf: Close Reading of the Last Four Paragraphs of A Room of One’s Own

“…All the sisters of Shakespeare very unfortunately died very young except Joan Shakespeare. -It was not the usual custom for girls in this era to attend school so Joan would have stayed at home and helped her mother with the household chores‖ (-The Brothers and Sisters of William Shakespeare‖), but Judith -had the quickest fancy, a gift like her brother's‖ (Woolf 55) [14]. Some critical readers may also think that Judith is none other than Woolf herself as she, most probably, gets haunted by Judith.…”