DIFFERENCES IN THE PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN IN THE WORKS OF MARGARET DRABBLE AND VIRGINIA WOOLF

Abstract

This article analyzes the differences in the portrayal of women in the works of Virginia Woolf and Margaret Drabble, two of the most influential female voices in British literature. While Woolf, as a modernist writer, focused on the inner consciousness and psychological fragmentation of women trapped within social conventions, Drabble, as a post-war realist, portrayed women who face practical conflicts between intellect, career, and family. Through a feminist comparative analysis of Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse, and Drabble’s The Millstone and The Waterfall, the study identifies key distinctions in narrative technique, thematic focus, and social perspective. Woolf’s heroines often struggle within psychological and existential boundaries, seeking meaning through introspection, whereas Drabble’s characters are active agents negotiating independence in a rapidly changing society. The article concludes that these differences stem from distinct historical contexts and literary movements that shaped each writer’s artistic vision of womanhood.