The Power of Voice

I have just finished teaching a Women in Literature class for the first time this past semester. I had never taught the class before, and volunteered to teach it just 2 weeks prior to the term beginning. The course had been prepared by one of my colleagues who suddenly was unable to teach it.

When I read the syllabus, however, I began to wonder if perhaps I had made a huge mistake. I had only read one of the five assigned texts, and the one I had read was back in 1985. How was I supposed find time to read not only the books but the criticism that goes along with each so that I could present the literary analyses required? Panic!

On the first day of class I was uncharacteristically nervous, worried that this room full of expectant faces would somehow discover the impostor that I felt I was. My mouth went dry and I could barely lecture. I remained uncomfortable until about half way through the first novel because--and this is perhaps what I love best about teaching--we had the most incredibly enlightening discussions, and we all learned about each of the novels together. They were not only GETTING it, but they were ENJOYING it! And so, I found, was I.

One of the primary themes we based all of our novel discussions on was the idea of "voice," and how the main character in each novel finds her voice, her ability to stand and speak for herself, attains autonomy in a world dominated by men, and reveals her truth.

I am forever changed by this class. I have a much greater appreciation of those strong, brave women who paved the way for me to be independent, to have, as Virginia Woolf believes all women should have, a "room of my own." But more importantly, in these last six months, I found MY voice. I regained confidence in myself as a professor, as a woman, as part of an academic community. Although we read the lives of fictional characters, these women inspired me to live authentically and on my own terms.

Look out world--we are here and we have something to say!