How are we to prevent war Section One in Three Guineas Virginia Woolf, 1938

SUMMARY
A letter perhaps unique in the history of human correspondence, since when before has an
educated man asked a woman how in her opinion war can be prevented?
This section is part of a larger essay Virginia Woolf wrote as a correspondence to an
unknown gentleman in 1938. At the time Europe was in the midst of the Spanish Civil
War and on the cusp of WWII.
For Woolf to answer the question Why fight using women experience and psychology
is impossible. Woolf states that in order for women to understand why men fight, a
blood and memory transfusion would be necessary. Obviously there is for you [men]
some glory, some necessity, some satisfaction in fighting which we have never felt or
enjoyed.
Using the biography of Francis and Riversdale Grenfell, Woolf describes war as the
true calling of man: war is a profession; a source of happiness and excitement; and
it is also an outlet for manly qualities, without which men would deteriorate.
However she acknowledges that not all men feel happy and excited about war, and
quotes a poet Suffer dishonour and disgrace, but never resort to arms. Be bullied, be
outraged, be killed; but do not kill, though she believes the great majority of your
sex [men] are today in favour of war, due to propaganda newspapers etc.
The majority of men, according to Woolf, think it is better to kill than to be killed.
As to why people go to war (in spite of varying opinions on the question) Woolfs
answer is patriotism, defined by the Lord Chief Justice of England as pride of England,
love of England, and the will to defend England and English values.
Woolf says that is a fair general statement of what patriotism means to an educated
man and what duties it imposes upon him. But the educated mans sister what does
patriotism mean to her? Has she the same reasons for being proud of England, for
loving England, for defending England? Has she been greatly blessed in England?
Interpretation of patriotism varies according to men or women.
Therefore, Woolf (and other women) cannot understand the gentlemans letter if it
means trying and understanding the reasons, the emotions, the loyalties which lead
men to go to war.
Woolf wants a moral judgement [of war] which we must all, whatever your differences,
accept.
In order to find this answer, she turns to the clergy but quickly dismisses them: they
dont agree every bishop has a different opinion: in some circumstances it is right to
fight; in no circumstances is it right to fight.
We [women] cannot understand the impulse, the motives, or the morality which lead
you to go to war, to make any suggestion that will help you to prevent war.
So Woolf tries to find an answer in photographs of warfare, in spite of them being not
arguments addressed to the reason [but] statements of fact addressed to the eye for
they could still be in that very simplicity of some help.
Woolf argues that she feels the same horror and disgust as the gentleman who sent
the letter upon seeing photographs of atrocities perpetrated by Franco-Spanish forces
during the Spanish civil war.
That same feeling could be the answer to the difference of point of view men and
women have regarding war: War, you [the gentleman] say, is an abomination; a
barbarity; war must be stopped at whatever cost. And we echo your words. War is an
abomination; a barbarity; war must be stopped. For now at last we are looking at the
same picture; we are seeing with you the same dead bodies, the same ruined houses.
Let us then give up, for the moment, the effort to answer your question, how we can
help you to prevent war, by discussing the political, the patriotic or the psychological
reasons which lead you to go to war. The emotion is too positive to suffer patient
analysis. Let us concentrate upon the practical suggestions which you bring forward for
our consideration. He has three suggestions: the first is to sign a letter to the
newspapers; the second is to join a certain society; the third is to subscribe to its funds
three solutions that could not be simpler and easier to quiet what may conveniently be
called ones conscience.
However Woolf says that the emotion caused by the photographs would still remain
unappeased and demands something more positive than a name written on a sheet
of paper; an hour spent listening to speeches; a cheque written for whatever sum we
can afford.
Woolf believes that the solutions submitted by the gentleman are not energetic and
active enough to express her belief that war is barbarous, inhuman, insupportable,
horrible and beastly.
She wants to compare the efficacy of mens involvement in the politics of warfare
compared to women. When he could take up arms like he did before, in defence of
peace, women couldnt. When he could use the pressure of money, women are not
allowed to be members of the Stock Exchange. Women are not allowed to have
diplomatic functions, religious functions, or any position of influence. Women can write
letters to newspapers but do not decide if they are going to be published. if the men
in your profession were to unite in any demand and were to say: if it is not granted we
will stop work, the laws of England would cease to be administered. If the women in
your profession said the same thing it would make no difference to the laws of England
whatever. We dont know what the profession is but we can assume it is not
production of goods regarding the rest of the discussion.
She then builds an unusual hierarchy amongst women themselves: working women
have the power to go on strike to have their demands answered because the difficulty
of war-making would be seriously increased. Woolf says that educated women do not
have this power: if all daughters of educated men were to down tools tomorrow,
nothing essential either to the life or to the war-making of the community would be
embarrassed. Our class is the weakest of all the classes in the state. We have no
weapon with which to enforce our will.
Woolf calls for the empowerment of women through single-sex colleges so as to be
able to study war and perhaps give some kind of answer to the gentlemens question.